When your 12 volts battery hits 12 volts or below it’s flat or fully discharged. At this point, you should recharge it before it gets damaged. When you leave your 12.0 volts battery at this level for a very long time, the battery cells will get damaged.
Your 12 volts battery will be fully charged when it’s reading a voltage of between 12.7 and 13.2 volts.
Here’s a chart that should tell you about the battery percentages. Use the chart to determine when your battery hits 25% voltage and recharge it. Recharging your battery when it’s at 25% will protect it and give it a longer lifespan.
| Charge State | Voltage level |
| 100% | 12.7 – 13.2 |
| 75% | 12.4 |
| 50% | 12.1 |
| 25% | 11.7 |
| Discharged | 0 – 11.6 |
| Dead/ Fully discharged | 12.0 |
How to Tell If A Battery Is Bad or Good?
For better performance, you must always keep your battery healthy. It will help reduce the cases of breakdowns that you could experience with bad batteries. But if you are looking for better battery performance, then regularly inspect your battery. Recycle and keep your battery in the right condition at all times.
Pay attention to all of the following signs. They show that your battery is about to get damaged.
- Slow Engine Crack
When your car battery begins dying, you’ll first notice that the battery takes a long time to start. This is because the battery can’t supply the engine with enough amperage for it to start. So, if you start noticing slow engine cranking, then get the battery inspected as soon as possible.
- Clicking sound when igniting your car
Sometimes, the car engine doesn’t crank when the battery dies. Instead, you hear rapid clicking sounds. That means the power in the battery is too low to start the vehicle. This happens when the battery is completely dead.
- Dim Headlights
Your car headlights are connected to the battery system. So, you might have to check the battery when you notice that the headlights are becoming dim over time. It could be the problem.
- Electrical Components Problem
Most of the electrical accessories in your car depend on the battery to operate. That means if the radio, power seats, dashboard, windshield wipers, and power windows are not functioning well, then there could be an issue with the battery.
- Dashboard Warning Light on
Most modern cars have a system that monitors the operation of your car. And when the battery dies, you will get some warning on the dashboard. So, when you notice a battery light on the dashboard, you might need to check the car battery.
- Swollen battery
As the battery get old, it produces more gasses. The gasses sometimes can’t be contained in the battery. And that means you need to pay attention to the battery. If it’s swollen, replace it before it causes other serious issues.
Parting Shot
When your battery hits 12.0 volts or below, then just know that it’s dead. Recharge it as soon as possible. When you leave it at this level for a long, you might end up damaging it completely.
But don’t allow the battery to get there. Start by looking at different signs of a dying battery and work on it before it gets damaged.
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