On really cold days, should headlights be turned on to “warm up” the battery up before starting the engine?
While there is no doubt that turning on the headlights will increase the current flow in a car battery, it also consumes valuable capacity that could be used to start the cold engine; therefore, this is not recommended. For cold temperatures, externally powered temperature compensated battery “float” chargers, warmers or blankets, and engine block heaters are highly recommended if the vehicle can not be parked in a heated garage. AGM (Ca/Ca) and Ni-Cad batteries will perform better than wet lead-acid batteries in extremely cold temperatures.
Related Questions
- Why is that after several hours or even days of charging the Lithium Battery inside using the panel, the LED indicator is still in color red?
- Toyota Rav4, had an engine overhaul and now the vehicle is stalling when the engine is cold any ideas why?
- How long would Tracker Guardian take to drain an average car battery with the engine turned off?
