I’ll get back to you on that when I ask my bud, for now I say bogus, I have been wrong before. So is the cutoff point like the Mason Dixon Line?
That is too high, charging system voltage is reduced to 13.2 to 13.5 volts in hot weather.
I recall CR testing north and south market batteries, I don’t know if they still do.
The computer monitors the battery temperature sensor or the ambient temperature sensor to determine the proper charging system voltage. This is not new, Chrysler used adaptive charging systems in the 1980’s.
It’s actually the Consumer Reports article that mentioned batteries for the south. It could be one of those things that was done 2 decades ago but isn’t now.
I’m glad to hear that was done. Was it one of those rare things that existed for a time and went away like the audible low oil pressure and over heating alarms that some cars had?
I believe most vehicles adapt the charging rate based on temperature.
No. Lead Acid battery technology hasn’t changed in 50+ years. When my brother-in-law and moved to the FL after living in the North his whole life he really didn’t like the fact that batteries only last 2-4 years. 7-10 is the norm in the North. National chains like NAPA, Advance Auto sell 2-3 times more batteries in places like FL then the North.
Does Heat Kill Car Batteries? — I Buy Junk Cars (ibuyjunkcarsphoenix.com)
Can extreme heat kill your car battery - Kelly Car Buyer
Why Does My Battery Keep Losing Its Charge? | The Family Handyman
Summer’s high heat drains life from car batteries | Las Vegas Review-Journal (reviewjournal.com)
Summer Heat Kills Car Batteries – smartercharger.com
You should really learn how to use a computer and the internet. There’s a lot of information at your fingertips if you know what to do.
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“IF the battery light comes on, then those are pretty strong signs that your battery is in trouble” is where I stopped reading. The battery light means that there is a generator fault and the battery charging system isn’t working. It has nothing to do with the battery going bad. This article is probably written by the same people who think that the low oil pressure light means that you need to call to schedule an oil change.
I do admit that I am mostly familiar with cars that are now 20 years old. Things may have changed as far as what turns on a check engine light or battery light.
Here’s something that may be interesting. We have a car that has a charging problem and it only produces 13.2V with the headlights on or 13.5V with them off. This is in a northern climate. After about 4 years the battery got weak to the point where it would no longer reliably start the car in the winter. The car isn’t driven much, probably a couple thousand miles per year. The battery terminals on this battery were perfectly clean after 4 years. The typical leakage from over charging was nowhere to be seen. So the old battery was sitting around and I put it on the charger every once in a while. A year later I decided to put it in a car with a good charging system and it works just fine. I did hook it to my arc welder briefly to try to desulfate it. I don’t know how much of an effect that had. It probably still has years of life left in it since it won’t sulfate anymore being used in a daily driver, and there was very little wear on the battery in the 1st 4 years of its life.
Ask the people that checked the electrical system to check the current drain under the conditions that seem to be causing the problem.