cornflakes 9 Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 Does anyone know what a healthy car battery for the Spark should be at during runtime? I'm going to get one of those voltage meters to read the car battery in the cigg. socket. Just wondering what the healthy range is and then I'll know if my voltage is low, maybe my battery needs replacing? I've only owned the car for 5 weeks now, and don't know if the previous owner had changed batteries or if it is still the original battery (which would be around 3 years old now). Also, does anyone know if I can upgrade the battery to a higher capacity (as long as it fits in the space given in our engine compartment). The current battery is 45 AH. Can I use something with a higher capacity? Maybe 50 or 55 or 65? Would that hold a larger charge of battery power and therefore after a full charge (driving around for 1 hour or so) could power my car dash cam for well over 24 hours straight? I'm just wondering why the car dash cam doesn't seem to run much longer than 15 hours before it shuts off. Link to post Share on other sites
cornflakes 9 Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Ok folks, I did a battery change anyways. My previous battery was a 45 AH, 80 RC, 410 CCA battery. I just got a new battery installed and its a 60 AH, 100 RC, 560 CCA (-18 C). So I think that will definitely give me longer running power for my car cams over night and shouldn't find myself with low power the next day. Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I think the solar charger is still a decent idea too, if you can find a place to wire it into the car. Link to post Share on other sites
cornflakes 9 Posted July 10, 2014 Author Share Posted July 10, 2014 yes i'd still want to look into that as a bonus to keep my battery charged. Link to post Share on other sites
greggb 7 Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Living here in the desert, heat takes a real toll on car batteries. To get 4 years out of one is good. The Spark doesn't need a lot of cranking amps which is a good thing. I often wonder if I could start it with a 12vdc lantern battery? I'll have to try it someday, lol Link to post Share on other sites
Big-Bob 11 Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 I have 2 collector cars that do not get driven very often (I drive them a 15-20 miles a week, to prevent deterioration) and I keep battery maintainers connected to them. My daily transportation car is driven enough to keep the battery fully charged. The Wallymart battery in it now is close to 4 years old, and still working fine. The Spark would be replacing that car, so I would hope it would keep the battery charged. Link to post Share on other sites
cornflakes 9 Posted August 14, 2014 Author Share Posted August 14, 2014 Also to answer my own question that I asked, the normal full charge / healthy battery voltage appears to be high 13s (13.8-13.9 ) to 14.1 or 14.2. With my new battery, when driven to fully charge the battery, it's reading output shows 13.8 to 14.1 for me so that must be the healthy range for a good battery. My old battery was constantly running at around 12.5v or less I think. I think it was even at 10 or 11 volts one time. Link to post Share on other sites
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