Cold Cranking Amps (CCA):

Have you ever wondered why your vehicle does not get the start or having problem to crank the engine in high altitude cold region? You would think that the vehicle is doing well on Plain region so what happened to it here? So let’s see what happened to your vehicle.

 

CCA rating is very crucial for your vehicle if you are living in high altitude regions/cold climate. CCA rating is used in the battery industry to define the ability of the battery to start an engine in cold temperature.

It’s quite easy to start an engine in summer than in winter. Low temperature increases the internal resistance and lowers the capacity.

A battery that provides 100% capacity at 27˚C (80 F) and will deliver only 50% at -18 ˚C (0 F).

For 12 V Battery: CCA is the measurement of the number of amps a battery can deliver at 0 F for 30 seconds while maintaining 7.2 Volts. So to avoid trouble in cranking the engine, high CCA rating battery is required.

Understanding CCA Test:

To pass the CCA test, for example, an 800 CCA rated fully charged the battery would be kept at 0 F (-18 ˚C) then load tested at 800 Amps for 30 seconds, then it has to maintain at least 7.2 volts for 12 Volt battery.

On reading the above paragraph, a question would have arisen in your mind that why to maintain only 7.2 Volts, why not more or less than that. The answer is quite simple; it has to maintain 1.2 Volts per cell of the battery.
So for 12 Volt battery its 7.2 V ( 6 x 1.2 = 7.2 ) and for 24 V battery its 14.4 (12 x 1.2 = 14.4)

 

Cranking Amps (CA) / Marine Cranking Amps (MCA):

It’s the amount of current a battery can provide at 32 F (0 ˚ C) for 30 seconds while maintaining 1.2 Volts per cell.

The term MCA is used in marine equipment.

 

Hot Cranking Amps (HCA):

It is defined as the amount of current a battery can provide at 80 F (27 ˚ C) for 30 seconds while maintaining 1.2 Volts per cell.

 

Reserve Capacity (RC):

It’s very crucial for the battery. It identifies how many minutes the battery can deliver a constant current of 25 Amp at 80 F without falling below the minimum voltage.

 

Depth of Discharge:

The capacity to which the lead-acid battery is discharged before it is charged again known as Depth of Discharge. It affects the battery capacity and life.

For a lead-acid battery, the recommended depth of discharge should be less than 80%.

 

Charge or Discharge Time (in hrs)=Amp hour rating/Continuous Current (in Amps)