Night driving

[cfg83]

k.civic.f4i -

In another thread, the member named Christ said you have plenty of buffer space in a healthy battery, maybe 30 minutes.

CarloSW2

[Clev]

I do in the Honda, but in the Saturn, the headlights go off during cranking, so I only do it if there isn't traffic across for me (lest they think I'm signalling them somehow.)

[gltux]

My car came with a battery voltage dial (but no rev counter? ah well) so I know if I'm knackering it. I'm not too worried though.

[SentraSE-R]

I have a pretty good alternator in my SE-R, and I know it will keep the battery charge up with a 33/67 pulse/EOC glide cycle. When I stop at lights and I'm behind other cars, I'll switch to parking lights with the engine off. I monitor the battery voltage with my ScanGauge, and restart the engine when voltage drops to 11.6 or lower.

I haven't done the testing with my Scion, but am following the same guidelines until I can establish a baseline with it.

[wagonman76]

I won't cut back to parking lights, would just be a reason to get pulled over.

Also, living in the cold north, the cheap batteries don't cut it, I've tried. I get the highest capacity batteries offered. A battery that would work year round in the south wouldn't work year round here. And that might make a difference in how much it affects the battery leaving the headlights on.

[PaleMelanesian]

See, I've got the opposite problem here. Our hot summers kill batteries. I specifically chose the DieHard "south" variety for that reason. The plates inside are thicker and stronger, for longer life. Not as many will fit in the space, so the output capacity is compromised a bit. For me, that's exactly what I need. For you, the "north" variety would be better - more plates, but thinner, for higher output but less hot-weather tolerance.

Parking lights - I only do this when stopped at a light when there are street lights around.

[Clev]

Originally Posted by wagonman76

I won't cut back to parking lights, would just be a reason to get pulled over.

Also, living in the cold north, the cheap batteries don't cut it, I've tried. I get the highest capacity batteries offered. A battery that would work year round in the south wouldn't work year round here. And that might make a difference in how much it affects the battery leaving the headlights on.

You might consider wrapping some insulation around your battery. Might help it last a little longer.

Leaving the headlights on probably wouldn't hurt anything. Yeah, it would reduce the available capacity, but the current flow would also impart a little heat into the battery. Again, combined with some insulation, it might help.

[SentraSE-R]

I've only recently started switching to using parking lights, as I'm approaching 8 years with the OEM battery in my car. If I had a new battery, I'd leave the headlights on more. You folks in hot and cold climates won't get that many years out of even the best batteries.

[PaleMelanesian]

I originally pulled this from Interstate Battery's website.

[SentraSE-R]

That's very informative, Andrew. It knocks down all the arguments about cold temperatures killing batteries. Heat obviously does that. I'd have thought my mild California temperatures would have been best for battery life, not the colder midwest temperatures.