Frequently asked questions

Follow our tips on how to use a car battery charger:

• If your battery has obvious wear, we recommend getting a new battery. 
• We recommend getting advice from your local AA Battery Specialist or AA Service centre for the correct charger and charging process for your vehicle.
• Follow the manufacturer instructions. Even if you’ve charged a battery before, we recommend following the instructions again to keep everyone safe.

Once the charger is connected it can take up to 24 hours to fully charge a flat battery.

Check out our AA Battery Service for battery chargers or buy the AA Smart Charge online from AA Shop.

Many times the first hint of a battery problem shows up during the starting process.

If the car battery is too weak to provide a sufficient voltage to the starter, you'll hear a distinctive clicking sound and the engine won't crank over. This clicking indicates that the battery is not fully charged.

AA Battery Service can perform a battery test to determine if the battery needs to be replaced. Sometimes a faulty alternator will be the culprit, but other times the test will reveal a weak battery not capable of holding a charge. This means the battery must be replaced.

For your own safety we recommend you have  your battery checked and tested by a professional.

• Do not place metallic objects on top of the battery as this may cause the battery to short

• Keep flames and sparks away from batteries as they contain hydrogen gas and may catch fire or explode

• Batteries contain sulphuric acid so make sure no part of your body or anything damageable comes into contact with the acid. If this happens, use large amounts of water to neutralise and flush acid away

• Batteries are heavy so use correct lifting procedures and if the battery has one, use the carry handle to move the battery

• Keep children away from batteries

CCA stands for Cold Cranking Amps and is the recognised industry standard for rating a battery's cranking performance. The number of plates was once used as the measure for rating batteries, however CCA is now the industry standard.

The Amp Hour (Ah) rating is a way of describing a battery's capacity. It describes the capacity of a battery based on a discharge period of 20 hours.

Some vehicles are equipped with a Battery Management Systems (BMS) which requires new batteries to be registered with the system. In most instances, AA Battery Service technicians will perform this registration on applicable vehicles.

Normal driving will not restore the battery to a reliable level of charge. Instead, it should be recharged using a suitable multistage battery charger – and allow up to 48 hours for a flat battery to recharge.

Sulphation is the chemical reaction between the sulphuric acid and the lead plates within a battery. When a battery discharges, ‘sulphate’ crystals form on the plates, which reduces the battery’s capacity. Batteries kept in a poor state of charge will form ‘hard’ sulphation – this causes permanent damage and can void your warranty. To reduce sulphation, fully recharge the battery as soon as possible.