How long does it take to recharge a car battery after starting?

0 votes
asked Apr 16, 2020 in Other-Cars/Transportation by myscratchset (310 points)
How long does it take to recharge a car battery after starting?

After you start the car how long does it take for the alternator to recharge the battery?

1 Answer

0 votes
answered Apr 16, 2020 by yh30diper (430 points)
The battery should charge back up fully within 10 to 20 minutes of the engine idling or running at highway speeds.

When you start your car the starter will draw down the battery quite a bit because it takes quite a few amps to start the car and be able to spin the starter.

After the car is started and the engine is running the battery should be nearly fully charged within about 10 minutes of the engine running.

The battery won't be completely dead after starting but it will be a bit lower however the alternator if it's working properly should be able to charge the battery back up within 10 minutes or even less.

If you drive at highway speeds the battery should charge within a few minutes but at idle the battery may take up to 10 minutes to charge it.

If you need to jump start the vehicle then you should allow the engine to idle for a few minutes and then drive off and drive the car for at least 10 to 15 minutes before shutting it off again.

Of course if the battery is bad then it won't start up again anyway because it won't charge.

108,713 questions

117,630 answers

1,356 comments

7,058,495 users

...