okbran wrote:

Hi,
I don't know much about batteries and I am simply curious about the
regular 12V car battery.
Everytime I go to the store, I see all these batteries labeled with
number of Cold Crankcing Ampere or Cranking Ampere, etc. I understand
the definition of CCA and CA but,
My question is:
1. What about the average output current? What's the common output
current(A) for a 12V car battery? How come they don't label the
current output on these car batteries?
2. If I have a jumper cable made of 16AWG copper wire with current
rating of 10A. What happen if I connect the jumper cable to a battery
gives 13A output current?


Rated at 10 amps for what application? it depends on if its wound on
a transformer, in a bundle or conduit, the type of insulation,
acceptable voltage drop and duty cycle, along with the temperature.


3. Similar to question 2, if the cranking ampere is 540, will anything
bad happen to jumper cable made of 16AWG copper wire?


Worst case is when the insulation has a flash fire and hot copper is
spattered everywhere. For that kind of current I would use #1 welding
cable. The whole idea of jumper cables is to start the engine quickly.
The battery is discharged, and you still need the full current the
starter demands. That means that you need as low of a resistance
connection between the two batteries. It also helps to let the dead
battery be charged for a couple minutes before you try to start the
engine. That allows the dead battery's terminal voltage to rise a bit,
and reduce its demand while cranking.


I would really appreciate your feedback.
Thank you,


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida