Why is My 12 Volt Battery Reading as 13 Volts?
All Lead acid batteries (Gel, AGM, Flooded, Drycell, etc) are made up of a series of 2.2 volt cells that are bridged together in series to reach their final desired voltage. For instance, a 6 volt battery will have 3 cells (3 x2.2= 6.6 volts), a 12v battery for a motorcycle for a motorcycle will have 6 cells (6 x2.2=13.2 volts) and so on. That 2.2 volts is the fully charged, straight off the charger number. The actual resting voltage, or the voltage a battery will settle at 12-24 hours after being removed from the charger, is closer to 2.1 volts per cell, or about 6.4 volts for a 6v battery, and 12.7 volts for a 12v battery. These numbers assume 100% healthy cells, and may vary a bit lower for older batteries.
7 people commented, TECH, James Cunningham, JJ, Dd, and 3 others
This article is rated 5.0 out of 5
James CunninghamI have a 6v battery in my quad and i charged it up and its reading 10.7v, when i turn on the key it goes down to 2.3v is the battery stuffed or do i have a short somewhere?
Reply • Rated article 5 • March 2, 2020 at 4:09 pm
Reply • Rated article 5 • March 2, 2020 at 4:09 pm
TECHA 6v battery after a charging cycle should be around 6.6 volts. If your battery is sitting at 10.7 volts that leads me to believe the wrong charger is being used, or the charger or charging system is malfunctioning. Either way if it is dropping that low after charge it is most likely bad, but the reason failure could be a result of using the wrong charge on the battery, or the charging system malfunction and cooking the battery.
Reply • Rated article 5 • March 5, 2020 at 3:55 pm
Reply • Rated article 5 • March 5, 2020 at 3:55 pm
DdExcellent article. Thank you. The motorcraft XBT66-650 has a date code of Dec. 2007. This is by far the longest lasting battery we’ve ever had. The day following a cold snap it wouldn’t start. I charged it & its lasted another 2 mths. Then again last nite, it wouldn’t start the car. It read 11.86. I charged it, it now reads 12.54. And starts fine. The prorated warranty is for 100 mths. I’m surprised it lasted 84 mths. I will be getting another one. The cenntenials lasted 4 1/2 years, like clockwork. The Bosch batteries lasted 2 1/2 years like clockwork. For $20 more I will stick with the motorcraft
Reply • Rated article 5 • November 23, 2014 at 12:33 pm
Reply • Rated article 5 • November 23, 2014 at 12:33 pm
JJI have had good luck with Motorcraft. The one in my old 91 Sable lasted 7 or 8 years. The ones in a 99 diesel Ford have been there since I got it. And that was in 2008, 8 years ago. Had a few close calls where I thought they would be changed… so far so good. I think the date code is 2004 or 05.
Reply • Rated article 5 • June 11, 2016 at 12:18 pm
Reply • Rated article 5 • June 11, 2016 at 12:18 pm
TimI have 6 8volt batteries that are dead. My charger won‘t charge them because they are below 20 %. and they are 5 years old. Can they be saved?
Reply • January 21, 2013 at 11:22 am
Reply • January 21, 2013 at 11:22 am
BatteryStuff TechIf the 8 volt charger won‘t do it, try using a 6 volt charger to bring them up to the point where the 8 volt charger can ‘read them’ and turn on.
Reply • January 21, 2013 at 12:20 pm
Reply • January 21, 2013 at 12:20 pm
JoanVery helpful information and well-written for a non-technical college grad. Thank you
Reply • Rated article 5 • April 23, 2012 at 9:02 am
Reply • Rated article 5 • April 23, 2012 at 9:02 am
