Driving is fun, isn’t it? Especially when you are on a road trip, having the quality time, or when you make up your mind to learn to drive.
Whatever it is, you have to know everything about your car, even car lights to use. It is essential for drivers to have an idea of car lights and their survival period until the battery dies.
When a car runs, the battery keeps recharging. You don’t have to bother about how long lights can stay on. The situation may get a little worse when you are in a hurry to get back home and forget to turn off the lights before leaving the car.
You may still find lights are on after hours, or you may not! So here we have gathered information to let you know about how long can car lights stay on before battery dies? Let’s dive into it!
How many lights do cars usually have?
You have just started learning to drive, and you don’t know about the car lights. It is not quite a pleasant scene, right? Not knowing which light, you have to use can cause a big crack in your driving journey.
If you are unaware of the lights your car has, you may not identify which light has more or less capacity to stay long or short before the battery dies. It is a matter of safety as well.
Let’s not worry! We have brought the basics; you should know about car lights before jumping into the main.
A car usually has 8 lights all over, most importantly – headlights, fog lights, tail lights, hazard lights, brake lights, driving lamps, etc.
These car lights are divided into two forms of lights as well, such as Interior lights and exterior lights. Interior lights are placed inside the car (for example, Driving Lamps), whereas exterior lights are placed outside the car (for example, Headlights).
But for some kinds of cars, an exception may happen! Some cars may have lights even on the two sides of the door. So it is understandable that some cars may break the usual line and may have more than 8 lights.
You have the basic idea about the lights of your car now. How many lights your car has? Those will drain the battery in the usual manner and will stay with you for a specific period of time until the battery loses its capacity.
Know-How Long Can Car Lights Stay on Before Battery Dies?
How long car lights can stay long actually depends on two things- one is the capacity of your car battery; the other is which lights are on. So first off, you need to know which battery you are using. Here is some idea of the capacity of batteries.
If you have time in your hand, you may do some math to know the accurate time. Yet, it seems a bit tricky because all the car batteries are not the same age and are not in the same shape.
The amp-hours of every battery are different as well, and the car lights are also of different powers. If you want a quick idea about the time, this article is a must-read for you.
Let’s assume you are using a car battery of average amp-hours, and your battery is fully charged.
For Exterior Lights
It is not possible to put the exact number. But headlights can stay on for 3-4 hours approximately before the battery dies if your battery is in good condition. The timing may be reduced if your battery is several years old.
For hazard lights, until the battery is unable to start the car, the time range is about 4 to 5 hours. This number is only for the hazard lights.
What if both hazard lights and headlights are on? If the headlights are on along with the hazard lights, then you will have 60 to 90 minutes of time before your battery is completely dead.
If all exterior lights are on, it will reduce the time period mentioned above.
For Interior Lights
If your battery is in good shape and charged fully, then you will have your interior lights kept on for approximately 6 to 8 hours. After that, the battery will die.
When you keep your car lights on, how long it will survive, depends. But interior lights can stay on for more period of time than the exterior lights according to the power capacity and battery draining capacity.
On the other hand, our car lights may not stay that long even though the battery is in good condition. Again, for a couple of years old battery, the lights may survive for more time for some people.
If your battery is fully charged from the first, then you might not have the lights stay on for long.
Now you have got the idea about how long car lights can stay long before the battery dies, and yes! You are good to go! But there are some crucial tips for you to keep in mind. Let’s get that quickly!
Weather can change the rule
Yes! Weather is also here to change your car lights situation a bit. How long the car light can stay on will vary according to the weather. As per the battery capacity, in extreme temperatures – hot or cold, the battery drains faster.
If car lights are on in these weathers, it may not have the same time period to survive. Rather it will be shortened. This means hot or cold weather is already killing the battery, and the lights won’t stay that long.
An additional tip to remember
We have given you the time periods, and you know how long car lights can stay long. But there’s another thing we want you to know.
If your car lights don’t stay long, more than 15 or 20 minutes, then there might be a problem with your car battery.
Final Words
While driving, all we want is a safe journey. To keep this safe with you, car lights and how they will be with you are a crucial part of learning about them as well, which we sometimes ignore.
Who knows! Knowing about how long can car lights stay on before battery dies can ultimately save your day.
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Hi, my name is Gabrielle. I have been into Automotive Industry for over 15 years. If you’re anything like me, then building, maintaining and improving your Automotive Industry/Projects is all part of the Automotive experience.
My goal with this blog is to share my experience with and help you discover new and exciting things about Automotive.