Batteries in Cars, how do we not already have this feature ?

In an automobile, the Battery is basically the heart of where it all begins. Without it, a car is useless. Why is it that we still find out about dead batteries when we go out to the car one blustery morning when we are in a hurry to get to work or whatever, only to find out the battery is dead.
I mean laptops, mobile phones, flashlights, so many devices tell us when battery strength is low for cryin out loud. You'd think a person might wanna know if they were possibly gonna get stranded due to their car battery huh?? There in your laptops taskbar in the desktop screen it gives you a simple percentage. How hard would this be to do in a car?
Why do we have to find out in such a neanderthal way in a car?
It's like we decided, ok, well enough people have jumper cables so we don't need to put this feature in a car? I bet battery car sales would increase if there were such warning systems built into cars. What do you think?

Tags: auto

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Permalink Reply by Baconator on March 19, 2009 at 7:02pm: i couldn't agree more, you never know if your next crank could be your last. its stupid, i mean all of my mp3 players, phones, psp have a gauge. there were even double a batteriers with a strip you press on both sides. it couldnt be that hard. great idea renderedcook.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mystic Virgo on November 11, 2009 at 5:17pm: well yeah, that is handy to know when you need to charge it.. however, must people need to have enough sense to check that they didn't leave anything on, like a dome light or a power inverter or the radio. I mean all th indicators in the world aren't going to wake you up in the middle of the night to remind you you forgot to turn your iPOD off... Car batts don't need to remind that you need a recharge, they are supposed to do that automatically when the engine is running anyway.
Like Dan and I said , if it worries ya, have a voltage meter installed...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Rafael Apolinario on March 19, 2009 at 10:15pm: I agree with you renderedcook. It pays to check if it is all pump up and ready before hitting it to the highway. But I don't know what with people sometimes they are just so lazy to deal with it, not thinking how stupid it is to get in an accident because of your defunct batteries.
Riled Up! | Debate Site; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Justin on March 19, 2009 at 10:33pm: As much as I would love to agree with Rafael's post he neglects to realize that the car can perpetuate itself using power from the alternator alone so unless the Alternator was bad it would be unlikely the battery would cause an accident. I do however agree with you, it seems like a cheap and easy improvement that would only make everyone's lives easier. I take special note to cars of the Mopar/Chrysler persuasion which more often than not come from the factory deader than Molly Ringwald's career. I furthermore would like ask these car makers why they are still using the same battery chemistry which have been lapsed both in terms of energy density and cost of manufacture (not to mention the toxic materials.) I understand the engineering side of a Pb battery and many of the obstacles faced with switching to something like NiMh could be resolved very easily with less than 10$ worth of parts. I would also like to know who's bright idea it was to save compartment space by moving them to the inner wheel well, you save a couple inches at the cost of moving that battery away from the warm engine and directly into the cold where it would have the absolute worst performance.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by jake on March 20, 2009 at 7:33am: lol the old telstar that we had it's alternater blew and the battery ran flat because the car was being run from the battery and the bat wasn't being charged. anyway we replaced the alternater with one out of a toyota 4wd lol; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by SassySweetBren on March 20, 2009 at 12:47am: One thing from my understanding about batteries is that a number of things can happen to put a drain on them. Heck, a loose cable can cause misery for someone who doesn't know what to look for.

Another thing like Justin said is that batteries are not so that we can check them. Remember when we had to add water to make sure the cells didn't run dry?

Now, they are sealed. That is an improvement.

However, RC, I feel you. I'm amazed that you came up with this thought. What brought this on?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Cookenstein on March 20, 2009 at 7:12am: You know, heavens forbid, that I ( a lowly knight in the field) come up with a thought that might make a few people scratch their heads and go, hey, yeah! Why not? In fact if I come up with a post that garners more than 10 comments that would be an accomplishment too. There are many inconveniences we used to have to deal with concerning cars. That is my point in today's ever evolving world of tech. And when you see these awesome looking cars of the future, you have to wonder, would they have this info built in. Cause here it is 100+ years later since the first cars rolled off the Ford line, and my relatively new SUV's battery will drain at some point, and I will find out the 20th century way.

There are some very good points here, concerning battery drain, loose cables and alternator power where I guess I could see an LED battery gauge giving someone a false sense of security about their battery strength. But there and again lies my question. In this day and age, how can we not have figured this one out?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by SassySweetBren on March 20, 2009 at 9:24am: I apologize for my meager reply as I did not address your question. I was not putting you down rather, I was very impressed that you thought about it. Not me? Maybe, I am just a bit lame at times.

Yes, it is a shame that we do not have better batteries or a way to know when they may become faulty. It would seem now that you have bought it up, that we could have a better means of knowing.

Do they now have a way for a person to know if their air pressure is low in their tires? My car is 8 years old and I have not been shopping or looking at new ones like men do.

There are many things that could be improved on other than having these great GPS systems which can track people and more according to what I have been reading.

I think that it all comes down to money. That is a very simple statement but in my mind, why improve on something that will only make more money for the industry that makes it?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Cookenstein on March 20, 2009 at 9:34am: There are some good points here Miss Yotta :) however I think that the auto industry is lacking the value added component for many, many years. Car prices go up, but what do we really get in return? New models, designs, oh yeah the GPS that runs you into a tree or off of a bridge (those stories do exist).
Your point about the tire pressure is a great one. Hell there are already computers built into all cars. This would be a great value, just as the battery meter. Would it be worth it to pay another $500-1000 to the cost of the car if these types of DRIVER CONCERNS features were added? I don't know? But since most american made cars today have more than a 1/3 of the cars cost tied up into Union pay, pensions and benefits we may likely never know.

I don't mind paying for quality and something I know will add value. A perfect example. Look at the resale value of a Ford, and then look at Honda?
Look at the resale value of an HP Pc, and a Mac?

People will pay a little more for value, if it matters to them.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by SassySweetBren on March 20, 2009 at 9:48am: I would pay more for a car that would tell me if my tire pressure is low. Since getting good gas mileage is pertinent to have a well inflated tire.

I would also pay more for a car that would tell me if my belt is getting worn. I know that there is such a thing as maintenance but it would be nice to know.

Now, let us think of all the features that we would gladly pay for and summit them to our fav car maker. Of course, a bit of money would have to rub our palms..since we would be like apprentice engineers. :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Cookenstein on March 20, 2009 at 9:55am: You know,, this is a really good idea. With computers in cars how could this stuff not become somewhat a reality. It does not change the fact that maintenance has to happen, it just possibly might cut down on the highways strandings that so often occur. Oh yeah, then we'd be taking money from the Tow truck services. We can't have that.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by jake on March 20, 2009 at 7:29am: from my experience with my dads old GQ model nissan patrol TI 4x4 4.2l p special edition it has a battery meter beside the taco or watever and the car is well over 12 years old
and as long as you have manual teansmission and an alternater the car can run without a battery

we also wouldnt have this problem of overloading the alternater if people werent stupid because they bolt 6 spot lights to there car 2 spot lights are enough; ▶ Reply to This