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Can Car Batteries Get Wet?
If you are changing a battery in the rain you may be wondering if you can get shocked or if you should wait until nicer weather to proceed. You could also be wanting to clean your engine bay and are wondering if you need to cover your battery to keep it from getting wet. So, can car batteries get wet?
Yes, car batteries can get wet with no adverse effects. Car batteries are designed to not allow any water to get inside of them. Also, water doesn’t conduct electricity well, so the risk of you getting shocked by water on your battery is minuscule.
However, other parts in your engine bay don’t play nice with water. How do you know what can and can’t get wet?
Can Water Damage Car Batteries?
No, water will not damage a car battery if it is exposed to rain or water from the road. Some Car batteries are designed to allow you to check the acid levels inside the battery and add more if needed but the majority will be sealed to prevent anything from getting inside of them.
There are two main types of car batteries, sealed and vented. What are the differences between sealed and vented batteries? Which type do you have in your car?
Sealed Vs Vented Car Batteries
There are two types of car batteries sealed and vented. A sealed car battery like the name suggests is sealed and won’t allow anything to get inside of it. The second type of car battery is a vented car battery.
Like the name suggests vented car batteries have a vent that allows excess gasses in the car battery to be vented out of the car battery. Vented car batteries are able to accomplish this via a rubber membrane that allows gasses out but doesn’t allow anything back in.
Is it Safe to Jumpstart A Car While It’s Raining?
Yes, it’s also safe to jumpstart your car while it’s raining outside. Metal is a much better conductor of electricity than water, which is why metal leads are used to connect your car battery to the electrical system of your car.
Rainwater can fall onto your car battery and jumper cables and you don’t have to worry about electrocuting yourself any more than you would if it was a nice sunny day.
Is It Safe To Install A Car Battery In The Rain?
Yes, it’s safe to install a car battery in the rain. Any rainwater that may land on top of the battery while your hood is open will not conduct electricity or damage your battery.
The conductivity of rainwater is low and therefore rainwater will not be able to carry an electrical charge. So you shouldn’t have any problem with changing your car battery in the rain.
How to Charge a Car Battery in the Rain
Charging a car battery in the rain is the same as charging your car battery if it’s sunny outside. If your car won’t start then you would want to hook up a battery maintainer to charge up your car battery. After a few hours, your car battery should have enough juice to start up your car.
If you don’t have a car battery maintainer or charger then you can also use a portable battery pack to jump your own car. I bought a portable battery pack that I keep in the trunk of my car for these sorts of occasions and it’s saved me asking for a jump multiple times.
If you don’t have the extra money to buy a portable car battery jump starter you will likely need to need to ask someone around for a jump to get your car started. If you don’t own jumper cables then I would recommend investing some just in case you get out to your car and it won’t startup.
But is it safe to jumpstart a car while it’s raining outside? Will you get electrocuted?
Can I Remove A Car Battery When It’s Raining?
Removing a car battery when it’s raining is also safe to do. Rain will not fall fast enough to completely cover the top of your car battery, some of it would drip off of the side of the car battery. Even if your car battery was completely submerged in water the metal leads would still be more conductive to electricity than the water surrounding the car battery.
If you need to replace your car battery you may be wondering how much it should cost to replace your car battery. If you want to learn more about how much it should cost to replace your car battery check out my other article.
Related Questions
I Drove Through Standing Water Now My Car Won’t Start Did I Hurt My Battery? If you drove through standing water you likely caused more harm to your car’s engine than your car battery. Like I mentioned previously car batteries can get wet with no adverse effect.
However, your engine and car electronics do not like water. If you suck water into your air intake and into your engine this can cause your engine to hydrolock which is what happens when your engine tries to compress water and can’t.
Can you use a Car Battery Charger In the Rain? Yes, it’s fine to use a car battery charger if it’s raining outside. You would just want to make sure that the car battery charger is covered from the rain as it may not be waterproof.
Car battery chargers are not waterproof like car batteries and can be adversely affected by water. However, there really is no additional risk of getting electrocuted by using a car battery charger even if it is raining.
Can Water Short A Car Battery? No, water will not short out a car battery as water is not a strong conductor of electricity. You would need a continuous supply of water to connect both battery terminals with water and even then it would not short out the battery.
Water can cause the terminals to corrode and rust but it won’t short out the battery. What you need to be careful of is accidentally touching both ends of the battery terminals with a metal screwdriver, as that will cause your battery to short out.
Car Won’t Start After Rain? If your car won’t start after you’ve been driving in heavy rain then you likely have an electrical issue causing your engine not to start. If your car won’t start after heavy rain it’s best to give your car some time to dry out to allow any rainwater that may be causing issues to evaporate. Once you’ve let your car dry out a bit try starting it again to see if you have any better luck.
If you are stuck in an inopportune area like say the side of a highway then you may not have time to wait around for your car to dry out. In that case, you would want to open the hood of your car to investigate what may be causing your car not to start. One of the leads connecting your car battery to your car may have come disconnected.
Can Car Batteries Get Wet – In Conclusion
By now you should understand that car batteries won’t be hurt by getting wet, whether from rain or driving through puddles. You can change your car battery if it’s raining outside without any additional worry about getting electrocuted.
However, other parts of your car don’t play nice with water and can be negatively affected by water. If you drove through standing water or a heavy rainstorm and your car won’t start you likely have another electrical problem caused by water getting into your engine bay.