How to Charge a Car Battery at Home: Safe Step-by-Step Guide
A step-by-step guide to charging a car battery at home with a plug-in charger, including clamp order, the right setting and how long it takes.
Car & Garage
Car and garage buying guides for American drivers: jump starters, car batteries, battery chargers and maintainers, battery testers and portable tire inflators. We size every recommendation to your vehicle, check it against the owner’s manual, and look at years of Amazon sales, price and review history before anything makes our list. Start with our guides to choosing a jump starter, a car battery charger and a portable tire inflator, learn to test your battery with a multimeter, then browse every pick and how-to below.
Do Short Trips Drain Your Car Battery? How Long to Drive to Charge It
Do short trips drain your car battery, and how long do you need to drive to charge it? The answer depends on whether you are maintaining it or refilling it.
Why Does My Car Battery Keep Dying? How to Find the Cause
Why your car battery keeps dying, matched to when it dies, with a days-to-dead drain table and a step-by-step parasitic draw test.
AGM vs Flooded Battery: Which One Should Your Car Use?
AGM vs flooded battery compared for US drivers: which cars need AGM, which swaps are safe, and whether AGM costs less per year of service.
Best Car Battery for Cold Weather: 5 AGM Picks We Checked
Five AGM car batteries for cold weather that passed our sales-history, spec and warranty checks, plus how many CCA your car really needs.
How Long Do Car Batteries Last? Real Numbers by Climate
How long car batteries really last by climate and battery type, plus a simple way to estimate how much life is left in yours.
Signs of a Bad Car Battery and How to Confirm Each One
The signs of a bad car battery, what each one really means, and the quick voltage checks that separate a bad battery from a bad alternator or starter.
Best Car Battery Tester: 4 Picks That Passed Our Checks
The best car battery tester for most drivers is a 12V digital model, and these four picks passed our manual, sales-history and price checks for different jobs.
Car Battery Voltage Chart: What Each Reading Means
This car battery voltage chart shows what each reading means with the engine off, while cranking and while running, and how AGM and lithium batteries read differently.
How to Test a Car Battery with a Multimeter
Learn how to test a car battery with a multimeter in five steps, what each reading means, and how three quick readings point to the battery, starter or alternator.