How Much Does A Low Battery Affect Engine Performance?

[LS1GMCTruck]

Seems any computer controlled, fuel injected engine these days, rely heavily on a good battery with a good charge. But how much? At what point of charge are you in trouble? Does the engine simply stop running completely after a certain point? Is there a point at which it warns you, engine performance-wise, that you need a new battery? If the engine simply continues to start, will everything else operate properly, and the battery charge sufficient? Thanks

[Trevor]

The battery charges by the alternator. The battery is there to start the vehicle it has nothing to do with its performace except for when cranking. Also if you crank your vehicle and disconnect the battery it will stay running till you shut it off.

Edit.
Now a bad battery will affect how certain things work etc. and on a newer vehicle it could allow certain things to not get enough voltage possibly. But the only warning i know of is the battery not charging indicator like when the alt or a wire is bad aside from your battery gauge. Long as the battery is good and you have good voltage then i dont see a problem.

But if your battery has a bad cell then it needs to be replaced.

[oleshifty]

not necessarily. you shouldn't disconnect newer vehicles. sometimes they will die if you use abs, have lights on, radio on loud, etc. Battery is used for peaks. Only part that may affect performance is if net voltage is too low for coils/pump/etc.

[Wtfan18]

Seems any computer controlled, fuel injected engine these days, rely heavily on a good battery with a good charge. But how much? At what point of charge are you in trouble? Does the engine simply stop running completely after a certain point? Is there a point at which it warns you, engine performance-wise, that you need a new battery? If the engine simply continues to start, will everything else operate properly, and the battery charge sufficient? Thanks

i had a bad battery and it caused my tach and speedo gauges to not work, and yes i backed it out of the garage and it died and would not turn over so i had to roll it and dump the clutch and jump it, needless to say it runs much better with the RED TOP i bought.

[WARLOCK]

NEVER Disconnect the battery while its running. Nathan will chime in here with the same comment.

[Trevor]

I never tried it. I know because for some reason My neg cable, i guess had come loose and fell to the side but the truck was still running. Not cause i was curious lol

[GasGuzzler]

Don't do it. The arc you create (anyone remember points LOL) can damage computers. Unless the plates are shorted inside the battery the alternator should keep up and it should run fine after a jump start.

[SpecV44]

My dad's colorado had it's power windows stop working when his battery was going bad. Changed the battery and the windows havent had any issues since.

[r6z4o6]

A low/bad/failing battery can cause all/any sort of electrical mayhem. Funky gauges, non-shifting transmissions, you name it, a bad connection at the battery or battery itself can do it as well.

The battery is where all the electrical power needed to properly run your vehicle comes from.


The alternator is meant to MAINTAIN a battery, not to CHARGE it from a dead state.

[COWL327]

Low voltage and amperage also hurts fuel pump performance and ignition power