The primary purpose of batteries used in internal combustion powered vehicles is to provide energy for starting, lighting and ignition (SLI), and accordingly, they are referred to as SLI batteries. An internal combustion engine is usually started by an electric starter which obtains electric power for the starting operation from a starter battery. The starter must briefly apply a torque capable of turning over the internal combustion engine at a certain minimum rpm. Automotive battery is also used to power the electrical system when the engine is not running. Additionally, the engine is used to charge the battery. The engine is also used to power electrical components of the vehicle when the engine is running. Such batteries provide energy during periods when a vehicle's electrical energy generation (alternator and its regulator) system cannot temporarily sustain the electrical load. As the quest for improved vehicle performance and occupant safety has intensified, the importance of electrical systems in automobiles has become pivotal. Electronic ignitions and diagnostic engine monitoring computers have increased engine performance and efficiency. Anti-lock brakes, traction control, and air-bags have increased occupant safety in automobiles. Automotive vehicles typically utilize a lead-acid battery to start the vehicle and to operate accessory loads when the engine is not running. These batteries are generally of a square or rectangular shape and are usually located in the engine compartment in the proximity of the starter and alternator, which are attached to the engine. Normally an automotive battery can last for a relatively long time since its charge is refreshed continuously as the vehicle is operated. However, in some instances, such as for example, when a short occurs in the vehicle wiring, or a control switch malfunctions, a leakage current may flow even when the engine is off, discharging the battery.

In a motor vehicle, the functioning of the starter battery of the internal combustion engine is one of the most important prerequisites for ensuring good working condition. Of crucial importance for the ability of a starter battery to start a motor vehicle having an internal combustion engine are the charge state and the advancement of aging or the decline in capacitance, because these limit the current strength which can be drawn from the starter battery, or the power output thereof. Starting the engine is amongst the heaviest demands on the battery in the motor vehicle. Generally the automotive battery puts out a few hundred amperes of current for a few seconds of the starting period, the actual amperage being dependent on the battery capacity and its state of charge, and on design and size of the automotive engine and starter motor. The battery is then recharged by the charging system of the vehicle, which consists of an alternator, rectifier, regulator, voltage and current controllers, typically in several minutes. In the normal operation of an automotive vehicle, a fully charged six cell battery having between 2.05 and 2.1 volts per cell is used to start the engine and to operate accessory loads when the engine is not running. The conventional starter battery is well suited to provide large start currents to the start motor on the order of 150 to 250 amperes. If the starter battery is very cold, very old or partially discharged, the internal resistance of the battery may become so high that insufficient current and voltage are available to ensure starting. At low temperature conditions, a typical 5-liter engine frequently draws 1600 or more amperes during engine cranking. This large battery current out-rush or drain during cranking, lasts for around 10 milliseconds or less depending on many factors. The large current drain continues at a declining rate during cranking.

The increasing demand to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions in present vehicles has led to the development of advanced hybrid electric vehicles. In order to reduce automotive emissions and the demand for fossil fuel, automotive vehicles have been designed which are powered by electrical devices such as batteries. These electric vehicles reduce emissions and the demand for conventional fossil fuels by eliminating the internal combustion engine or by operating the engine at only its most efficient/preferred operating points. Hybrid electric vehicles are classified as vehicles having at least two separate power sources, typically an internal combustion engine and an electric traction motor. A hybrid car is driven by an engine and a motor. The motor is driven by a battery. The battery which drives the motor is charged/discharged under very severe conditions, because it is discharged with a large current at the time of acceleration of a heavy vehicle, and charged with a large current at the time of breaking. A battery of a hybrid car is requested to have long life although it is used under such severe conditions. This is because the battery is configured by a number of secondary batteries connected in serial, and hence the production cost is very high. During varying driving conditions, hybrid vehicles will alternate between the separate power sources, depending on the most efficient manner of operation of each power source. The life of a battery is influenced by a driving condition of the hybrid car. In electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles, high voltage battery packs or battery strings are used to provide electric power to the powertrain of the vehicle. High voltage battery packs typically comprise a plurality of lower voltage batteries connected in series.

Both automotive and electric vehicles are powered rechargeable batteries. Rechargeable batteries are generally known and used in a variety of commercial, automotive, industrial and consumer applications where the use of compact, light weight, high capacity and extended charge life portable power sources are desirable. Rechargeable batteries have been used for electrical energy storage in a wide range of applications including their use in vehicles, power tools, lap-top computers, mobile phones, two-way radios, lights, and uninterruptible power supplies. Vehicles that use rechargeable batteries include automobiles, boats, and aircraft that have batteries for starting the vehicle, electric vehicles including golf carts, and hybrid electric vehicles. For certain applications, such as computers, electronic devices, and electric vehicles, both size and weight are critical factors in selection of a suitable battery material. Lead-acid batteries are one form of rechargeable battery that are commonly used to start engines, propel electric vehicles, and to act as a source of back-up power when an external supply of electricity is interrupted. Batteries such as lead-acid batteries have been used for many diverse applications. Lead-acid batteries have been used as a starting, lighting and ignition power source for vehicles (SLI), as a power source for starting, lighting and other auxiliary power requirements in marine applications, and as a motive power source for use in golf carts and other electric vehicles. In addition, lead-acid batteries have been employed in a variety of stand-by power applications to provide a power source when the main power source becomes inoperable, as by, for example, interruption of electricity. Other representative applications for lead-acid batteries include uniform power distribution and power damping applications. An electric vehicle or a hybrid electric vehicle often uses a lithium-ion battery, a nickel-metal hydride hydrogen battery as a secondary battery pack, to draw energy for vehicle propulsion.

In automotive vehicles, a battery charging system is coupled to the engine and is powered by the engine when the vehicle is running. The charging system is used to charge the storage battery when the vehicle is operating. The battery in a motor vehicle is charged with the aid of a three-phase generator which is driven by the engine and whose output voltage is regulated in a suitable way. A vehicle charging system generally includes the battery, an alternator, a voltage regulator and an alternator drive belt. The regulator is a circuit designed to provide a constant system output voltage to charge properly the battery to avoid damaging it. The voltage regulator injects a controlled current into the alternator rotor. This in turn provides a controlled current in the stationary (stator) field coils. This in turn yields the rectified dc output voltage required for battery recharge after start and to supply the required vehicle load currents. In most modern vehicles, the regulator is built into the alternator housing and is referred to as an internal regulator. The role of the charging system is two fold. First, the alternator provides charging current for the battery. This charging current ensures that the battery remains charged while the vehicle is being driven and therefore will have sufficient capacity to subsequently start the engine. Second, the alternator provides an output current for all of the vehicle electrical loads. In general, the alternator output, the battery capacity, the starter draw and the vehicle electrical load requirements are matched to each other for optimal performance. The battery charger normally has a body containing a transformer that can be plugged into an electrical outlet. A plug carried on a cord extending from the charger body can be inserted into a jack on the jump starter housing in order to make charging current available to the battery contained in the housing. Different from an internal combustion engine driven car, an electric car moves using the limited energy of a battery comprised of modules. When the energy is exhausted, the battery must be charged with external power.

Battery jumper cables are commonly used to jump start automobiles and other vehicles having batteries that are discharged. The jumper cables are for use in electrically connecting a discharged battery to a charged battery of another vehicle. If the battery of a car fails, or the engine of the car fails to charge the battery, the battery cannot provide the necessary working voltage to start the car. A booster battery, typically one on another vehicle, is positioned in the vicinity of the discharged battery to allow use of the jumper cables to bypass the discharged battery and start the disabled vehicle. In such a case, a jumper cable may be used to couple a power source to the battery of the car in trouble. This is done to derive sufficient current from the charged battery to start the vehicle having the discharged battery. A jumper cable generally comprises a pair of conductors, and two pairs of clips at two opposite ends of each of the pair of conductors for connection to the positive and negative poles of the first-aid power source and the positive and negative poles of the car battery to be rescued, enabling the car battery to be charged by the power source. The two conductors of a jumper cable are generally marked with different colors for quick recognition. To reduce the chance of such sparks igniting the gases around the battery, jumper cables have remote switching devices located well away from the battery terminals. Using a jumper cable to connect the battery in question to the battery of other car is the most convenient way to charge up a car battery under emergent condition. Therefore, the jumper cable has become one of the requisite tools a car driver has to have on hand.

The starting, lighting and ignition (SLI) batteries consist almost exclusively of a prismatic container into which a number of partitions are formed in order to define cells. Stacks of electrodes, made from interleaved positive and negative plates and separator material, are inserted into the cells and are electrically interconnected and connected with either top or side terminal mounts. The construction of typical lead-acid storage batteries includes an anode with its negative charge composed of several plates of lead and a cathode with its positive charge composed of several plates of lead dioxide. Automotive battery terminals typically comprise a conical contact section for mounting to a conical battery post terminal, and having a clamping mechanism for tightening the contact section to the battery terminal, the terminal further comprising a conductor connection section. A typical SLI battery can weigh as much as twenty kilograms. The construction also requires careful top-up mounting to avoid spillage of electrolyte. In storage batteries for electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles, two groups of sheet-like electrode materials, namely positive and negative electrode materials are layer-built or laminated together so that each electrode material is insulated from adjacent electrode materials by means of separators. The laminated battery element is enclosed in a battery case or an outer sheathing can made of a metal material, and then the storage battery is assembled or constructed by installing a metal lid on the opening end of the outer sheathing through an insulating material, so that the metal lid is insulated from the outer sheathing with the insulating material interleaved between them.

Battery performance capabilities continuously vary. Temperature, electrolyte and plate condition and SoC (state-of-charge) are among the primary influencing factors. Battery internal resistance (IR), polarization resistance (PR) and SoC, have been used as sources of information for providing real-time reporting of battery conditions and performance capabilities. A state of charging (SOC) indicates a ratio of amount of usable current (or charge) over an induced (or charged) amount of current. The SOC of each module of the battery of the electric car varies depending on initial manufacture specifications, temperature and impedance of the modules, or the amount of continuous charging and discharging cycles. A battery having assured performance capability requires a high SoC and high capacity, usually measured in amp/hours, plus low dynamic internal resistance (IR). The battery life of present day automobiles is dependent on three primary factors: operating temperatures, depth of discharge and recharge characteristics. It is well known that the operation of batteries in vehicles is affected by ambient temperature. As ambient temperature drops, the internal voltage of these conventional batteries decreases and the internal resistance rises.