Does a Car Phone Charger Drain Your Car’s Battery?
A phone charger may drain your car’s battery, but so will the multimedia player or using any other accessory that runs on electricity excessively. Confused? We’ll explain.
Why Is It Not Recommended To Charge Your Phone in Your Car?
- Too little power
You may have tried charging your phone on a road trip or on your daily commute. If you have, you also would’ve noticed that sometimes, your phone only goes up a few points in a duration that would normally charge half your phone’s battery. Heck, even worse, your phone’s battery percentage may have even started to reduce whilst being charged.
This happens because your phone receives much less power than it’s consuming. This is a common phenomenon with car phone chargers.
- Too much power
At times, you may find your phone getting charged at ridiculously high speed. This is normally because the power it receives is much higher than it needs. It could either be your USB cable or your charger — either way, it may bring your phone’s battery health down to the wire. In other words, it’s better that you avoid it unless it’s an emergency.
Can a Car Phone Charger Drain My Car’s Battery?
Now that you know why charging your phone in the car isn’t always the best idea, let’s find out if the deed can drain your car’s battery.
Your car charges its battery when the engine is running. In other words, while your car’s lights, multimedia player, phone, laptop charger, etc. drain the battery, it’s also being charged back simultaneously.
When you turn on your car’s lights, phone charger or any other accessory when the engine is off, that’s when your car is at the risk of battery drainage. For instance, imagine a couple of teenage kids who went to sit in the car just to chill. They turn on the AC, listen to music and charge their phones while they’re at it.
They’re using all these appliances that run on battery, without starting the engine. Now that’s going to have consequences, isn’t it?
You do it for long enough and you’d be out of battery. If you’ve got an old car or worn-out battery, it will die even quicker.
In other words, your phone charger will only drain your car’s battery when it’s done without starting the car first. On average, a car phone charger only pulls about five Watts of energy which is negligible. But if done for long periods of time without starting the car or recharging the car battery, your battery will definitely be on its way to complete drainage.
Lastly, Always Prioritize Safety
We advise that you always avoid charging your phone in the car because it may affect your phone’s battery health. But if you have to, always do so when your car is running. Even if you’re stuck on the side of the road due to a roadblock, never utilize your car’s battery without twisting the ignition key first.
You may also want to be careful about plugging in and plugging out your phone while driving. Anything that diverts your attention from the road and your steering wheel is not worth it. If you want to charge your phone on your commute, make sure you put it on charging as soon as you step in the car.
Another idea would be to purchase a power bank and utilize that for emergencies.