Current Events > Is it okay to listen to the car radio with the engine running?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've always wondered about this. But I usually just avoid using the radio at all when I wait in the car.

So the question is. Is it okay that leave the engine running and listen to the radio while I wait for someone for 1-2 hours?

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That's stalker status mode.

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1-2 hours? You need A/C. Or get out and about.
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Laserion posted...

1-2 hours? You need A/C. Or get out and about.

I'm not getting out in this corona shit. I haven't even been to mcdonalds since february

You can laugh at me. But if your mom or dad or dog dies. You can be sure it's not me thats spreading the shit like everyone else.

I see people at bus stops sitting close to each other like normal. No gloves, no masks.

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You paid for the gas you can do what you want with it

Do you have battery anxiety?
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GoodOlJr posted...

You paid for the gas you can do what you want with it

Do you have battery anxiety?

I do. The other car in the household completely died just from us not starting it for 3-4 weeks.

And I'm not sure if the engine running at idle keeps the charge while I'm using the radio or do I actually need to be driving the car at around 2.5k-3k revs.

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I think it's fine. I always do it. The problem is when you do it when the car isn't running. I think it drains the battery.

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No im sure idling is fine, the only reason the rpms increase is to power moving 1000s of pounds of metal around

In vancouver I bet I could get a ticket for this with some sort of idling law. Usually 20 minutes of radio or so has never been an issue
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smoke_break posted...

I think it's fine. I always do it. The problem is when you do it when the car isn't running. I think it drains the battery.

Thanks, its very reassuring after reading your post. But I'll still just listen to an hour then I'll just switch to using my phones speaker just in case.


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found this on reddit;

Standard stereo?
Most car batteries are about 60AH so they can supply 60 Amps for 1 hour, or 6 Amps for 10 hours. And a standard '4x50W' car stereo generally has a 10Amp fuse but will drain somewhere like 5 Amps in general use. So you're looking at a realtively 'safe' couple of hours use, maybe 5 if you're pushing it, but by 10hours you'd expect the battery to be drained beyond the ability to start the car.
That said, I've had car stereo set ups with external power amps capable of 150Amp draw that would happily kill a big battery in 20 minutes.
Most modern cars let you run the radio for an hour with the engine off, that's what I'd stick to for safety and conveniences sake. Car batteries aren't deep cycle and don't like to be fully discharged: They're there to provide very high current for a short time just to start the engine, not to run low power accessories for extended periods.

tl;dr: about 5 hours. 1-2 hours is fine, granted your battery isn't old.

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Thanks a lot for the useful info everyone

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A stationary car with the engine running is just generating a carbon monoxide island, unless there's a decent breeze going.

id be more fearful of CO poisoning than a dead battery

TheBlueMonk_ posted...

found this on reddit;

Standard stereo?
Most car batteries are about 60AH so they can supply 60 Amps for 1 hour, or 6 Amps for 10 hours.

tl;dr: about 5 hours. 1-2 hours is fine, granted your battery isn't old.

If batteries were that simple, I wouldn't have to spend hours calculating the minimum battery size for non-constant loads (especially loads that draw a lot of current in short bursts such as switchgear breakers).
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Thanks for killing the planet faster.

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I regularly charge my phone all night in my car. Never had an issue. Imagine how long you can play music on your phone on it's tiny battery

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Is this a real topic?

If your car is running then the alternator is powering everything and charging your battery.

If anything leaving your car at idle for hours on end is worse...in terms of carbon deposits and just overall wear and tear.
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