As an example of a numeric code, a common conventional battery size is 12N14-3A. The first number indicates the nominal voltage of the battery, which can be either a 6 for older 6 volt systems or 12 (as in the example) which indicates it is a 12 volt battery. The letter “N” is simply a spacing digit to separate the nominal voltage from the next number (14 in the example) which indicates the amp/hour capacity of the battery. The. The 3 indicates the location of the battery terminals when viewed from above and could be a 1, 2, 3 or 4. 1 2 3 4 The letter “A” indicates the location of the vent opening when viewed from above and could be an A, B, C or D. Vent location A is on the left end, B is on the right end, C.
There are three basic types of battery codes, two for conventional batteries and one for maintenance free (MF) batteries. As an example of a numeric code, a common conventional battery size is 12N14-3A.
What is a battery code?
Batteries have a code that indicates the size and type of battery. This code differs depending on the specification of the battery construction. There are 3 different specifications in the world that regulate the size, power and performance of batteries and they are the European (EN), the Japanese (JIS) and the American (BCI).
European standard batteries use 2 types of codes. One comes from the older coding according to the German DIN standard and the other is the newer coding according to the European Union (EN) standard. It is always five digits and consists of two parts:
These run from A to L (omitting F and I) and depending on the largest dimension of the battery can either signify 0.0 – 0.9 mm maximum dimensions or 0.00 – 0.09 mm maximum dimensions with A being 0.0 or 0.00 and L being 0.9 or 0.09. For flat cells the diameter code is given as the diameter of a circle circumscribed around the whole cell's area.
Car battery numbers provide essential information such as group size, cold cranking amps (CCA), reserve capacity (RC), and ampere-hour (Ah) ratings. Group size refers to the battery's dimensions and terminal placement, while CCA measures the battery's ability to start in cold weather. Car batteries are vital to the functionality of your vehicle.
How do you identify a battery?
Battery types are designated with a letter/number sequence indicating number of cells, cell chemistry, cell shape, dimensions, and special characteristics. Certain cell designations from earlier revisions of the standard have been retained. The first IEC standards for battery sizes were issued in 1957.