High School

A fully charged 12-volt automotive battery should have an open-circuit voltage of:

A. 12.0 volts
B. 12.3 volts
C. 12.6 volts
D. 12.9 volts

Answer :

Final answer:

A fully charged 12-volt automotive battery should typically have an open-circuit voltage of 12.6 volts. Therefore the correct option is C.

Explanation:

A fully charged 12-volt automotive battery should typically have an open-circuit voltage slightly above 12.0 volts to be considered in good health. Standard lead-acid automotive batteries, which consist of six 2-volt cells connected in series, would ideally have an open-circuit voltage of around 12.6 volts when fully charged. This voltage is a result of each cell having a nominal voltage of 2 volts under full charge conditions.