EN 50342-1 Lead Acid Starter Batteries - Part 1: General Requirements and Test Methods

The European standard EN 50342-1 is designed for lead-acid batteries with a rated voltage of 12 Volts, which are mainly used as a power source for starting internal combustion engines, lighting, as well as auxiliary equipment of vehicles with internal combustion engines. These batteries are often called starter batteries. Batteries with a rated voltage of 6 Volts are also covered by this standard. For 6 Volt batteries, all referenced voltages must be divided by two.

This standard applies to the following types of batteries:

• Batteries for passenger cars
• Batteries for commercial and industrial vehicles

This standard does not apply to batteries of, for example, wagon internal combustion engines or batteries for other purposes, such as starting motorcycles.

The test methods defined in the EN 50342-1 standard are:

• Capacity control
• Starting performance test
• Low temperature high current discharge test
• Charge acceptance test
• Charge hold test
• Endurance in cycle testing
• Corrosion test
• deep discharge test
• Water consumption test
• Vibration resistance test
• Electrolyte retention test (ventilated batteries, valve regulated batteries)

Essentially, the EN 50342 standard consists of the following sections under the main heading of "Lead-acid starter batteries":

• EN 50342-1 Part 1: General requirements and test methods
• EN 50342-2 Part 2: Dimensions of batteries and marking of terminals
• EN 50342-3 Part 3: Terminal system for batteries with 36 V nominal voltage
• EN 50342-4 Part 4: Dimensions of heavy vehicle batteries
• EN 50342-5 Part 5: Specifications of battery slots and handles
• EN 50342-6 Part 6: Batteries for micro-cycle applications
• EN 50342-7 Part 7: General requirements and test methods for motorcycle batteries

The EN 50342-1 standard classifies starter batteries as:

• Liquid or ventilated batteries
• Advanced liquid batteries
• Valve regulated lead-acid batteries
• Absorbent glass matte batteries
• gel batteries

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