Perhaps you have trouble switching off the car’s parking lights. Maybe it is a fault in the car’s electrical system, a malfunctioning switch, or other.
Regardless, having a good idea about how long the battery lasts with the parking lights on can reduce your anxiety and inform your next cause of action.
Perhaps, there’s no cause for worry depending on the duration before help arrives or you need to disconnect the battery.
This post provides some indicative information on potential car battery drain with the parking lights on and what temporary measures you can take to conserve the car battery power if you’re unable to switch off the parking lights.
Can Parking Lights Drain the Car’s Battery?
The parking lights use the car battery’s energy and over time can drain it. Assuming there are 4 parking lights on the car each rated 5 watts and therefore a total power consumption of 20 watts, the estimated current draw with the lights on is 1.7 amps.
How Long Can Before the Battery is Drained?
Assuming the combined power consumption of the parking lights is 20 watts then it will take about 14 hours to drain a fully charged 50 Ah car battery to 50% of its capacity.
The duration can be shorter if the battery is partially charged or aging.
You may also be interested in this post: How long a car battery lasts with headlights on?
Tips to conserve the Car Battery power
If you’re not able to switch off the parking lights, disconnect the negative car battery terminal to stop the current draw.
Note that the onboard electronic systems such as the clock, alarm, and others stop working with the battery disconnected.
Can Parking Lights be Left on Overnight?
This is not recommended as there’s a risk that the battery will be flat in the morning. Ultimately this depends on the battery capacity, power consumption of the parking lights, and the state of charge of the battery.
A fully charged, higher capacity battery(Ah) lasts longer and is more likely to have enough power left over to supply enough power to crank and start the engine in the morning.
Can they be Left on for 5 Hours?
This depends on the current draw by the parking lights, the battery’s capacity, and its state of charge.
As a rough guide, a fully charged 50 Ah car battery with 20 watts of parking lights switched on loses only about 20-25% of its capacity after 5 hours.
It should be able to start the car after 5 hours assuming there’s no other considerable power draw by other car accessories.
Will they kill the Battery?
Leaving the parking lights on can affect battery life. An aging battery or one that’s left in the discharged state for a long time after being drained is more prone to losing its capacity to hold charge and become unusable.
Closing Thoughts
Car parking lights do use the car battery power and can drain it flat if left on for several hours.
The actual duration that a car battery lasts really depends on the combined power consumption of the parking lights, the battery capacity (Ah), and its state of charge.
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