Car batteries have been improved over the years and are a robust form of portable power. The life span of a car battery is about 3- 5 years in normal driving conditions. Batteries tend to take a beating in hot summer weather due to the already high heat running conditions under the hood, and high outside temperatures. This also contributes to longer battery life in colder climates such as Southern Ontario where 5 years is closer to the norm. In about 24 hours of driving in hot conditions, an auto battery will start to discharge faster than it’s charging. here are some tips to keeping your battery performing longer:
1. Taking Only Short Drives Can Be a Problem
One of the fastest ways to wear out a battery is constant short rides, not to mention infrequent driving trips with the car often at all. Your battery is unable to fully charge and loses potency. So to maintain your automobile battery power, try and drive it more frequently and for longer periods at a time. Obviously you cannot be expected to drive your car just for the sake of charging the battery; in this case you may want to purchase a portable charger. The portable charger will protect you from being stranded due to undercharging of the car battery.
2. Leaving Lights On Can Wear the Battery Out Over Time
Use automatic lights if you have them. Check the interior light that it hasn’t moved to the ON positon. Lights running while you are not using the vehicle will put a strain on the battery and will shorten its life. Why not put reminders in the car to be sure you check lights before leaving.
3. Battery Terminals and Corrosion
Corrosion begins with wet and dirty poles; keep them clean from grime (use a baking soda water mixture to clean) and you will be maintaining the health of the terminals, and extend the life of the battery.
4. Battery Gauge
Make sure you refer to the battery gauge from time to time making sure it is falling within the proper range of voltage. Get your battery tested if you notice a variation while the car is running. Use a battery tested if you have one or get your mechanic to test your battery.
5. Using Electronics When Idling Or Engine Not running.
This is a no no for extended periods of time. If you are listening to the radio when your vehicle is not running, make sure it is just for a short time. In the winter, the heater should only run when the car is running, and drawing on npower sources from the car when not idling is very hard on the battery.
In spite of careful care, car batteries do not last forever. If you sense a problem with your battery, if your car battery is not charging, visit us to make sure it is nothing serious. On the chance that the battery is dying, we will explain your options, guarantees and costs and have you safe and secure in the knowledge your battery will not let you down.
When the sound you are hearing when you turn the key to start your car is a clicking noise, your battery is failing. Or maybe you are hearing the engine turn over in a somewhat sluggish way, your battery is failing. We believe the likeliest culprit is your car's battery. Yes, it could be the starter, but over 90 % of the time, you can bet on a failing battery. Indications might point to proper volts being delivered but it could be a few shy of a vigorous start. When you find yourself with a car that won't crank hard enough to start, you'll want to use jumper cables or a jump-starter box to get it running again. Then you'l want to get it checked right away once you are running.
To 'jump start' your vehicle follow these easy steps.
- First, turn off all radios, heaters, air conditioning, etc on both cars. And turn off both cars
- Take the jumper cables and attach one red end of cable to the positive post of dead battery
- Posts are easy to identify as they are marked with an X or pos or red cover while negative post is marked neg or with black cover
- Then take the other red end of cable and attach it to the positive post of live battery
- Now take black end of cable and attach to negative post of live battery
- Attach other black end of cable to the dead battery negative post.
- Start the car with live battery
- Then start the car with the dead battery (you can wait a few minutes before trying)