A Guide to Protecting Your Car Battery During Rainy Season

Singapore receives over 2,000 mm of rainfall annually. Therefore, you need to invest extra care in keeping your car battery up and running. Rainy season can be harsh on the battery, with the moisture and humidity causing considerable damage. In other words, if you do not maintain your battery during the rainy season, you might have to opt for car battery replacement. A few simple measures can help you keep the battery safe and prevent the need to replace car battery down the line, including:

1. Look for Signs of Corrosion

You may not realise this but the solvent in your car battery contains a mixture of several acids. Over time, the fluid evaporates in the form of gas, leading to leakage from the battery. The expulsion of these gases produces a chemical reaction, combined with other substances. Due to this, you might notice some green-white stuff around the negative terminal. This sign indicates that your battery is corroding. In other words, the flow of power through the battery is insufficient for powering your car suitably, which results in unstable power. This reason is why you need to clean the battery terminals regularly.

2. Clean the Battery

As mentioned above, you have to clean your car’s battery from time to time. Luckily for you, this process is simple. You only need to follow a few steps, starting with assembling the following tools:

• Distilled water
• A new, small toothbrush
• Electronic contact point cleaner

Start by soaking the terminals using the water. Next, take the toothbrush and scrub the terminals and the area around them. If you notice green-white powdery residue, you may have to scrub harder. After this, spray the cleaner on the poles, after which you need to scrub gain to remove the corrosion entirely. Next, you have to dry up the poles and terminals, while leaving some cleaner on the terminals and battery.

You can go the extra mile and lubricate the poles and terminals, in order to prevent corrosion in the future.

3. Fasten the Terminals

Keep in mind that the risk of corrosion increases if you do not screw in the terminals of your battery tightly enough into the poles. The space between the poles and terminals provides spaces for the gasses to evaporate and settle in, allowing for the residue to materialise. Not to mention, the presence of corrosion can cause the terminals to stay in place, in contact with the poles. However, you might wonder if cleaning the corrosion could cause the terminals to loosen. Instead, make sure you screw in the terminals tightly.

4. Replace Your Battery in Time

There will come a time when you have to seek a change car battery service. Keep in mind that your car battery has a limited useful life. Corrosion can set in on the battery terminals because of gas evaporation, but in the case of the terminal cables, they often lack rust-proof materials. This reason is why you will eventually have to replace the battery. A simple fix can be investing in sturdier and more reliable cables, but that will only delay the inevitable.

Although there are few key warning signs that indicates a need of car battery replacement, a slow start of car engine, check engine light is on, that means battery is slowing down, a misshapen battery case, an old battery, a bad smell these are some signs that shows a your car battery needs a replacement. If you are in Singapore and looking for car battery replacement service in Singapore then you can contact us.

5. Invest in a Battery Charger

You may not realise this but short trips in your car can harm your battery. Initially, when you start your car, the level of energy the engine needs to fire up is significant. If you are not travelling far, the battery will not get enough time to recover. Over time, this factor can lead to considerable wear and tear and also impact the battery performance. However, sometimes you have to take a short trip. In this case, you need to have a battery charger on hand. A battery charge monitors the condition of the battery and charges it as and when required.

Furthermore, modern chargers can alert you for the need to check the condition of the battery, in addition to automatic charging. In other words, if you keep the charger active throughout, your car battery will stay functional for longer than its useful life. Particularly, if you have a car with an electronic engine system, you should definitely purchase a battery charger.

6. Give the Battery Some Air

Last, but not the least, you need to allow your battery some room to breathe. The battery will heat up when the hood stays closed for long periods. Of course, you have to be careful about the rain and only keep the hood open when you park your car in a garage or in a safe spot. Regardless, this step is important for allowing your car battery to cool down. This tip costs nothing but can have a definite impact on the condition and performance of your battery.

While car battery replacement is unavoidable, you have to protect your battery during the rainy season to ensure peak performance and prevent undue advantage. This way, you can extend the useful life of your battery and enjoy great value for money.