Know about your Car Battery and its Maintenance

Feeling disappointed while returning from the restaurant with family or any event is the worst experience that leaves everyone stranded on the road and spoiling the entire experience. The car battery can leave you at greater risk and delay your important meetings if not maintained properly. It makes you feel ‘wish if I knew it’ but if the car battery is maintained, the life can be enhanced.

As it is rightly said ‘Knowledge is power’, it is very important to understand the tips, tricks and techniques by which you can enhance the batter life of your car. We all know that car battery is one of the integrated and essential systems of your car. We can also say that it is the lifeline the car because of which it gets the energy source.

Regardless of the weather or long journey that you take your car for, the batteries always keeps your car running at all times. The importance of the car batteries are not realized until they are broken. Lack of maintenance or knowledge of managing the car batteries often leads to the death of car batteries. So in this article, we have covered everything that you should know about what, how, when, and where about your car battery and its maintenance.

How a Car Battery Works?

Understanding the basics about the car battery will help you understand the important role of designing, flow of electricity, and supply of voltage in car batteries. So car batteries come in different sizes, makes and models depending on the type of car’s make and model. However, most of the things in any car batteries are similar like the rectangular body made up of plastic-boxes that can resist heat, chemical reactions and much more.

Inside the box are chemicals needed for generating electricity for the car and stabilizer. Whenever the car is started, there is a chemical reaction that takes place in the battery which turns in electrical energy and delivers high voltage. It also has a stabilizer which maintains the high voltage necessary for the car engine otherwise high voltage can even fail the electrical systems.

We often take car batteries for granted and because the car starts every morning, we are least concerned about the same. Gas, oil change, air pressure check and car wash are the things that people commonly consider as ‘car maintenance’. It really feels annoying when you are trying to start the car and it won’t start. So, in order avoid such a situation, it is important that you understand how to test your car battery.

How to test your car battery?

Car batteries normally have an average lifespan of around 3-5 years depending on the make and type of the battery. However, some of the brands and quality of car batteries can last longer. Proper maintenance and regular testing leads to long lasting battery life. When we say testing, we mean checking the battery life each time you go to routine car service.

Moreover, there are few tips that will help you to keep your car battery up and running:

• Always drive your car on regular basis. Even if you do not use much, try to take a drive atleast once in 2-3 days.
• Take car for regular service and maintenance as per the schedule and ensure the battery is checked each time.
• Keep the base of the car clean and corrosion free.
• Never try to jump start a flat battery.
• Follow standard procedures while disconnecting and reconnecting the car battery.
• Check the charging rate of the battery. Under charging or overcharging will reduce the life of the battery.
• Do not keep your car lights or other accessories on for longer period without keeping the engine on. It discharges the battery in faster pace.
• Avoid using car for trips less than 20 minutes. It does not give the battery enough to charge itself.
• Check there no corrosion on the battery and the cables are properly connected.
• You can insulate the battery from the extreme climatic changes in temperature.
• Disconnect the car battery cables if you are not going to use for one or two weeks.

What are the warning signs that indicate you need battery maintenance service?

Instead of making you feel annoyed all of a sudden or surprising you, the car batteries do give some of the signs which should be understood. These indications and symptoms if treated at the right time, you can maintain the health and it can last longer. Some of the signs are:

• When you start the car, it makes a ‘ruring’ sound like the engine is cranking. The engine takes longer than normal time to start the vehicle.
• In some of the models the engine lights starts appearing when the health of the car battery is weak. There are indicator lights for batteries which lighten up. Similarly, there are indicator lights for coolants also.
• Check if there are any kinds of bloating or swelling on the batter case which indicates it needs immediate exchange.
• Check if there is any kind of leak in the battery. You will be able to find this very easily because the car will have stinky, rotten egg smell that is very difficult to avoid.
• If you turn the ignition and if the car does not make any sound. Just a click sound comes from the engine then your car has a dead battery.
• If the car accessories like the lights, stereo or electronics do not work properly, are sluggish or does not work then it means your car has a dead battery or low battery.
• Check the manufacturing date of the battery and keep a track of the same. Soon after 3-4 years plan the replacement.

What should you do if you have a dying battery or dead battery?

Based on the symptoms and signs you can identify whether there is some problem or if the battery is dying but in case the car battery suddenly fails then what should you do. You walk out of the restaurant and you see that the car won’t start then what are the steps you should do?

For Dead Batteries

If the car charging has completely drained then there are some of chances of recharging it using jumper cables. However, if it is completely dead then even charging won’t help. In such cases the only thing is you need immediate car battery replacement from professionals.

• If your car is completely frozen then do not charge it as it can even explode.
• In case you want to charge on your own, then use the lowest settings to charge.
• Do not charge the car battery with the car’s alternator
• Never lean on the car battery while charging, testing or jumping. 

For Dying Batteries

At this point, you will have to contact nearby auto-parts store or service station to replace the battery. You will able to jumpstart the vehicle using the jumpstart cables.

• Don’t let the car battery completely discharged.
• Check if the terminals are properly connected or not
• Do not remove the positive cable first and reconnect negative cable first.

How to get the right battery for your car?

Shopping for car battery when it has completely discharged or stopped starting the vehicle is not the right time to shop but as per the recent it is observed most people start shopping exactly on that moment only. Car batteries come in different sizes and types so choosing the right car battery for your vehicle will enhance its life and your comfort.

• Basically car batteries come in two different varieties, i.e. Lead-acid based batteries are regular batteries. Whereas the low maintenance and acid-free batteries are known as Absorbed Glass Mat.
• Batteries come in different sizes ranging from Size 49 to Size 65.
• Some of the features and accessories that you can expect while choosing a battery are handle or loop, float/trickle charger, and jump starters.
• There are different brands from which you can choose the car battery of your choice.

Where should you get your car battery replaced?

Car batteries are comparatively inexpensive to replace but it is always recommended to replace the weaker batteries sooner the better because it can create problem in electrical systems, discharge anytime and lead to delay in your work or results in bigger bills and car problems.

Every battery comes with a fixed lifeline and with proper maintenance the lifeline can be enhanced to certain extent only. Fortunately, there are options and offers using which you can earn reward points on replacing the car batteries regularly. This eases your burden of car batteries as well as reduces your expense also.

At Swift Battery Specialist, we have some of the long lasting car batteries that you can trust on. We also offer car battery maintenance service including replacement and reconditioning.