Your car battery is essential to the life of your vehicle, so it’s important maintain your battery to ensure an easy ride. Here are some important basics that will help you better understand how your battery works and ways to improve the life of it.
Signs you might need a new battery:
1. Your car is slow to start
2. Your check engine light is on
3. Your battery’s fluid level is low
4. Your battery has a leak and is covered in gunk or is bloated
5. Your battery is three or more years old
Reasons a battery might drain:
1. Parasitic drain
2. Faulty charging system
a. An unreliable charging system can also drain the battery while the car is running.
2. Bad Alternator Diodes
a. Alternators with bad diodes can also cause battery drain.
2. Old battery
a. Older batteries may not be able to hold a full charge anymore. Most batteries last four or
five years.
Tips to improve the life of your car battery:
1. Combine trips. When you take a lot of short trips, your battery doesn’t have time to fully recharge, which can wear out the battery quicker.
2. Store your vehicle in a garage during periods of extremely hot or cold weather.
3. Let your car warm up.
4. Drive your vehicle regularly. When you don’t drive your car regularly or for a long period of time, this can affect the battery.
