Tips To Care For Your Battery The Right Way

Car batteries are an essential component to keep your cars running smoothly and for longer. Car batteries are one of the major concerns that automotive repair industries come across since they undergo drastic temperature fluctuations throughout their lifespan. The extreme heat of the engine rapidly withers the capacity of car batteries to work efficiently. Even outside weather affects the longevity of car batteries majorly. Batteries work to their optimal for about 5-6 months when in cold weather, whereas in hot weather conditions the lifespan of car batteries gets reduced to almost 3 years.

Cars, when parked idle for several days, die out of battery and it can sustain longer when running as the car’s battery continues to get charged by the alternator when the car is on and running. If the car faces several such episodes of remaining parked idle, then the lifespan of your car battery grows worse leaving your car vulnerable to sudden breakdown.

So what could you do to keep your car battery working fine for years to come? Here, follow these below-mentioned tips that will help you with keeping your car’s battery healthy:

• Keep the battery clean

Refrain from allowing dirt to settle on the battery for longer, it can result in draining its charge. The extreme dirt could also cause a complete short circuit to ultimately cause the battery to die. Even the terminals of the battery corrode over time hence it is important to clean them with a brush to reduce dirt related corrosion.

• Keep your car’s battery insulated

Keeping your car’s battery insulated is another crucial aspect of caring for your battery, protect them with insulated covers. The newer variant of cars gives you better fuel efficiency and aerodynamics which has caused shrinkage of hood space affecting the airflow in the engine. This makes the battery more vulnerable to heat which ultimately results in the battery’s shorter lifespan. Wrap an insulation wrap around your car’s battery to protect it from both extreme heat and cold.

• Check your battery’s Voltage every month

When the battery is left uncharged or half-charged, it will reduce a lead-acid’s battery life. Keep a check on the voltage once every month with a voltmeter to keep an eye on your battery life. 12.7 volts of charge or above indicates a healthy battery, recharge the battery every time voltage lowers down to 12.5 as a car battery with 12 volts or less is considered absolutely dead.

• Keep on switching the car battery at regular intervals

The battery loses its charge when not used for a long period of time. Unused cars deplete more power and hence the battery gets drained rapidly. This is the reason why people often avoid keeping their cars idle and take them for a ride at least once a week. Once the car battery fully loses its charge it will need a jumpstart to start the car.

• Minimize its heat exposure

The battery life gets drastically affected and lowers down when exposed to extreme heat, it makes the fluid in the battery dry out. It even happens in the case of new sealed batteries. Extreme heat exposure causes damage to car batteries, these batteries could even break down in winters with all the heat exposure your car had to bear during summers. To avoid this, make sure you park your vehicle in shady areas during summers, better yet, a garage. And well, if you happen to make this mistake already and can’t undo it now, the automotive industry of Australia is very well-equipped to serve you with the right amount of care your vehicle needs. Reach out to Robin Baldwin Automotive, one of the most trusted and reliable mechanical workshops on the Central Coast.

• Reduce battery usage when the engine is turned off

As strange as it may sound but the car’s battery actually runs out more quickly when the engine is turned off. The music system of the car and interior lights tend to drain significant power of the battery eventually restraining the total lifespan of the battery. Whenever you exit the car, always make sure the car’s accessories and its interior lights are all turned off.

• Add distilled water whenever required

Hot weather during summers causes the evaporation of the battery fluid. Keep the battery working for longer by maintaining the healthy equilibrium and you can make that happen by mixing distilled water into restraining the battery eventually increasing the battery life. The distilled water will help reduce the damage of cells that was caused due to overheating.

In a Nutshell

Keep up with your car battery’s health by following proper maintenance guidelines. However, it is inevitable to make things like car components last forever as they are prone to get affected by wear and tear of all kinds, but what you can do instead with the right information is you can treat your car’s battery in a way that helps it last for longer.

Don’t go around paying exorbitant prices that the service centres from the automotive industry of Australia charge. Come and see your friendly professional team at Robin Baldwin Automotive for all the advanced servicing needs.