How Much Does A New Battery Cost
The cost of a new, fully fitted car battery depends on the type of car you drive. For example, a car that is start/ stop enabled will need a specific type of battery.Our prices start from just £49 and our technicians will always provide you with a quote upfront.Shop batteriesto get an accurate price for your vehicle.
*Research conducted by Yuasa, July 2016
What Is The Difference Between A Deep Cycle Battery And A Regular Battery
Deep-cycle batteries are designed to be regularly discharged and recharged, unlike traditional car batteries which are designed for short bursts of power. Deep-cycle batteries provide a long, steady stream of power but cant provide the same short burst of power as a car battery.
Moreover, A deep-cycle battery is a type of lead-acid battery that is designed to be regularly discharged and recharged. Unlike a traditional car battery, deep-cycle batteries provide a long, steady stream of power. They are not as good as car batteries at providing a short burst of power, but they are much better at providing long-term power.
What Does Battery Corrosion Look Like
Corrosion is very visible when looking at the battery. The terminals will have a blueish green powder build up around them. In some cases you can clean off this powder using the necessary safety precautions to extend the batterys life, however it is a better idea just to recycle the battery and replace it.
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When Is A Dead Car Battery Truly Dead
A car battery is considered fully discharged at 11.9V. However, if the voltage drops to around 10.5V, the lead plates are likely almost entirely covered by lead sulfate.
Discharging below 10.5V can permanently damage the battery.
Additionally, if the battery is left dead, the lead sulfate eventually forms into hardened crystals that cant be broken up by alternator current or a regular car battery charger.
At this point, you may have to get a new battery.
Symptoms Of Dead Car Battery
So real quick, Im going to begin by showing you what happens when we go to start the cars with the flat batteries. When I hit the start button, a car tries to start, it turns over a little bit because this battery is so weak. It wont start, not even close.
If you dont know where exactly your battery is located you can read this article: How to locate your battery real examples and location photos. I will regularly update this article with new locations for different cars.
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Troubleshooting Other Causes You Should Check
If the battery is not reading the proper voltage with the multimeter, the first thing you should check is whether there is corrosion on the posts. If there is, you can disconnect the battery cable ends and terminals with sandpaper or a wire brush. Reconnect the battery cables, always starting with the positive cable first and retesting the battery, starting with step 3 on this list. Please make sure the cables are tight enough and cant be pulled off of the posts easily by hand.
Before testing your battery, make sure everything is off, including the radio, lights, and any other electronics that could pull energy from the battery. You also want to see if you have a device that is drawing electricity from the battery even when it is supposed off, called a parasitic draw. This video explains how to do this test with a multimeter.
This process will help you diagnose your battery problems and help you narrow down whether it is your battery or something else.
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Symptoms of a bad starter:
- No sound, whirring sound, grinding sound, weird sound. Anything out of the usual could mean a bad starter
- Dashboard lights up but car wont start. No dimming. Perhaps not electrical.
- Jumpstarting wont work. Engine wont crank. Battery is fully charged
- Blown starter fuse.
- Failed starter relay
- Smoke coming from these areas after turning the key to turn on the car. Perhaps a short.
So bad battery, bad alternator, or bad starter? Its easier to check the battery health first. Its also a lot easier to stop by your local auto retailer for a quick starting system test. Theyll hook up their electronic apparatus to your battery and test the whole system. Theyll let you know what is failing and what isnt with dead accuracy.
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How Does A Car Battery Work
While starting a car is as easy as turning a key or pressing a button, your battery is doing all the heavy lifting. Starting the ignition sends a signal to the battery that kicks off a chemical reaction inside the little black box. The reaction turns into electrical energy that gets the starter motor running and the engine cranking. If your battery is dead, your lights might flicker but your engine wont have the energy to turn over.
In this post, well cover all you need to know about your vehicles battery as well as the seven signs that its time for a new one.
Signs Of A Bad Starter Or Alternator Vs A Car Battery
A bad alternator will exhibit many of the same signs of a dead car battery: dim headlights, electrical issues, difficulty starting and a frequently drained battery. An alternator, however, will often have its own alternator light on the dashboard. Also, your car may experience unusual rattles and sounds. If youve replaced your battery or are thinking about it, it may be a good idea to check your alternator at the same time.
A bad starter, however, has a whole other set of symptoms. When you try to turn the key, for example, youll often hear a single click rather than a few rapid clicks. You wont be able to crank the motor. You might hear a grinding noise or even see smoke when attempting to start it.
Of course, sometimes a battery is replaced and these other problems continue youll want to ask your mechanic and continued issues.
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Can I Recharge A Dead Car Battery
Often, a dead car battery simply means that its fully discharged and the voltage is below functional 12V. You can jump-start the dead vehicle and drive it to let the alternator replenish the battery charge.
Alternatively, you can attach the dead battery to a battery charger.
If the car battery voltage is under 12.2V, you may want to use a trickle charger to avoid battery overcharging or overheating.
Otherwise, call roadside assistance and let a mechanic deal with your dead car battery.
Will A Car Start After Sitting For A Year
Attempting to jump-start an automobile that has been sitting for a year is the simplest first step. A battery will lose its charge after a lengthy period of inactivity, leaving you with no power to operate the vehicle. When trying your resurrection, start here. Oil, coolant, and transmission fluid should all be replaced.
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Never Get Yourself Into Debt Over Car Repairs Again By Choosing Protect My Car
Car repairs can be absurdly expensive, and you can expect those unexpected repairs before too long no matter what vehicle you drive. Car repairs are an unfortunate part of owning and operating a vehicle. Eventually something is going to break and wow can it be expensive to replace and repair these parts.
If you have to replace the engine block it could cost you more than $10,000 depending on the make and model of your vehicle. Most people dont have a spare ten grand lying around in their bank accounts, or even an extra $2,500 if their transmission blows.
The cost of repairs will depend on your vehicle, but it can cost you thousands of dollars to make repairs to components like the transmission and suspension, which is money most Americans dont have.
If that cost seems absurd to you, luckily you arent alone. Were on a mission to make car repairs more affordable to the every day working person. With Protect My Car, you dont have to hold your breath every time that check engine light comes on. Protect My Car is basically an insurance policy for the mechanical features in your car. If your car breaks down when you have a policy with us you pay a deductible for covered expenses and we take care of getting the car repaired and covering the cost.
A vehicle service contract from Protect My Car can help cover the cost of these excessive repairs. In fact, you could pay as little as $100 dollars for that $5,000 engine replacement.
Yes, you heard that right.
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How To Ensure About The Bad Cell Without Cutting Off The Battery
The last thing to do to verify that the battery is bad is to put it on a charger. All we have to do is hit charge and its going to start charging. If this goes to that 12.6 volts that we need, maybe its not the cell thats bad, maybe it just needed a recharge. But if the charger cant charge to that voltage, then we know for sure our battery is toast.
For example, I left it on for a couple of hours, and you could see on the first photo below were almost at 12 volts, thats pretty good. But what happens when we shut the charger? Charger is shut and immediately that voltage drops real quick, and thatll end up settling around that 10.5 volts that we were just at. So we know for sure now that our cell is bad.
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How Do You Know Something Is Wrong With Your Car Battery
Sometimes an imminent battery problem happens suddenly without warning, but many times there are several signs that something may be wrong with your battery before it finally dies completely. If this is the case, you can load test a car battery to see if it is good, and you can replace it before it leaves you stranded. The next question you might have is how to check if your car battery is dead. Here are a few subtle ways that your car may whisper to you that you need to check your battery soon.
- It starts slowly and cranks for some time before finally turning over
- The battery light comes on when you are going down the road
- You find traces of battery acid underneath your car where it is parked
- Your car suddenly stalls and dies as it is going down the road
- Your car lights suddenly dim, or you have dim headlights as soon as the car starts
- Your stereo, heated seats, and other electronics will not work
- Your car dies quickly after you charge it or has fast self-discharge
- Your car battery is beyond its recommended battery life.
What Are The Signs Of A Bad Car Battery
What are the signs of a bad car battery?
A car’s battery is one of its most essential components. It is responsible for starting the engine, and minus it, the car can never start. But car owners hardly take care of it. Throughout their lifecycle batteries are subjected to continuous phases of charging and discharging and also high heat environments. As they aid the vital purpose of getting the engine started, when they actually fail, they can leave the car stranded and cause an immense problem for the driver, as well as, the car owner. So, it should be serviced or replaced whenever necessary.
According to experts, the average lifespan of a car battery is around five years but improper maintenance can cut the lifespan considerably. Therefore, it is certainly a good idea to know the signs of a bad car battery. The typical symptoms of a failing car battery are as follows-
Engine starts cranking and refuses to start
While starting your vehicle, if your car engine refuses to start then the real perpetrator is the battery. Owners often have this misconception that this is owing to a bad starter and at times thinks it to be an alternator issue. But most of the time, the problem is due to a dead car battery.
The car batteries might recharge if an alternator is used. But this will support the battery for few days only. It is better to look for a new battery.
Starts fine but stops the very next instant
Car accessories just refuses to work
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Why Did The Old Battery Go Bad
You might be wondering why did the old battery go bad? Heres my example: Im pretty confident the reason why is because I didnt have this car on a trickle charger, and all winter long it was basically sitting there. I had it in storage. Theres no electricity. I forgot to disconnect the battery. So over time, that 70 milliamps draw that you saw when we did the parasitic draw test, that is going to drain the battery. Batteries dont like getting drained and not recharged. When a battery sits and its drained, you decrease the life span of the battery. The reason why is because lead sulfate crystals bond to the grid of the battery, and that wont let the chemical reaction inside the battery happen efficiently. The lead sulfate crystals block the electrolyte from contacting the grid, and you lose cranking amps and your battery degrades. So you always want to make sure you keep your battery fully charged.
If you dont want your new battery to go bad, I suggest you to read this article: tips to extend your batterys life or at least once a week start your car and go for a ride.
Not only is it good for the battery, but its good for the car too, cars are meant to be driven. Dont just start it and then shut it off in a few minutes. You actually want to go for a ride and have that battery charge up.
Corrosion On Battery Terminals
Finally, a dead car battery could be indicative of corrosion on your battery terminals. These are the posts that connect your battery to the rest of the charging system. At times, corrosion â which looks like white, ashy deposits â builds up between the terminal posts and the battery cables and can cause a reduction in the flow of power in your vehicle. You can use a wire brush and baking soda to remove corrosion from your battery. However, if it keeps occurring, this might suggest that either your battery, battery cables, or terminals need to be replaced.
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A Sudden Slower Start
When temps drop below 20 degrees, generally any cars starting cadence will slow down. Get below 0 and it gets even slower. If you notice this behavior suddenly and the temperature hasnt dropped a slow, dragging start suddenly begins, get your battery tested as soon as possible, and dont ignore it. Eventually, the car will not start.
If a slow starting battery seems to be able to take a charge and test fine, its likely that a parasitic drain or draw is discharging the battery while the vehicle sits, and the electrical system will need to be looked at.
Signs of a Bad Starter or Alternator vs. a Car Battery
A bad alternator will exhibit many of the same signs of a dead car battery: dim headlights, electrical issues, difficulty starting, and a frequently drained battery. An alternator, however, will often have its own alternator light on the dashboard. Also, your car may experience unusual rattles and sounds. If youve replaced your battery or are thinking about it, it may be a good idea to check your alternator at the same time.
A bad starter, however, has a whole other set of symptoms. When you try to turn the key, for example, youll often hear a single click rather than a few rapid clicks. You wont be able to crank the motor. You might hear a grinding noise or even see smoke when attempting to start it.
Of course, sometimes a battery is replaced and these other problems continue youll want to ask your mechanic and continued issues.
Bad Car Battery Vs Alternator
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This is always fun, especially when youre in a hurry and need to get to work or drop the kids off. However, maybe your battery isnt to blame. Your cars electrical system is a complicated thing with many components.
Today, we will focus on a bad alternator versus a bad car battery. It matters because you obviously will take different steps to resolve the issue. FYI, a bad alternator can actually damage a new battery, but more on that later.
So, lets look at the signs of a bad alternator versus a bad batteryin table format
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You’ve Jumped It A Lot Already
I have a simple hard-and-fast rule that I follow when it comes to having to jump your battery. No matter what reason you had to do itthe battery was old, or maybe the starter, fuel pump, or alternator were bad, or maybe you left your headlights on or your door ajar all night, or you ran out of gasthe rule is this:
If you have to jump your vehicle more than three times in a single week, it’s time to replace your battery.
Even a fairly new battery can turn into a dud really quickly if it has been jumped more than three times in a week. Using a jump box or jumper cables is hard on your battery. They work by figuratively “shocking” it back to life.
Now, you might think I’m crazy about replacing the battery after such a low jump count, but hear me out. One of the most common things I see happening in relation to vehicle battery problems is that the driver or mechanic will assume that because the battery wasn’t old, or wasn’t the specific culprit for the battery draining itself, they dont need to expend time or money getting a new one. Then, when they try this and that to diagnose the problem, they keep jumping the battery until, finally, the alternator and starter go bad, leaving you with a need for a new alternator, starter, and battery.
Save yourself the headache and just replace the battery if you’ve had to jump it more than three times in a week. You won’t regret it.
