Your Battery Struggles To Combat Seasonal Challenges
As the North Carolina heat begins picking up, you might start to notice your battery reacting adversely to these changes. This occurs when the heat begins evaporating the water in your batterys internal fluids. This evaporation also can cause internal battery corrosion.
In the winter, your batterys chemical reaction slows downdraining the life out of our batteryand your vehicle requires more power to start due to slow-moving engine oil. Newer batteries can manage harsh weather conditions with ease, but a battery near the end of its lifespan will begin to struggle in extreme climates.
How Long Does A New Car Battery Last
Once you replace your vehicles battery, its lifespan depends on how long it can hold its charge as well as how long its capable of being recharged. Once it cant be recharged, its dead. If youre always driving in ideal conditions no extreme temperatures and no excessive humidity its believed that a new battery can last as long as six years.
Check Your Battery Frequently To Avoid Breaking Down
The next time you take your car into the garage for a routine service, make sure to ask for its battery to be checked. Battery wear isn’t always steady your vehicles battery could go from 90% performance to 20% over the course of a few months.
Testing a battery is easy, and every reputable garage or repair shop will have its own set of electronic testers on hand to test yours. Regular tests can reveal when your battery needs to be replaced and help you avoid embarrassing breakdowns.
If your battery is showing signs of wear and hasn’t been replaced in two or three years, dont take any risks. Car batteries are inexpensive, and the small cost of a replacement is worth it to avoid the stress of a roadside breakdown.
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How Often The Car Required A New Battery
The life span of a car battery totally depends on the vehicle condition and how you take care of the battery. But after a maintenance schedule on an average, the battery lasts for about 4-5 years. For the car in colder regions, the life span can be a bit lower. It is recommended that after 3 years of battery life start paying attention to the above-mentioned signs or battery warning light in modern cars. If any of the sign comes, get the battery replaced before it affects the electricals of your vehicle. Unfortunately, theres no other alternative to avoid getting your car battery changed.
Though the battery replacement will not blow a deep hole in your wallets, not replacing the battery sure can. For starters, it can get you stranded at an unknown place without any help.
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How To Replace A Car Battery
Replacing a car battery is relatively easy and can be part of a regular auto maintenance schedule. While there seems to be a dizzying array of batteries on the market, Consumer Reports says that three companies produce most of the maintenance-free batteries used in the United States today Johnson Controls Industries, Exide and East Penn. Each company manufactures batteries that are marketed by different companies under different names. The name brand on the battery ultimately doesn’t matter. What does matter is age, cold cranking amps, reserve capacity and group size.
Follow these rules and you should be able to weather the worst a bad battery can throw at you, and find a reliable new one when you need it.
As mentioned, this information applies to regular car batteries that help get a car running. If you drive a hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicle, batteries are also an extremely important element of the powertrain.
Originally Published: Oct 5, 2009
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Your Cars Electrical System
A defective battery may still have sufficient power to start your car, but if you suspect that the battery is nearing the end of its lifespan, check the other components of the car that requires electricityheadlights and its stereo system. At night, try to start your car with the headlights on. If they are not bright enough, or if they get brighter only if you press the gas, then chances are your battery is starting to fail. It might not be long until youre not able to start your car.
Of course, it goes without saying, if your car doesnt start, the biggest potential culprit is the battery. You either need to have it checked or get a replacement battery. As a temporary solution, you can grab a jump starter so you can get to your destination or to a shop nearby.
Recommended Battery Change Intervals For Your New Vehicle
Its no secret that there are plenty of moving parts that are depended on to keep your car running at peak efficiency and performance. To ensure that your electronics are in proper working order, along with your engine, its essential to have a battery under the hood thats able to keep a charge for as long as you need it to. Still, like with any other vehicle asset, batteries arent immortal.
So, today our Boucher Auto Group service team wants to show you our recommended battery change intervals for your new vehicle with this, youll be well-prepared to keep yourself running smoothly and efficiently!
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How To Test A Car Battery
Its smart to test your battery at least twice a year, and you can ask your local service center to test your battery during any regular service appointment. If youre worried about the health of your battery and want to test it out before heading on the Roseville roads, you can also test it yourself at home using either of the following methods:
Using a Digital Multimeter:
Using the Headlight Test:
Knowing the condition of your battery will help you determine how often to replace your battery. This simple test should help you determine the current condition of your car battery.
What Causes Car Battery Deterioration
A battery will last for five years or longer with proper care, but there are a number of factors that can shorten its lifespan:
- Extreme Weather Hot weather can cause your battery fluid to evaporate, and cold weather can drain the last bit of life from a nearly-dead battery.
- Lights Left On Any issue that requires you to jumpstart your car will also reduce the lifespan of your battery.
- Vibrations If your battery clamps become loose, the additional vibrations will cause your internal battery parts to break down more quickly.
Under normal circumstances, the alternator in your vehicle will recharge your battery while you drive. However, even the best battery can only go through so many charge cycles before it dies for good! Even if you take good care of your battery, youll eventually need to replace it.
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Electric Car Battery Recycling
Many manufacturers are researching how EV batteries can be repurposed once they’ve hit retirement age. One idea that’s proving to work well is repurposing EV batteries to power homes and buildings. However, there are no definitive answers as to what will happen to EV batteries once theyre no longer recyclable.
The time that batteries spend in an EV is often just the beginning of their useful life. Once removed from a car, most batteries will still be fit for other demanding jobs like energy storage in the electricity network, or in the home a growing area of demand.
When batteries do reach the end of their working life, they’ll be recycled, which typically involves separating out valuable materials such as cobalt and lithium salts, stainless steel, copper, aluminium and plastic. At the moment, only about half of the materials in an EV battery pack are recycled, but with EVs expected to undergo an explosion in popularity over the next decade or so, car manufacturers are looking to improve this.
VW recently announced a pilot plant for battery recycling which will work towards a target of recycling 97% of battery components. In this process, batteries will be shredded, dried, then sieved to recover valuable materials that can be used to make new batteries.
To Get A Better Life Of Your Car Battery You Can Follow Some Tips Such As:
- Take the car for servicing regularly, to prevent any kind of battery-induced damage to the vehicle. This will also save you from roadside assistance.
- Avoid leaving the lights on and air conditioning when you dont need it. If you accidentally do it, this will drain the battery. Also, drive your car frequently to regulate the battery system.
- Check the battery if you are driving on a bumpy path, as it can lose the connection.
- Ensure the cleanliness of the battery case and terminals. Keep it dust-free.
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Is Fast Charging Bad For Battery
The bottom line is, fast charging wont impact your battery life substantially. But the physics behind the technology means you shouldnt expect the battery to last longer than using a conventional slow charging brick. But thats just a single factor. A batterys longevity varies depending on different factors.
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.
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How Far Can One Charge Go
Just as conventional cars have big or small fuel tanks, lithium-ion batteries for electric cars come in different sizes. Rather than litres of fuel, their capacity is measured in kilowatt hours . A typical 40kWh battery pack from a mainstream electric car might be enough to power it for 150 miles or more, while Tesla’s biggest 100kWh battery is good for 375 miles according to the WLTP standard – which aims to give a realistic estimation of cars’ real-world range or fuel economy.
WLTP is an abreviation of the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure, which came in to effect in 2017 and was set up to measure fuel consumption,CO2 levels and other pollutant emissions from passenger cars. It replaced the New European Driving Cycle
You might recognise the kilowatt hour from your electricity bill it’s the industry standard charging unit. A 40kWh battery holds enough energy to power a typical home for four days!
Dim Lights And Electrical Issues
The battery powers all of the electronics in your vehicle, from your lights to your radio to your dashboard computer. If the battery is losing its charge it will have a harder time running these things at full power. The more things you plug into your car while driving like your phone charger the faster your battery will die.
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Check Engine Light Is On
The problem with the check engine light is that it can mean different things. It could indicate that your battery is running out of juice, or it could signal a problem with your alternator, or suggest that its time to take your car in for a tune up.
Consult your owners manual for more info and if youre still not sure, take your car to the nearest auto mechanic shop and let highly trained technicians test your battery for you.
Other Signs That It Might Be Time To Replace Your Car Battery
- The headlights dim when the car is idling, although they brighten up when you rev the engine
- You can see signs of corrosion at the battery terminals and cables
- Functions like the power windows run very slowly when the engine is idling compared to their speed when the engine is running
If you notice these symptoms in your vehicle, its probably time for a new battery. You can always be sure by taking your car to an automotive repair shop.
Your mechanic can test the battery using equipment that measures its CCAs, or cold cranking amps. This will tell you how much starting power your battery has. From there, your mechanic can help you determine whether its time to replace the battery or not.
Maintaining a strong battery is one important component of car maintenance. Learn more about performing a check-up on your vehicle to ensure its systems are working efficiently.
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Your Car Has Been Sitting For Too Long
If you leave your vehicle for an extended trip out of town, it could have a dead battery when you return. Your battery is heavily impacted by your driving patterns. While you might think that driving frequently negatively impacts the health of your battery, the opposite is often true. Your battery recharges while you drive, which means leaving your vehicle sitting for an extended period of time could deplete its charge. If you have chosen to quarantine out of town and left your vehicle sitting idle, consider asking a roommate, friend, or neighbor back home to make sure it gets a spin around the block every once in a while to protect your battery.
Your Battery Is Older And Triggers A Dashboard Light
Wouldnt it be easier to tell when you needed a battery replacement if your car gave you a sign? Thankfully, most cars do just that. Your dashboard battery light is designed to illuminate when your vehicle senses a battery or starting issue. When all else fails, you can also rely on the age of your battery to provide an estimate of when it may need to be replaced. The average car battery will last three years, though this could be affected by your battery brand, vehicle type, areas climate, car care, and driving patterns.
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Does Your Cars Electrical System Respond Like It Should
Even a car with a highly defective battery will function properly once its running, since much of the charge for the battery will come from the engine. This makes the best time to test your cars battery shortly after you switch your vehicle on.
Your car can still start quickly, even with a failing battery. However, features that have significant power demands that are powered by the battery, like headlights, may not function as well as they should.
Try starting your car at night with the headlights switched on. Are they dim? If the headlights look overly dim, put the vehicle in park or neutral and rev the engine. If the battery is failing, the headlights will get brighter as you apply the accelerator.
This is a great way to check if your battery is starting to fail. A completely broken battery is even easier to spot: when you turn the key in the ignition or push your cars ignition switch, it wont start at all.
How To Test A Car Battery Easily
Want to get your battery tested near Pocatello? We can do that for you when you bring your car in for regular maintenance at our service center twice a year. If you want to test it between maintenance appointments at home, here are some helpful suggestions for how to do that.
Do the Headlight Test:
Use a Digital Multimeter:
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Why Does Your Battery Deteriorate
- Heat: Hot weather causes the evaporation of liquids inside a car battery. Your battery will typically not last as long if you live in an area with a warmer climate.
- Vibrations: If your batterys hold-down clamps are loose, or you drive over rough roads frequently, vibrations will cause internal battery parts to break down faster.
- Needing a Jump: If your battery requires a jump start after accidentally forgetting to turn the lights off or for some other reason that drains the battery, it can cause your battery to wear out much faster.
- Time: The more you drive, the sooner your battery will need to be replaced. A car battery can only undergo a limited amount of charge cycles.
You will likely find information from the manufacturer regarding how long your car battery should last with proper care.
