How Does A Battery Die
Like everything else, a car battery has a lifespan, after which it is no longer recommended for use. Batteries have a lifespan of about four years. In this period, they are expected to perform optimally. But, a battery can get weak or die for some reasons during their period, these are:
- When the car is left unused for a long time
- Extreme temperatures, especially really cold weather
- Headlights or interior car lights left on for an extended period
- Charging system failure
- Battery is draining the electricity
What The Alternator And Battery Do In Your Car
An auto battery supplies a big electric charge that travels through the starting system and turns some gears to start the car. Once the car is running, the alternator sends current back to recharge the battery as you drive. It supplies power for your cars electronics when youre underway and makes sure the right amount of charge goes back to the battery.
Steps Of Charging A Car Battery
If you find yourself suddenly stranded with a dead car battery, your best bet is to jump-start it using another car’s battery. Luckily, if you can locate some jumper cables and a willing Good Samaritan, charging a car battery is relatively simple. Here are some simple steps and tips for properly charging your vehicle’s battery.
Also Check: How Long Does A Car Seat Last
Why Does The Battery Die Again After A Jump Start
Here are some reasons why your car battery wont hold a charge after a successful jump start:
- The car wasnt driven long enough for the battery to recharge fully
- The vehicle charging system has a problem, like a bad alternator or voltage regulator
- An electrical system was left on, draining the battery
- The battery is too old and just cant hold a charge
Check Battery Light Is On
So this one is pretty obvious, but if the dashboard of the car is displaying a battery symbol you need to look into what the issue is with the battery. Your car has hundreds of sensors that help it tell you when it is sensing something unusual. It is important to take all of these warnings seriously.
Read Also: What Is The Safest Car In The World
Ground The Dead Vehicle
Use the final black alligator clip to complete the circuit by grounding the charge. Instead of attaching the clip to the negative terminal of your battery, you’ll want to find an unpainted metal surface â such as the body of the car or the metal rod that props open your hood â which isn’t near the battery. This is to help ground the electrical flow and prevent sparking from the battery.
How Can I Test My Car Battery At Home
Connect the positive and negative battery connections to the multimeter. You may have a faulty battery if the voltage isnt around 12.6 volts. Now start the vehicle and check for a voltage reading of more above 10. When the voltage dips below 5 while the automobile is operating, it is defective and should be replaced immediately.
Also Check: What Is The Most Expensive Car In The World
Difficulty Starting The Car
Your car requires a huge surge of energy to start the engine. With a failing battery, you’ll notice that the engine cranks more slowly than usual, and the car takes longer to start. You’ll often only get one or two warning signs of this nature before the battery completely dies, so don’t ignore it.If, when turning the key, you hear a clicking sound, there is not enough power to crank the engine at all. If this is the case you’ll need to jump start your battery andget a new battery fittedas soon as possible.
Warning Signs Your Car Battery Is Dying
Car batteries are notoriously fickle and some of the most volatile parts living beneath the hood. It doesnt take much for them to go bad, and they usually only live for a few years before needing to be replaced. But when they die, they do so in glorious fashion: Like when youre already running 20 minutes late to work, for instance.
Fortunately, there are numerous, unmistakable signs that your car battery is on the verge of failing. Here are the 10 most common symptoms of a dying vehicle battery:
10. Check Engine Dashboard Light On
The Check Engine light is a catch-all warning telling you something is wrong not necessarily something related to your battery. However, its not uncommon for the issue to stem from a bad car battery. For instance, when you bring your vehicle into a service center to investigate your mysterious warning light, theyll test the battery first.
9. Engine Turns Over Slowly
Your car engine should kick into action virtually instantly. If its slow to start meaning it stutters before turning over the issue could be related to your battery, alternator or starter.
8. Ignition Clicks
A car engine that doesnt turn over at all is a larger issue than a slow-to-start engine. Sometimes the engine will click repeatedly while it cranks to life, which signals that there is no or a limited amount of power being supplied by the battery.
7. Dim Headlights
You May Like: Are Car Covers Worth It
Trouble Starting Your Car
One of the main issues associated with a bad battery is when your car has trouble starting.
In most cases, this is due to issues with the battery. This is because your car relies on your battery to start your car and not the alternator.
In most cases, your battery may not be able to keep a charge, or there may be connection issues.
In some cases, the issues with your car starting may originate with your alternators inability to recharge your battery. In this case, your battery can be working completely fine, but the alternator is not recharging your battery.
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.
About Protect My Car
Recommended Reading: Where Did I Park My Car
How Do I Know If My Car Battery Is Bad
Fernando the electronics guy is an electronics engineer. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from UC Riverside.
Symptoms and Identification of a bad battery, alternator, or starter
Let’s say your car is acting up. It’s not turning over. What now?
If your car won’t start, it doesn’t necessarily mean your battery is bad. There are three possible causes:
Which is the culprit?
Whats An Easy Solution To A Dead Car Battery
Finding a dead car battery under your hood can be pretty stressful, but dont let it get to you.
An easy solution is to call a mechanic to troubleshoot issues or simply attach a new battery.
Fortunately, all you need to do is contact a mobile mechanic like RepairSmith!.
RepairSmith is a convenient mobile vehicle repair and maintenance solution.
Heres why you should opt for them:
- Car battery replacement and repairs can be made right in your driveway
- Expert, ASE-certified technicians execute vehicle inspection and servicing
- Online booking is convenient and easy
- Competitive, upfront pricing
- All maintenance and fixes are conducted with high-quality tools and replacement parts
- RepairSmith offers a 12-month | 12,000-mile warranty for all repairs
Fill this online form for an accurate estimate of the cost of your battery repairs and maintenance.
Don’t Miss: Can You Haggle With Car Dealers
Can You Put Vinegar In A Car Battery
The chemical components inside the battery will react with the vinegar and cause severe harm to the battery. The battery might even fail to work when the vinegar is added thus, you should be keen not to damage the battery with your own hands. However, vinegar is useful in cleaning corrosion on alkaline batteries.
Clicking When You Turn The Key
Ignition clicks are usually an indication of one of three things: a bad starter, a bad alternator or, more typically, a bad battery. Your battery creates a charge for the starter, which uses its energy to crank the engine. When not enough energy is available, there will either be a clicking sound when you turn the key, or the engine will be very slow to crank .
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.
Recommended Reading: My Car Shakes When I Drive
When An Alternator Goes Bad What Happens
A defective alternator will result in a discharged battery, preventing the vehicle from starting or running. Alternators are used to keep a battery charged, not to recharge a dead one. Your alternators function is to keep your battery charged at a constant level. It is not recommended to drain your cars battery.
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. Here is our guide to getting your car moving during the cold weather so you can make it to a mechanic for a replacement.
Don’t Miss: Where Can You Get Your Car Inspected
Remove The Battery Clamp
The battery clamp holds the battery in place. Unscrew it with a wrench or socket to move it out of the way. Frequently, the battery clamp will be three pieces that are attached but independently mobile. So, if the clamp seems stuck at first, try to move the clamp’s sidearms up and down to remove them from the battery tray at the bottom. Once they’re free, the entire clamp will quickly come off.
Features And Specifications Of Smart Lead
Smart lead-acid battery chargers are microprocessor controlled devices that analyze the battery condition and charge it according to:
battery type: user usually have to set the battery type commonly including wet/flooded, AGM, Gel-Cell, Calcium, Lithium etc. Since all these batteries have somewhat different charging characteristics , setting exact battery type help the charger adjust charging voltage/currents according to the battery in question.
Note: Never, but really never charge lithium batteries with charges not designed for such batteries
battery use: according to the batterys use, set this to either float or cycle use .
temperature: some battery chargers feature temperature probe that measures temperature of the battery, allowing the charger to adjust the charging voltage according to the temperature. This prevents overcharging and undercharging of the batteries.
If you have wet/flooded battery, be sure to check electrolyte level prior charging and if required, add some distilled water. Also, check maximum allowed charging current of your battery and be sure to use battery charger that features maximum charging current lower than the batterys maximum allowed charging current charging the battery with too strong currents may destroy it easily, especially AGM and Gel-cell batteries.
When charging process starts, smart battery chargers analyze the battery and start with the recovery/charging :
Amazon Search:
- How to Recondition a Car Battery?
You May Like: Where Can I Wash My Car Myself
How Much Does It Cost To Replace A Car Battery
The typical cost of a car battery is somewhere between $50 and $120, according to CostHelper.com.
While this range covers the cost of the part itself, the bill is not finalized as there are additional labor costs that could be very significant.
In the automotive world, repair costs are divided into labor and parts costs. Parts costs are usually the same everywhere you get your car repaired. However, labor cost differs from the service location.
For instance, if you get your car repaired at a small repair shop, you will significantly lower the price than a dealership.
On the other hand, many people prefer to get their cars repaired at a dealership, especially luxury cars. This is because they trust that the dealership mechanics are experienced enough to repair the vehicle without causing other problems.
Lastly, when the repair is not very complicated, many people get it done on their own using available DIYs on the internet.
How Do I Know If My Alternator Is Charging
How to Determine Whether or Not Your Alternator Is Charging Your Battery Start your vehicle. The alternator is failing if the headlights are dim. After shutting off the automobile, double-check that the alternator and battery connections are secure. Start the engine once again. To test the alternator, use a multimeter or a voltage meter.
Recommended Reading: When To Change From Car Seat To Booster
Turn On Your Headlights
It seems almost too easy, but the best way to test the strength of your car battery may be to simply flick on the headlights. If the lights seem dimmer than usual, then it probably means its time to replace the battery. If they dont turn on at all, well, that would be a good time to call roadside assistance or find someone with a good set of jumper cables.
Youve 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, its 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 Im 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 wasnt old, or wasnt 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 youve had to jump it more than three times in a week. You wont regret it.
You May Like: How To Replace Car Registration
Can You Drive With A Bad Alternator Or Battery
While your car can run with a faulty alternator for a short period of time, doing so includes risks and can be dangerous for you and everyone else on the road. Driving on a bad alternator can cause a variety of issues in other parts of your car, including the engine and electrical components. Also, your cars battery will deplete eventually, causing your car to die. If you dont have the resources available to jump your car and find yourself in a remote area, this could leave you stranded. Your vehicle can also lose power on its power steering, which can result in you losing control of your car. For these reasons, its best to get your alternator fixed to protect yourself and other drivers on the road.³
Fixing your battery or alternator can be an expensive repair. See how you can find the right mechanic to work on your vehicle. Make sure you have roadside assistance so you can get help if your car wont start.
