Car battery failure is one of the top issues that we address here at Towing Chicago – providing rapid, fast-arrival vehicle recovery and jump starting services that will get you back behind the wheel in no time at all. In this blog entry, we’ll provide some details on how to extend the lifetime of your car’s batteries.
Try to Avoid Regular Short Trips
Every time you start your car, your battery is strained slightly – and then over the trip, it’s recharged. If you’re driving incredibly short distances – like a couple blocks away – your battery won’t regain the drained power. If this happens all the time, the battery’s voltage will decrease until it becomes useless to start your car. Maintain your battery’s strength by regularly driving it, and driving for slightly longer periods of time. If you don’t regularly use your car, consider buying a car battery charger to keep it at the correct voltage.
Batteries Must be Fastened Tight
Make sure that your batteries are fastened in place tight. Any vibration of your batteries can reduce their lifespan, so make sure you have an approved and proper model battery clamp in place that’s securely fastened around it. If you don’t, vibrations can cause short circuits, degrading your battery. Don’t tighten the clamps too much though! This can also damage the battery. Just tighten the nuts until you feel resistance, and keep going for just a half-turn.
Lower Power Usage when Engines are Off
NEVER keep your headlights or the interior lights inside your car on when the engine isn’t running. This rapidly drains your batteries. Make sure that all powered accessories including chargers are unplugged and off, and that your car’s lights are off as you leave it.
Lowering Exposure to Heat
Make sure that your car battery doesn’t get exposed to extreme heat or cold. Extreme heat increases how fast the water evaporates from the power cells. Cold will drain remaining power from the battery as it thickens the car’s oil and forces the battery to strain. We recommend parking your car in the shade as much as possible and keeping it in a garage when not being used.
Keeping Car Batteries Clean
Make sure to periodically inspect and, if necessary, clean the surface of your car battery. You want it to be free of all grime, dust, and dirt. Dirty batteries can create short circuits which degrade the battery, and corrode the battery terminals over time. Clean build-up by scrubbing terminals with a toothbrush soaked in a mixture of baking soda and water, and then rinsing this mixture off with a spray bottle of cold water – which is then, in turn, washed off.