If you live in a climate that gets extreme swings in temperature; especially in the winter you will find that your vehicle takes the brunt of it and things may fail at the worst times. Your car battery is the most important part of a vehicle as it powers the entire vehicle and when it goes bad your vehicle won’t run. We decided to give you 3 quick tips to for battery life and to assure your car will start and in the extreme cold.
- Maintain A Proper Charge- When it is very cold out your car battery’s quality and condition may be exasperated and a mildly old battery might fail prematurely if it isn’t charged completely and regularly. For this reason you need to make sure that you check the voltage and load capabilities periodically. Voltage can be checked with a cheap Multi-Meter simply by putting the probes on either battery terminal and checking the voltage before, during, and after starting. You should see over 12 volts before starting, 9-10 volts during cranking, and 12.5-14 volts when running (alternator charging capabilities measured with the list reading). If your battery reads 12 volts but drops to only a few volts when cranking the battery may either need to be replaced or recharged.
- Electrical System Maintenance- Sometimes the simple things can cause unneeded stress on your car battery. Proper maintenance and periodic checking of your electrical system can prevent a no-start or intermittent start issue. One of the most simple maintenance items you can check is corrosion on the battery terminals and ground connections. Check your terminals and the connections on the engine, body, and starter. If you see white crust, or dust on these connections simply remove the lug or connection and use a wire brush or terminal cleaner to remove all corrosion. You can add a electric spray or connection grease to the connections to reduce future corrosion.
- Plug Your Battery In- If your battery or vehicle is going to be sitting for a long time before starting or it is sub-zero temps outside you may want to plug in your battery to help keep it charged. A Battery Maintainer or Battery Tender will allow you to have a piece of mind that your battery will be fully charged at all times. Battery chargers and maintainers do differ and a maintainer may be better for general use as they tend to be smaller and can the quick disconnect plugs can be left on the battery for quick connection. We suggest plugging in your vehicle anytime the temps get extremely low or the vehicle will be sitting for a long time.