Your car battery is every bit as important for your vehicle as the engine and fuel supply. On many occasions car batteries are likely to be the reason why your car won’t start on those freezing cold mornings.
Car batteries are designed to be hard-wearing and typically last between four and five years. Once they are up and running, car batteries are constantly charged by the alternator and with a bit of care your battery can last even longer. Read our tips and information about car batteries below.
Common Problems With Car Batteries
Over time, like all car parts, batteries will start to degrade. While the alternator is designed to keep charging your car battery while the engine is running, it will inevitably lose some of its ‘juice’ as time goes by.
A lot of car batteries are prone to failure because of the cold conditions, especially if they have been powering your car for several years already. This is all because of the number of mechanical components that need to spark into life during the ignition process. Sometimes your battery just isn’t able to cope with the initial cold temperatures.
The extreme cold and wet weather can make it extremely difficult for batteries to provide the important spark, but the alternator can be at fault just as frequently as the battery itself. If there is an issue with the battery many owners will assume that the time has come to invest in a new one to see if that solves the issue. However, it is often the fault of the alternator failing to charge the battery and this could mean you buy a brand new battery that just runs itself down like the previous one.
Corrosion is another common problem with car batteries – just like typical household batteries – and this can be resolved by coating a layer of petroleum jelly on the battery terminals that will discourage corrosion from developing.
How To Check If You Need a New Battery
Checking The Alternator
To ensure it is not the alternator failing start by opening the bonnet and locating the alternator, which is connected to the battery.
Take a multimeter and set it to around 20 DCV. Then connect the negative terminal on the battery, followed by the positive terminal, and this should give you a reading. Anything around the 12-volt mark would be desirable in this case. At this point you can then start the car and this will test the performance of the alternator. When the engine starts the voltage displayed on the multimeter should increase to around the 14-volt mark – anything above this could cause damage to the battery by giving it too much power, while anything below this would indicate that it isn’t being charged sufficiently.
You should then switch on any additional electrical parts in the car – such as headlights, the radio and interior lights – as this will affect the voltage reading. Again, if this drops below the original 12-volt mark then it may mean that the battery isn’t being charged by the alternator.
Checking The Battery
To check it is in fact a worn battery causing your issues, try starting your engine as normal. If your engine doesn’t start the first time you turn the key – as you would expect it to – it’s important that you don’t just keep turning it with the hope that the car will start. Doing this simply puts the battery and other electrical parts under additional stress and actually serves to decrease the likelihood of your car starting.
Instead you should try in ten-second intervals. If this still doesn’t work, leave the car for around 30 seconds before trying again so as to not cause unnecessary stress and to allow the charge that has been generated to reach the essential parts.
If the car still won’t start it is likely that the battery needs replacing and you may want to call for assistance in the form of jump leads from a friend, neighbour or family member in the short term.
Choosing a New Car Battery
All car batteries have a specific code. This doesn’t mean that it is the only one suitable for your car, but best practice is to replace it like for like when the time comes.
Car batteries are rated according to Amp Hours (Ah) and Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) and these refer to how long the battery will last if it is not charged and the power they have to turn the engine over on those troublesome cold mornings respectively.
As we mentioned earlier, best practice is to simply replace your car battery with one with an identical code – even if it is made by a different manufacturer. Most car batteries are identified by a three-digit code, such as 063 car batteries. You should then check on the CCA and Ah ratings to make sure that you are buying a battery that is powerful enough for your car.
If you are ever unsure on exactly which battery to choose, you can use our fast finder by entering your vehicle details or you can contact us and one of our experts will be happy to help.
Removing An Old Battery and Fitting a New One
When it comes to changing your battery over it’s vital that you disconnect the negative terminal first. This is to prevent any damage to the electrical system and it’s very simple to do. The terminals are usually given a plus or minus symbol, or are red and black so it is obvious which is which.
Start by loosening any clamps that hold the battery in place, followed by the cable and any screws or ties used for the same purpose. Having done this you can then start to remove the positive terminal, followed by the battery itself – but remember that a car battery can be very heavy so be sure to use the handle and get some assistance if required.
You can then place the new car battery in the correct place, ensuring that you have the positive and negative terminals on the right side. Then you can start to connect the clamps and cables, ensuring that the positive is the first to be fully connected.
This can be a complicated job so if you are unsure about any aspect of changing a battery it is worth visiting your local garage to do it for you.
Prolonging The Life of a Car Battery
Having chosen your new car battery you’ll want to make sure that it lasts as long as possible. One really effective way of prolonging the lifespan of your battery is to make sure that any electrical appliances are switched off when not in use.
A lot of car owners will have car chargers and other devices plugged in and each one uses power. It is vital that they are unplugged when you switch the engine off otherwise they will continue to take power from the battery which won’t be being charged itself.
You should also make sure that luxuries such as heated windows and mirrors are turned off when they are not needed, along with headlights on bright days (if you are able to do so), as they too will use a small amount of battery power.
If you know that you are not going to use the vehicle for a long period, perhaps because you are going on holiday, it may be worth disconnecting the battery from the vehicle to not only reduce the risk of corrosion and issues occurring when you go to start the car for the first time; but also to prevent thieves from starting the car and driving it away.
You can always take the battery out of the car and connect it to a battery charger if you wish, topping it up so it’s ready for anything. We keep a range of battery chargers in stock that plug into your home electricity supply and are suitable for all makes, models and sizes of car battery.
For more expert advice and industry news, take a look at our other articles, and remember you can find over 130,000 affordable parts both in store and online, at Euro Car Parts.