Your car battery is an essential part of your vehicle that allows it to perform many of the necessities we use in our every day lives. Car batteries produce energy towards charging cellphones, listening to the radio, using the lights in your vehicle, and many other features that wouldn’t be possible without the battery. It is a facet of the vehicle that the average human tends to neglect, which is why we’ve listed everything you need to know about the car battery and how to maintain it.
Car Battery Longevity
There are many variables that can have an effect on the lifespan of your car battery. Regardless, a majority of car batteries will last you 2-5 years. The biggest factor that comes into play by affecting your car battery is weather. Rising temperatures under your vehicle’s hood occurs naturally, causing your battery to drain more drastically. Continually driving your vehicle in these harsh weather conditions are assured to make things worse.
Although the type weather that is occurring is out of your jurisdiction, you can still make an impact to assist your car battery in lasting longer by doing the following:
- Secure your battery
- Regularly test your battery
- Monitor light usage
- Limit short rides
- Don’t use car electronics when engine isn’t running
Formation of Battery Sulfation
Sulfation is described as a buildup of many sulfate crystals and is popularly known to lead to early battery failure. Sulfation occurs when your vehicle’s battery voltage drops under 12.6 volts. Larger crystals begins to form, due to the uncharged crystals. These large crystals are harder to dissolve and end up blocking the chemical reaction that usually allows the battery to retain it’s energy. Overall, this severely decreases battery performance.
There are chargers that exist that have the de-sulfating capabilities, working to reverse sulfation by steadily dissolving lead sulfate crystals and recharging that back to their original state.
Don’t Put Your Car Battery In Jeopardy
If you are on the fence about your car battery issues, don’t wait until the last minute to seek help. We have experienced mechanics, trained to solve all your car battery problems. If you don’t address your battery issues, you can find yourself stuck on the side of the road with a dead battery. Don’t let this be you, call us today!