At some point in life, most car owners have been stranded or struck due to a dead car battery. Your car probably gave you so many warning signs but you tend to forget it anyway. Just like a car battery, your electronic devices also have batteries but for a limited lifespan but sometimes they will lose their capacity to hold a sufficient charging amount.
On average a car battery lasts up to three to five years and depends upon other conditions such as extreme weather temperature, driving habits, driving duration, the performance of the car etc. Despite all these conditions, one question always arises about how to increase the lifespan of the car battery.
So, here are a few points that can help to lengthen the life of your car battery:-
Increasing the Lifespan of Car Battery
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Check your Car Battery Voltage More Often
Testing a car battery voltage can potentially minimize any chances of your battery getting breakdown while you are out on the roads. You can either call a professional mechanic or do it by yourself with the help of Voltmeter. Purchasing a digital voltmeter can come in handy due to its accurate reading and ease to use.
You can connect the positive voltmeter lead to the positive terminal and the same goes with negative from that you will receive the reading. If the reading is between 12.4 to 12.8 volts that means your battery is healthy and fully charged and a reading of 12.0 volts means your car battery is flat then you need to do replace the car battery.
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Never Leave Your Car Unused for a Long Time
It is necessary to keep your car battery fully charged otherwise it can damage your car battery and other components as well. No matter what, at some stage, the car battery may start discharging slowly even it is sitting idle for months. Small electronics in a car require electrical power to function such as GPS, car clock and others even the engine is off. There is a way to prevent any sort of battery discharge then remove one of the battery terminals to break this circuit. By keeping your car unused for a long time then you probably need to change the car battery.
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Clean your Car Battery
Always ensuring that keeping your battery is clean is the best way to increase the lifespan of your car battery. Dirt and stain on top of the car battery can discharge the power which can cause flattening to the battery. The battery terminals can usually corrode in time and scrub the terminals with a toothbrush which is dipped in a baking soda and water solution after that spray it with cold water and rinse the mixture off. Clean up it with them through drying with a clean cloth.
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Check That Your Battery is Tightly Fastened
You probably felt some sort of vibrations while driving a car, it can be due to loosening battery connectors which ensures to properly hold down. Loose battery connectors can damage your car’s internal components which can lead to excessive problems like reducing the battery’s life and short circuit. Even over-tightening the connectors can lead to a limit of strength which can damage the battery.
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Stop Driving Car for Short Rides
Every time you take your car for a drive it automatically charges the battery. So if you are taking your car for short rides then it would be difficult for the battery can regain the amount of power in a short time. If you will do it usually then your car battery will no longer have sufficient power to turn on the engine. So it is advisable to take your car for longer rides frequently to charge up the battery or else you have to consider car battery replacement services.
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Avoid Using Any Electronics When Car is Off
Keeping your accessories of the car working even after keeping your car engine off such as interior lights on, air conditioner, keeping the headlights and others can make your car battery drain the power. It can be because your car alternators are to shut down even when the engine is switched off which causes the electronic accessories to drain power from the car’s battery.
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Extreme Weather Conditions
Extreme cold and hot conditions can kill the car batteries because they have to work a harder lot just to start the engine. The extreme heat can increase the evaporation of water from the battery even it is sealed from the top batteries. In cold, the battery becomes weak and cranks a lot is it quite difficult to make it start.
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Get your Car Serviced
To avert any sort of unexpected breakdown of the car, then it is best to get your car battery inspected by a professional mechanic. For your next car service, ask your car technician about the battery conditions and charging.
The Bottom Line
When your car is not starting when you needed the most it can create huge havoc in your life, but that havoc can be made due to a dead car battery. The car battery work constantly no matter how many shifting conditions come over, the only sense that can be made is that even though there are certain shifting conditions your car will automatically give some sort of warning signs that your car battery’s power is depleting. Even after certain care and maintenance, if the car battery is still not in a proper condition then car battery replacement is the only option.
