Battery problem seems to be one of the real problem for the car drivers because of lack of guidance and they lack of idea on how to use the BATTERY CHARGER to charge a CAR BATTERY in a proper way.
How long should a battery last?
A good ballpark figure for car battery life is five years, but there are a number of reasons why you might find yourself replacing your battery much sooner. Depending on the types of journey you tend to take your car on, you could find your battery starting to show signs of age at three years, and become practically unusable after four.
Your car’s battery is used to start the engine when you turn the key. This requires the battery to effectively empty itself in one go, before being slowly charged back up again by the engine. If you constantly make small journeys, the battery will deteriorate faster and need replacing sooner than if you regularly travel longer distances.
Other factors that determine battery life include the prevailing temperature, how much physical stress you put on it, and how demanding your car’s extra electronic features are. But like almost every vehicle component, its lifespan will depend mostly on maintenance and sympathetic use.
How to improve car battery life
- Try to avoid repeated short journeys. By depleting the battery and not fully charging it up again, you risk shortening its life. You also run the risk of depleting the battery so much that it doesn’t have enough charge to start the engine - while the battery may be ostensibly healthy, you could find yourself needing a jump start to get going again.Obviously if you only ever use your car to commute ten miles a day, there’s not a lot you can do about this - you’ll just have to accept that you’ll need to replace your car battery sooner than someone who mainly undertakes long motorway journeys.
- Visually inspect the battery regularly. One major battery-killer is corrosion - the metallic gunk that builds up around the areas where the terminals and the cables meet. There are products available that help clear corrosion from a battery, though home-made alternatives are significantly cheaper. While you’re under the bonnet, ensure the battery is tightly fixed in place. A wobbly battery could end up being internally damaged by vibrations and impacts, or could work itself loose from its mountings.
- Avoid using your car’s electronics while the engine is off. Drawing current from the battery while the car’s alternator isn’t charging it could have a life-limiting effect, so try not to use the infotainment system, the climate control or the lights while parked up. Depending on the age of your car, you could find that you’re asking more of the battery than you think. Cars fitted with ‘stop-start’ technology require special batteries. While there can be fuel efficiency improvements from this system, it can also take its toll on your battery.
- Check that your car’s electrical system is in good working order. Faulty alternators and components that secretly drain your battery are often culprits when a car won’t start in the morning. Not only will a malfunctioning charging system have an impact on battery longevity, it can also cause your car to stop working at the least convenient moment. Check with your mechanic before replacing your battery, as it could be the alternator at fault.
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