Tips to the care of car battery-Here are a series of tips so you do not have a surprise when you go to pick up your car after the holiday period. Because if there is a time of the year in which you have to be more careful with batteries is this, the winter, with the thermometers poking slightly above 0 degrees. For this, it is essential that we make sure that all the elements of the vehicle work properly, especially the battery.
It is a key element to start the vehicle and, if we do not check them periodically, we can risk not starting, among other things. For this reason, based on what they recommend from TAB Batteries, we show you the best tips that will help you take care of your batteries and increase their useful life.
Tips to the care of car battery
1. Choose the right battery
If for any reason, you must change your car’s battery, the first thing you should look at is the vehicle maintenance book. This is where all the specifications of the battery will appear and you will know which one you should buy.
In case you do not get one that fits perfectly to those characteristics, you could risk your car having serious electromagnetically failures. But, in addition, it can suffer another type of problems that, in principle. You would not imagine that they were affected. For example, we mean that the consumption of your car increases considerably or that the clutch is worn out. It is the best to the care of car battery.
2. Review the battery and control its operation
In general, a battery lasts between 3 and 5 years. But it is not necessary to wait for our car to experience failures to take it to the workshop. What’s more, for the more foresighted we will say that there are some diagnostic devices that help control if we still have enough energy to run our car.
One of them is known as “magic eye” and consists of a plastic viewer that acts similar to a hydrometer and changes color depending on the state of the battery. However, this viewer only detects the element where it is embedded, so it can lead to errors.
Also, we can do with a voltmeter that, as its own name indicates, measures the voltage. In this way, if the result gives us 12.6 V we would have the load at 100 %, if it measures 12.4 V it means that the load would be limited (<50%) and if the voltage is lower it would have to be recharged as soon as were possible. However, it is important to note that this measurement must be made at rest to avoid the impact of the alternator.
3. Beware of high temperatures
If you are not going to use your vehicle often during this vacation. You should make sure that it is not too exposed to the sun. Very high temperatures can damage the battery, causing its useful life to be reduced considerably. It is the best way to care of car battery.
4. Monitor the terminals and the alternator
Eliminating the impurities from the terminals is very useful for the maintenance of the batteries, although some skill is required for this. If you dare, do not forget to have a brush, water, baking soda. And an antistatic cloth, and petroleum jelly or a specific spray.
Also, we must make sure that the alternator is ready. It is, along with the battery, the fundamental element for the car’s electrical system and if it is in poor condition some components of the car will stop working and the battery could overload, losing the load earlier than expected.
5. Reviews and control
Although, as we say, it is not necessary to wait for something to go wrong to control the battery, if we have an accident it is necessary to go to the workshop to make sure it keeps working. It could experience a leak of electrolyte from the terminal. And this would end up causing the corrosion of the parts that come into contact. It is the best to the care of car battery.
But, in addition, it is necessary to make good use of the electrical elements of our car. Leaving the radio on or the lights on when the car is stopped. And the engine off c.an cause the battery to wear out prematurely. Something that would also happen if we leave the air conditioner connected in the same conditions.
6. What do we do with the old battery?
This type of elements is very polluting for the environment. They cannot be thrown away as we do with food, containers or glass. The right thing to do is go to a workshop, a clean point or a recycling center. For example, TAB Batteries has the Eco Motion to prepare the batteries that have already been used and try to give them a new use.