It is important to understand that how much the car battery is going to last. Maybe you have bought a new car and you are a little bit worried and anxious about your car battery life.
Or maybe you have been using a car for quite some time and now want to know how long your car battery has left. It is completely understandable in both cases.
So we have brought this article for you to make you understand car batteries and their life span and what actually affects that life span. So without any further ado let’s get right into it.
How Long Do Car Batteries Last?
That is a question that we can not answer with certainty. Some batteries will last longer than others.
There is some things that a car battery depends on and some reason why they die early. We have discussed all of them in this article today.
So if you are interested in knowing then keep on reading this article and you might find the answer that you are looking for. We should stop wasting our time and get started.
Why Do Car Batteries Die?
Car batteries are important. They are the part designed to provide quick high amperage current to start the car.
Without a battery, you can not even start your car let alone drive it.However, a lot of reasons can cause your car battery to die. Let us have a look at those reasons.
1. Slow Discharging/recharging
Well, the battery of a car can slowly discharge if left unattended for a long period of time. This is harmful and you aren’t supposed to do that.
If the car is sitting idle in a garage then the cause of the discharge of the battery can be large. You just need to have to take good care of your car if you don’t want this to happen too soon.
The batteries can die with the passage of time too when the battery has gone through too many start cycles.
2. Structural Failure
The battery can also die because of structural failure. The battery is made up of different parts and electrolyte – sulphuric acid. The battery is not having a smooth sailing.
It is bumped around in the car, it has to experience extreme temperature. So if it becomes structurally unstable and fails. Then it is termed as a dead battery.
3. Rapid Discharging, Overcharging / Alternator Failure
Just like the slow discharging of a car battery, it can also get overcharged because of some problem with the alternator.
The overcharged battery can cause the electrolyte to flow over and the battery fails. Now when your alternator completely stops working then also it can cause a dead battery.
Signs That Your Battery Is Failing
Well, you won’t always get signs from your battery that it is failing but sometimes they do give you signs to show that their life is near the end.
You need to keep in mind that any battery over the age of 3 years has been marching off to its death.
So you need to keep an eye out for the signs. Here are some of the signs that suggest that your battery is failing. It is better to not ignore these signs.
1. Slow Starting
Well if you are getting a slow start then you should get your car checked out. Please do not ignore it because you will find soon enough that your car is not starting at all. This can be a sign of a parasitic draw.
You should get your car battery checked out as soon as possible before your battery finally gives out and you won’t have any chance to save it.
2. Signs of Leakage or Corrosion
You have to check out for corrosion on the top of the battery. You can also check the battery tray below for any signs of acid.
Corrosion on the battery is not going to spell out a damaged battery but it is going to or rather we should say that it can eventually lead to terminal failure.
3. Sudden Click or No-start
If you find that there is suddenly a problem with starting your car then you need to investigate. You can not just jump start your car and go around the entire city in your car.
That is just a temporary solution. You need to go and get your car checked out. Sometimes the headlights of the car will work just fine but the engine won’t start.
4. A Very Bad Smell
Sulphuric acid has a very bad rotten egg like smell so if you smell that a lot then that is a sure sign that there is something wrong with your battery.
And that is caused by overcharged battery or some structure failure of the battery. Be sure to have your car checked out if you even get a whiff of a rotten egg smell near your car.
How To Prevent Battery Failure?
There are a few steps or rather process that you can take to prevent battery failure. Proper tracking of your car battery lifespan is a good thing.
It helps you know when you have to replace the car battery. But you also need to take care of your car battery to balance out untimely death.
1. Long Time Between Starts? Use a Maintainer
This will keep an on-demand low-amperage charge on your battery. It will prevent any slow discharge from happening.Slow discharge and recharge can kill a perfectly good battery before its time.
So be careful about that. Using a maintainer can help you out a lot and make sure that your car battery can enjoy its full life.
2. Get The Corrosion Off
Check your battery for signs of corrosion periodically. It will not take you more than a few minutes. Try to keep the posts and clamps a little bit clean.
This can help your battery life. It is not so hard to do and takes little time. If you can not do that then ask someone to help you.
3. Don’t Power Accessories For Long Periods
Well, car batteries are meant for starting and running cars mainly. You can use it to power accessories occasionally but do not be tempted to do it often or for too long.
Because then it will cause your car battery to have an early death and you surely would not want that to happen now, would you?
4. Don’t Remove Heat/protective Blankets
Many cars come with heat or protective blankets around the battery. This will get corroded away with time but try not to be tempted in removing them before time.
The heat or protective blankets are there for a reason. It protects the battery from the surrounding heated elements.
5. Test Your Battery Frequently
Yes, this is important. You need to test your battery frequently to know about the position it is in and where you are standing.Having the right kind of information about this stuff can help you.
If you do not check your battery frequently then your car may break down in the middle of no where and that will be more troublesome than getting your car battery checked frequently.
Conclusion
We hope that this article has been useful for you. We have researched a lot and given you a run down about everything that you need to know about your car battery.
It can be a pain to be wary of your dying car battery but it is just how machines work. You can not possibly think that you can enjoy one car battery the entire lifetime.
These are just machines, they will slowly die away with use. But the most you can do is prolong their life a little bit by taking good care of them. For that, you need to know the signs of failure as well as what you need to do.
Hopefully, this article has answered your question for all these stuff. Do consider sharing this with a friend or family if you think that this has been a good article.
Thank you once again for sparing some of your precious time and giving this article a read. Have a great day and happy driving!