Useful tips to prolong your car battery life

Your car battery is one of those necessary things you can’t do without. You can perhaps think of nothing so disappointing when you need your car the most only to discover that it won’t start because of a dead or dying battery. It’s critical to understand how to take care of your car battery to ensure its long life. Your typical car battery is designed to last between 2 and 5 years – all depending on how well you take care of it, but the average lies around the 3 year mark. What you need is a few effective strategies on what steps a driver can take to make sure his or her battery stays in good health and lasts even longer. In this blog post, we’ll explain 7 simple and useful tips to increase your car battery life. The following steps will ensure you keep your battery from leaking or corroding:

Clean Your Battery On Regular Basis

Keeping all parts of the battery clean is the best way to prevent leaks, as well as corrosion (more below). Disconnect the battery from the vehicle. If there are any big chunks of dirt near the terminal area that prevent a good connection, remove them using a toothbrush or one of those plastic nail brushes that you use to clean under your nails. Make sure to rinse and dry them after scrubbing.

Using baking soda and water to gently brush the battery terminals is ideal. Dip a toothbrush or similar wire brush into the solution, then scour the end of each clean until you see negative growth on your probes. The best way to ensure that your connections stay “clean” (no corrosion) is by regularly brushing off the wax like coatings that scum will blanket over time (you should notice liquid leaking out around your fuse, if not, it’s probably safe to assume everything’s working fine). After brushing, wipe down each terminal with paper towels until you see all dirt removed from both posts.

Prevent Corrosion On Battery Terminals

Corrosion around the battery terminals and lead clamps occurs frequently. This damage impedes the proper flow of power through the battery. Controlling this corrosion means first performing regular visual inspections of the battery to see any signs of the battery. This problem is often caused by improper cleaning, so regular cleaning can prevent corrosion around the battery terminals.

The cheapest way to prevent corrosion at your car’s battery terminals is to apply a tablespoon of petroleum jelly to both positive and negative positions. Use the wrench to remove the battery cables from the posts and rub the petroleum jelly in each terminal.

Switch Off Lights, Car Stereo, And Other In-Car Electrics While Engine is Off

If your engine is off and you’re parked somewhere, we suggest limiting the use of your electronic devices. Turning on any radio, overhead lighting or other electronics might put added strain on the battery and if there’s no “input” from the engine then that means that there won’t be any way to charge it back up again until you move.

Turning on electronics without an available charge in the battery may cause it to run down. Furthermore, always devote extra attention to turning off car electronics when not in use. Doing this will help ensure that your car is powered up later and that you’re not surprised by a dead battery later down the road due to negligence.

Conclusion

There are a few other things one can do to help extend your car battery life. The first thing you should do is invest in a good-quality battery charger. The second thing you should do is make use of your engine’s auxiliary cable, which often comes with the device. Then, you can avoid the need to get another car involved for starting your vehicle by giving it enough power to rev up its engine. Lastly, if you want to extend the life of your car battery, it is also a good idea to buy a good-quality solar battery charger. This device is helpful when the power begins to run low because it allows you to get enough charge to start up your engine again.

If you are likely to put many miles on your car, it is a good idea  to get your car battery replaced on routine schedules to avoid car breakdowns on the road when you require to work longer distances. Buy a good battery in a local auto parts store like Repco or Supercheap autos, or seek out a used battery at a car wrecker like Honda Wreckers Adelaide.

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