When you sell off your car, how do you ensure that every seller says, we want your car!? You do so by keeping it in good shape. One of the things that are hard to maintain is the life of your car battery. The average car battery life varies between three to five years.
However, there is a myth that surrounds car batteries. It is believed that regardless of what you do, the battery will die after five years. While the chemical composition of car batteries does mean that they eventually need to be replaced, you can extend their life considerably.
Here is how you can extend the life of your battery.
- Don’t use it for short rides
Do you take out your car to run every errand? It sure is tempting to do so. However, if the trip isn’t long, we would advise you to take the public transport instead. Or walk the distance. Why? This is because driving your car for short distance prevents the battery from charging fully. However, if you drive your car frequently for long miles, the battery life of your vehicle can be easily maintained. Individuals who don’t use their cars often would also find that the battery won’t get enough time to get charged. To combat this, invest in a portable charger. This helps in jump starting vehicles.
- Inspect your car batteries once a month at least
A common reason for shortened battery life is corrosion build-up around the terminal of the cells. Corrosion is the worst enemy of car batteries. This is why you must ensure that they never happen. To do so, inspect the batteries at least once a month. Clean any build-up that is present. To do so, use an anti-corrosion paste or a Cola drink. The latter works because it is highly acidic and hence eats the build-up away. After you have cleaned the build-up, do make sure that you clean the wet area. After letting it dry, apply petroleum jelly on it. This helps in reducing the chances of corrosion build-up in the future.
- Avoid using the power when the engine is off
Many of us leave our headlights on even when the engine is not running. If you care about your car batteries, you should make a point of never doing this again. Whenever the engine of your car is off, don’t use any power. This will guarantee that the charge stays close to 100%. This will make sure that the battery doesn’t get damaged.
- Limit the exposure of heat
Do you know why cars batteries tend to fail in the winters? It has nothing to do with the prevalent cold weather. Instead, the batteries are showing an effect of what they went through during the sunny days. Heat can lead to a high rate of evaporation of water from the battery cells. This weakens them and hence reduces their life. Therefore, to increase battery life, try to limit the time your vehicle is exposed to the heat. Keep it in your garage when your car is not being used. Put it under the shade whenever possible.
Verdict
These are just some of the various ways you can extend the battery life of your car. Implement them and see the difference.
Author Bio:
About Michelle Joe: Michelle Joe is a blogger by choice. She loves to discover the world around her.
She likes to share her discoveries, experiences, and express herself through her blogs. You can find more info about online life coach philippines