Maintenance Tips to Prolong Your Car Battery's Lifespan

When some motorists experience a breakdown of their vehicle in the middle of the road, they tend to assume that it happened spontaneously. The truth of the matter is that as your car starts to suffer from decline, it tends to exhibit signs and symptoms that should alert you to take it for a car service. One of the crucial components of your vehicle that needs to stay in good working condition to keep your car up and running is the battery. However, lack of maintenance and ignoring the warning signs of decline lead to some motorists becoming stranded due to a faulty battery. There are some handy maintenance tips that you could use to prolong the life span of your car battery, while helping you to spot any abnormalities in it.

Inspect the car battery's electrical connections

One of the things that you need to regularly examine is your battery's electrical connections. These terminals and cables function to ensuring there isn't an interrupted electrical flow between the car battery and the engine. When examining the electrical connections, be wary of any signs of corrosion. Rust at the battery terminals will cause an electrical resistance, which decreases the amount of energy your vehicle's engine receives. As such, it is prudent to ensure that you regularly clean out these terminals to eliminate any signs of corrosion.

Cleaning of these terminals can be done using a sturdy wire brush to scrape off the rust and a damp cloth to wipe the terminals dry. When embarking on the cleaning up process, you should ensure you are safe by wearing protective eye gear and gloves. This is because there are some toxic substances that gradually develop on the battery such as lead sulphate, which is white in colour.

Ensure that your battery is always charged

Some motorists tend to be under the wrong impression that if they keep their vehicle in storage, then they are extending the life of their car battery. This could not be further from the truth. Batteries that are either undercharged or kept in a constant state of underuse have a higher likelihood of going flat prematurely. This is why you will find yourself in a situation where you require jumper cables to start your car if it was not in use for an extended period of time.

Typically, this tends to happen during the winter months when motorists either have gone on holiday or are trying to avoid driving in wet and slippery conditions. To ensure your battery does not go flat, take the time to rev the engine from time to time and ensure that the car battery stays fully charged while it is not in use.

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