How To Prolong The Life Of Your Car Battery

In time all batteries degrade and eventually reach their natural end of life.  However if you follow these steps you can extend the life of your battery.

Cold Weather Protection

The temperature can greatly effect how a battery holds its charge and the cold winter mornings become more unwelcome when the battery is flat. It can also effect how the power output performs and how well it charges to more warmer climates.  In addition to this it also is used more with lights, wipers, heaters etc. being used more, so demand increases.  This is why in these colder seasons it is the most common breakdown cause.

It is better in this case to park your vehicle close to the house, cover it with a car cover or park it in the garage.  A few degrees can make a big difference.  If you do the latter of the three you also protect your vehicle more to the elements outside.

Drive often and for longer periods of time.

If your car is left standing not being used for days at a time, the charge of the battery lowers and you may find that your vehicle does not start on your first day back at work.  To avoid this you simply need to take your car for a run or ask a neighbour while away for long periods of time to start the engine and leave it running for five to ten minutes.

If your daily commutes are short and generally less than 20 miles, your battery is not getting the chance to charge enough.  To get around this make a longer trip every once and a while.

Turn off connected devices

With every device you connect to your vehicle outside of the manufacturers specification is not how the battery system was designed.  Therefore you are putting additional load on to the battery which drains it faster, or if there is not enough charge, to start the engine. Disconnect them and consider turning off your fans, heating and radio to get the engine started.

When you are parked and not using your vehicle disconnect any devices from it which may drain your battery and ensure simple things such as lights are off inside and outside the car to ensure it starts the next day.

If you find that you are using too much power from your battery, speak to us about possibly fitting a much more powerful battery.

Get it checked

At Titan we can check your battery very quickly to see how well it is performing and holding a charge so you don’t get caught out on that next trip out.