Car Battery Inspection

The climate in desert cities can wreak havoc on a car battery. This is because batteries can struggle under high temperatures, with the stress from the heat causing it to discharge slowly even if not in use. It is particularly ruinous in a car battery’s case, because they are designed to always be kept at full charge. Additionally, excessive heat can corrode the battery plate and lead to a premature death for the poor battery.

You might be experiencing battery failure if your car battery won’t charge, or it no longer gets enough energy to start the vehicle. To know what exactly causes battery failure, it helps to first understand how a vehicle battery works.

Automotive batteries work by creating an electric charge, using a chemical reaction between sulfuric acid, water, and lead plates. The three main components produce electrons that get sent to conductors. Aside from electricity, another byproduct of this chemical reaction is lead sulfate, which attaches to the lead plates. This “sulfation” would normally cause the battery to be unusable, but the vehicle’s alternator can reverse the chemical reaction by sending a reversed current and triggering another chemical reaction.

The chemical reaction taking place inside your car battery is complex and designed to keep the battery functioning for years. That is if you are treating your battery well and not doing anything that will shorten its life. You should keep a few things in mind if you want to prolong your automotive battery’s lifespan:

• Car Batteries need to be charged at all times. Storing your battery for long periods of time without a full charge will result in sulfation, discharging the battery slowly before eventually rendering it unusable.
• You need to keep the conductive posts clean, because corrosion will increase electrical resistance and prevent the battery from transferring a charge to your battery.
• While you need to keep the battery charged at all times, you also need to prevent overcharging. The battery is designed to address small overcharges, by dissipating small amounts of hydrogen gas through its vents. However, frequent and large amounts of overcharging will overwhelm the battery’s ability to dissipate hydrogen gas, resulting in a swollen battery. This is very dangerous, as it could lead to an explosion.

When you purchase a new battery, you also need to pay close attention to the specifications. Different vehicles may have different voltage requirements. You should purchase car batteries that match your car’s requirements. Additionally, you should check the date of manufacture, because the safe practice is to install batteries one year from their manufacturing date.

Davies Auto Care knows that most car owners don’t really want to deal with the hassle of troubleshooting and replacing their batteries. If you have car battery problems, take your car to our shop and we’ll make sure to get to the root of the problem. Contact us now to set an appointment for extensive Cathedral City auto diagnostics. Our vehicle inspection services include Check Engine Light, Auto Safety Inspection, and Automotive Diagnostics.