Your car’s battery is one of the important components of your car. It is responsible for starting your car, and powering most of the major functionalities inside the car. Your car’s battery is vulnerable to many factors that can cause it to die faster, and also shorten its lifespan.
The most common factor is extreme temperatures. Like all batteries, car batteries also perform poorly in severe temperatures, whether hot or cold. This should be alarming to people that are about to experience severe winter conditions.
Swollen Battery Case
A battery is a chemical reaction that is confined inside a box. Like with any chemical reactions, severe temperatures can have a huge impact on the batteries. The size of the battery case can swell once the battery undergoes exposure to extreme temperatures.
In the winter time, the battery is more likely to discharge and freeze. This freezing or swelling can cause the battery to electrically die. When this happens, car owners are unable to recover their batteries and they will need to urgently replace them.
An aged Car Battery
An aged battery can be very threatening to car owners, especially during the winter. You must keep track of your battery’s total life span. If you have been using the same battery for more than five years, then this means that it is time to replace it for a new one.
Keep in mind that your battery’s lifespan is also influenced by exposure to extreme temperatures. Another thing that influences the lifetime of your car is your driving habits. Make sure that you take your battery for testing once it hits the four-year mark.
A technician can test your battery using tools. These tools can help reveal how much time is left on your battery. If you are not sure about your battery’s age, then you will need to look for a manufacture date that you can find on the battery case.
Loose Terminals
Make sure that your battery terminals are properly joined to the batteries. If your terminals are loose, the car will display the same symptoms of a dying battery. This may lead to believe that your battery is dying, when in fact your terminals are loose.
You can then simply tighten the terminals and get rid of the problem. If tightening the terminals does not address the symptoms, then you will have to turn towards your battery. Your terminals may loosen because of wear, or corrosion.
Corrosion on the terminals and other components of the battery is common. It happens because of the accumulation of lead sulphate on the metal components. This compound escapes from the battery and onto the metal components. Fluffy blue corrosion at the positive terminal is a sign that the battery is emitting acidic fumes.
As you can see, the severity of the weather can also result in the severity of the car’s battery. In this instance, it is best that car owners stay alarmed to the possible issues that a car battery can face in the winter.