Why Does My Car Battery Keep Dying?
This question does not have one single answer. There can be many reasons due to which your battery can keep on dying repeatedly. Although it is difficult to check out every little possibility, here we will tell you some major aspects which affect the working of the car battery and eventually also leads to its death. you can resolve some of these by yourself and some may need a professional mechanic to look upon.
Last update on 2022-01-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
1.Leaving Headlight, Dome Light or Devices “ON”
Yes, leaving Headlight, Dome lights, and devices like radio “ON” for a long period can make your car battery keeps going dead. As we shut-off the engine, the battery has some small amount of power for giving electricity to these parts to work when we need them. Although these devices and light run on very low power they easily drain the battery in a small period of continuous use. A weak battery can drain in even less time. So they need extra conscious care in this matter.
This means yes, it’s obvious that you should take care of this thing by never leaving your car’s Headlight and Dome Light “ON”, but it’s equally important to keep your battery strong. For keeping your battery strong here are some important things to take care of, if we perform these processes time to time it’s merely possible that your battery becomes weak:
- Check the seal of the battery and also that it is having electrolytes in an adequate amount in the cells.
- Checking the specific gravity with a hydrometer which tells whether just a single or more than that cells are out of work.
- Testing load on the vehicle by load tester. This puts the load on the battery that directs the drawing power from the starter and by this, you get to know the loaded and unloaded voltage of the battery.
*Performing the loading process may lead to bursting of battery so it’s important to wear a safety guard while doing so.
2.Corrosion Around Battery Terminals
We can notice the corrosion around the battery terminal by seeing white, green, brown color flakes sort of elements around it. This corrosion results in a bad supply of current from the battery and eventually leads it for dying.
We can remove this corrosion with the help of baking soda or by scratching away flakes of corrosion with the help of sandpaper.
When you do this process of removing corroded flakes make sure not to disturb cable connections (The cables attached to the terminals of the battery) these are the very significant parts which can hugely affect the electrical performance of the battery.
3.Checking parasitic Draining
Parasitic Draining of the battery takes place when some internal lights are manufactured to shut down by themselves, but due to some reason the lights do not turn “off” and remain “on”. This lightening up of these lights makes the battery drain overnight as done by Headlights. Trunk, glove, and compartment lights are some of the examples of these internally present lights.
Ways to check out whether the battery is going through the parasitic drain or not:
- Disconnect the cables and attach a multimeter to check the current flow. Yes, some multimeters have an inductive clamp that does not need us to remove the cables. If you are using the multimeter without having an inducted clamp in them make sure to do the set up which can handle high ampere current flow of the battery.
- Use the tester for checking parasitic draining. In this process, we put the tester on the negative terminal after removing its cable. If the light inside the tester glows from the flow of the current of the battery then there is some drainage present in the battery.
Last update on 2022-01-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
4.Improper Alternator & Faulty Charging
If your Alternator is in bad condition it directly affects the battery’s power giving ability or we can say it drains the battery quickly. This is because Alternator is the electrical powerhouse of the car and its job is to make radio, AC, power windows, etc devices work when then the engine of the car is shut down.
The Alternator of the battery stops working properly because of the loosening
belts or tensioners of the Alternator. As the alternator is responsible for charging while driving, the charging system of the car also becomes weak. This eventually leads to improper working and draining of the battery in the future.
5.Extreme Temperature
Extremely high (over 100 deg F) and Extremely low (less than 10 deg F) temperature leads to sulfate crystal formation. This leads to the slow charging of the battery due to the draining of power.
6.Short Drives and Old Battery
If you regularly use your car for short distances it will impact the battery badly because the main work of the battery is to start the engine and if you repeatedly start the car it will load the battery to work more and weakens itself. This further results in the draining of the battery quickly.
Also, if the battery is old it takes much power to start the engine. Honestly, you cannot get proper working of the battery after completion of its shelf life of 3-5 years. After this period you should replace the vehicle with a new battery.
These were some primary reasons which affect your battery’s charging and power sustainability most. So if you have checked all these above conditions nicely and then also your battery doesn’t retain its power then it might be possible, there may be some issue with other components of the vehicle and even now if it’s not working, then you should change your car’s battery.
Last update on 2022-01-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we check the car battery at home or we should move to a mechanic for this?
You can easily test the battery’s terminals that there is some corrosion around it or not, for this also you should first shut down the ignition. Also, you can check the parasite drain with a tester (Although this does not give accurate results). In other processes like checking specific gravity, alternator condition, and some more precise technical checking it’s better to go to a mechanic.
Yes, by doing some primary things if your battery’s performance improves it’s not compulsory to go for mechanics help.
What if your battery is dying while driving?
While driving, the alternator takes the whole responsibility of charging so if the Alternator’s belt gets loose, some problem with its tensioners arises or any other problem comes in the charging of the battery due to malfunctioning of the alternator, the battery starts dying while driving also.
Does Alternator overcharge also cause the draining of the car battery?
Yes, as we have mentioned above, any problem with the alternator directly attacks the efficiency of the battery, it also causes draining of the car battery due to overcharging, the voltage regulator also does not work properly due to overheating of the battery, because of excessive power given to it.