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YOUR car battery (not hybrid or fully electric car battery) is very often forgotten as it sits inside your engine bay together with many little items that you leave to your mechanic to look at when your car goes in for servicing or repair.
During a lengthy lockdown or when your car is left idle for a long time, your battery might need looking into. Do not get caught with a drained battery when you need to use your car soon.
Its function
The car battery has multiple functions. It provides the electrical charge needed to ignite your engine to get it started.
The battery does not just provide a charge to the starter, but also the ignition system, electronic fuel injection system and other electrical systems such as lights, audio system, car alarm etc.
The battery also acts as a capacitor in the car’s electrical system, smoothing the flow of current.
What could happen
If you don’t use your vehicle for a long time, the battery loses electrical charge leading to sulphation. Your battery contains a liquid called electrolyte that is required to produce and hold the electric charge. When the electrolyte level becomes low due to evaporation or leaks, the lead plates are exposed to air causing sulphation. This also results in a reduction of electrons leading to low electrical charge overall.
Your car battery power is getting drained/used even when the vehicle is not running. Think, your car alarm is still running and other electrical systems consume a small amount of electrical charge when the vehicle is at rest. This is called a parasitic drain.
What if it does not work
A temporary solution to fix a dead battery is to jump-start your car. You have to however take some precautions before you begin plus you will need a pair of jumper cables, another working car with engine size similar to yours and a little know-how.
Here are a few precautions (you must follow them even when you attempt to inspect/clean/jump start the car battery yourself)
- If the battery is damaged, leaking or heavily corroded call a mechanic
- Keep metal objects away before jump-starting
- Remove loose clothing so that they don’t get in the way of your engine moving parts
- Do not smoke
- Make sure the engine and headlights are turned off and the key has been removed from the ignition.
- Make sure the car being used to jump your dead car battery has its air-conditioning system, audio system and lights switched off.
- Best to get someone to help you and have them sitting in the driver’s seat of the running car.
- Connect the jumper cables one at a time. Follow the instructions very carefully.
- If you are using ‘supermarket’ purchase jumper cables, chances are they will not work as they use very low-quality cables and connectors.
- Get quality jumper cables from car spare part shops. The cables will be thick and heavy.
- After you have jump-started your car, remove the cables carefully without touching each other or any metal parts at all. This is very important.
- Let your car run for a few minutes and then take it for a short 15-20-minute drive to charge up the battery without using the radio, lights and air-conditioning (where possible).
Make sure you keep your jumper cables in a cool place after using them as they will be hot after each jump-start. Keep the connectors clean for your next use. – The Vibes, January 21, 2021
