By Automotive Online on February 26, 2009 9:56 AM

  It's the powerhouse of your automobile's electrical system and if there's no supply from it you aren't going anywhere! Your car's battery isn't just important to have the auto moving, but serves several other purposes too and perhaps the most important is to keep you safe while you drive at night with the help of fully functional indicators, head and brake lights.

Car batteries are an expensive piece of equipment, an average automobile battery life is around 3-5, and it depends on many factors including, climate, usage, etc. Extremely hot and cold climates can reduce battery life. Battery being the powerhouse for your vehicle needs to be cared for and maintained well, for the most part you can do it yourself to make it last longer. You'll find below some basic but essential battery care tips to keep your car's batteries alive.

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Understanding an Automotive Battery

A battery meant for use in a car is a type of rechargeable battery that supplies electric energy for its electric power requirements. An auto battery is commonly known as an SLI battery (Starting - Lighting - Ignition) to power the starter motor, the lights, and the ignition system of a car's engine.

The starter batteries are usually of lead-acid type and provide a nominal 12-volt potential difference by connecting six galvanic cells in series. With each cell producing about 2.1 V, the total voltage is roughly 12.6 V. Made up of lead and lead oxide, the battery plates are submerged into an electrolyte solution of sulfuric acid and water, a chemical reaction is triggered within it. Consequently, electrons are released to produce electricity.

As the battery discharges, the acid reacts with the materials of the plates, but once restored to its original condition the battery is recharged and ready for a repeat of the process.

Purchasing A Battery:

First things first, your fruitful and long-lasting association with your battery begins with you buying the right one based on your auto's specifications and usage in addition to environmental factors.

Extreme temperatures can have a high impact on you battery's performance, for example when the temperature is zero degrees, even the healthiest of batteries give out only half of their output. Always keep in mind that batteries are rated by cold cranking amps (CCA), which indicates its power and the reserve capacity rating (RC). This rating is a good measure to assess for how much time your car's accessories like car dvd player would stay alive on the battery while the battery still has enough charge inside to rev up the engine. So if you are an inhabitant of a cold terrain, where double the electric power would be consumed to start the engine, you should benefit quite a lot from high CCA ratings.

Furthermore, always consult the original equipment manufacturer's (OEM) minimum requirements for the requisite CCA rating, as you might be monetarily at a loss with an unreasonably high CCA rating. However, an extra RC (reserve capacity) is always desirable. The size and number of plates in a battery determine how many amps a battery delivers? This is also one of the parameters that differentiates a battery with a 3 years and a 5 year warranty.

Taking Care of the Battery Trays

Perform this routine every six months. Shut down the engine plug off the terminal caps, and disconnect the black terminal battery cable (negative). Similarly, disconnect the positive terminal battery cable, and pull out the battery bracket hardware, before lifting the battery out from the battery tray.

Make an assessment of the tray; do you see any signs of corrosion? Make use of a wire brush to clean any dirt or deposits with it. In case you have a metal tray then apply an acid-resistant paint on it, let dry before you put the battery back in.

In case you find that the tray has been badly corroded and is brittle, get a new vinyl tray as a replacement. If the tray was bolted in, then use a chisel to chip it off, mark the location, drill new holes and complete the replacement. Ensure that you firmly fix it back in place.

Taking Care of the Bracket

Similar to the tray, the brackets too can be affected by corrosion. You need to check for the slack as well as corrosion on a regular basis. Sometimes corrosion can lead it to become loose causing the battery to shake and vibrate more, thereby reducing its life. If you observe signs of corrosion to the bracket, then fix the problem right away. First off tighten any loose screws, clean the area with a brush and finally apply an aerosol solvent. It's quite possible that the brackets have been badly corroded, if so then replace them on the first go.

Taking Care of the Battery Cables

Once you've cleaned the top of the battery, clean up any corrosion from the cables using baking soda (1 tablespoon), a cup of water and a nonmetallic brush. Then wash up with water.

Taking Care of the Battery Cable Terminals

Perform the same cleaning operation on the battery terminals just like you did for the tray, brackets and the cables. Remove any deposits, it's a good idea to use a wire brush dipped in baking soda and water. This would not only clean the terminals of corrosion but also ensure that the deposits do not block the flow of electrical current.

Recharging the Battery

Batteries are one of those car accessories that are bought once in a while; moreover they're quite expensive as well. Therefore, it makes sense to take the maximum out of your battery before you replace it. Sometimes, extreme cold temperatures and small trips can cause a battery to lose power, in such a case you can resort to recharging it so that it may last several months more.

Once you observe that your car's charge indicator is showing a weak battery you can go about charging it with a trickle charger for an all night charge that it requires. Shelling out some bucks on a trickle charger is worth it, as they're don't cost much.

To recharge you battery, shut down the engine, position the red charger clip to the positive and black/green charger clip to the negative terminal. The maneuver is fairly simple, however take extreme care that you don't allow the connector clips to come in contact with anything or else it might lead to a spark. A small spark by itself is quite harmless, but if you battery has been spewing hydrogen it might lead to an explosion. Next, turn on the charger, let it charge overnight, and take it away when the meter shows less than one amp of charge. In case your battery still shows signs of weakness, get a new one.

Checking Cable Ends for Tightness: The battery cable ends need to be tightly fastened to the terminals, if they're not, the connections won't be proper and cause the battery to malfunction or not function at all. Hold the cable and move them, if you easily can then they're loose, tighten them as soon as possible.

Checking the Water Levels: Always ensure that water levels in the battery are at right levels. If you're on a conventional battery then you can make an assessment by taking out the plastic cover to see whether the water reaches the plastic filler necks or not. Fill it up with distilled water if needed. In case you're on one of the maintenance-free types then you can rely on the indication by the indicator lights going black when a service is due. A mechanic should best handle this type of a battery.

Preparing for Cold Weather:

• Load Test: As has already been mentioned that it your battery's output dips down to its half in cold weather, always get a 'load test' performed on you battery for the upcoming winters. This test would reveal whether the battery could generate enough charge at sub-zero temperatures or not. In case it can't it won't it's time to replace it.
  
  
• Battery Heater: Just like you want to remain cozy and warm in the winters you car battery does too! Kidding aside, it makes good sense to purchase a battery heater if you live in an area with a cold climate. The heater can considerably bring down the power needed to rev up your car's engine.

An early diagnoses and first aid is what can save you from trouble at the wrong time. Just as the old saying goes "a stitch in time saves nine," your battery might give you good cues when it's low on charge or failing.

Your battery could need help if you notice that the headlights are a bit dim and they regain the sheen when you throttle up the engine. Similarly, with a battery low on charge you could find that the starter is slow to start the car. Furthermore, if you'd forgotten to turn off your car's lights and accessories, you battery would have lost charge. Lastly, if you battery begins to trouble you in its fourth year or fifth, it could be a good indication of being just the right time to replace it with a new one.