Keeping Your Car Battery in Good Condition.

Car battery care tips

Many car owners these days tend to neglect their oil and water levels, these days and this includes the car battery. Like anything else in this life things will work better if they are looked after. Being a garage owner myself I see the amount of neglect on the cars that come into the garage for minor things, such as to top up the cars washer bottles, or check their oil level for them.

When we lift the bonnet (hood) you can see that the battery terminals are all corroded with the white powder and the battery is generally filthy and dirty. This is a sure sign that the battery has not been checked in ages.

Car battery types

The ratio of sealed batteries and open ended types with a screw top are about 60/40 these days. This means that about 40% of cars should have the tops removed and the batteries water/acid levels checked and topped up if required. The 60% of batteries that are sealed lead acid batteries cannot have their water/acid levels checked, because obviously they are sealed and you cannot gain access to the cells.

The sealed ones have a different type of material to make the cell plates out of. The plates are made of lead alloys and do not gas as much as the screw top type of battery that are made of lead antimony and this will tend to give off more gasses, thus reducing the amount of liquid in the battery. The acid/water mix is known as electrolyte and should be just covering the tops of the plates inside each battery cell.

 It is not a good idea to top your battery up with tap water as it may contain other chemicals. You can buy electrolyte from a motor accessory store or if you have a condenser type of spin dryer, then the water that it produces in the plastic reservoir, is in fact distilled water and can be used to top up battery. Your car battery will need more checking up in hot weather because of a higher rate of evaporation. Also if you have to constantly top one particular cell up, then the cell could be shorting out and boiling up the acid, if this is the case, than a cheap car batteries are the answer.

Car battery terminals

This is one of the commonest problems that can occur with your car battery is the gradual erosion of the

Terminals like these require a really good cleaning

battery terminals. The white powder is caused by a mixture of hydrogen crystals and sulphuric acid. This comes from the escaping hydrogen gases from the battery vents mixing with the acid and forming crystals onto the steel bolts that fasten the terminals to the battery and also the battery terminal wire which is usually made of copper. This can eventually cover the complete terminal and looks a real mess; eventually it will completely corrode the terminal wire and break the batteries circuit.

This mess needs cleaning off, as it does no good at all. The best way to do this is to pore some hot water onto the terminal slowly, remember this is acid and you should not let it touch your body, eyes or cloths. Some people use a mixture of water and baking powder, which neutralises the acid and you, can then give the whole terminal a rub down with a cloth and a wire brush. The terminal should then be protected by coating the terminal with a good smothering of petroleum jelly. Here in the UK we use a brand name called Vaseline.

Keep a car battery charger handy

In the winter time when the days are short and the nights long and cold it is always a good idea to charge your battery every now and then. If you keep your car in a garage then it would be easy to hook the car battery up to a charger, from say your work bench, but if you leave the car outside you should probably

Ring smart battery charger suitable for cars

remove the battery and charge it indoors. This sounds like a bit of a chore but it will keep your battery in good condition much longer, than if you just neglected it.

Battery chargers are now very cheap to buy. You can now buy what they call smart chargers, and all you do is connect them up and leave them, the charger will take care of your battery without you touching it again.

Before you charge the battery up, make sure that you unscrew the tops. This allows for the gases to escape while the battery is being charged up due to the acid heating up and evaporating, then top the battery up to the correct level after the charging has finished.

Checking the specific gravity of your car battery

If you want to take testing your battery a little further then I suggest that you invest in a hydrometer. They are not very expensive and will determine the state of charge of your caravan battery. The hydrometer measures the specific gravity of the electrolyte in your battery. If you place the rubber tube into the battery then

A simple hydrometer will show you the state of you battery

squeeze and then let go, then the electrolyte will enter the glass bowl. In the glass bowl is a float similar to a fishing float. This float has markings on it to determine the state of the battery. If the marking that is level with the liquid reads 1.27 or higher the battery is in good condition, if the reading is below 1.13 then the battery is flat. You then squeeze the liquid back into the cell and check the other cells. Simple?

You can also use a simple voltmeter set at 20 volts or above. The reading for a fully charged car battery should be 13.5 volts or above, if it is below 11 volts then the battery will need replacing.

Disclaimer

Please note these are the words and opinion of the author (Eric Roberts) only. Neither the author nor the website can be held responsible for any errors or omissions. You should seek professional assistance if in doubt about your choice of battery. The article may contain a link to Batteriesontheweb where you can buy battery products online.

|This article is also posted on..http://www.batteriesontheweb.co.uk/blog/