How to Extend Your Car Battery Life

Posted on August 12, 2016

Regardless of the kind of vehicle you drive, it’s equipped with a car battery. It’s a reserve source of power, primarily intended for starting your car. It also helps out by supplementing power when there’s more demand than the alternator can provide.   It’s unavoidable — over time, your battery just won’t hold a charge as well as it once did. Typically a battery lasts anywhere from three to five years. Anything more is borrowed time! So how do you get you car battery to last as long as possible? What steps can you take to ensure your car battery stays healthy?  

Keep your car battery fully charged

  Normal batteries can only be drained and recharged so many times before their reserve power is significantly reduced. Frequent short trips often don’t recharge your battery enough, and eventually it’s too weak to start your car. Keep your battery from going dead to prevent premature battery failure.  

Don’t let your battery freeze

  In winter weather, when the temperature is below freezing, it’s crucial that your battery stays fully charged. A depleted battery can freeze, damaging the plates inside. You’ll be able to tell because the plastic battery case will be bulging on the sides. If you’re not going to be driving during the winter, remove the battery and bring it inside, or keep a trickle charger on it.  

Avoid extended intervals between use

  Your Acura has electrical components and computers that operate continuously, whether the ignition is on or not. They draw minute amounts of power while your car is sitting, turned off. Over a week or so, your car battery’s charge can get low enough that your car won’t start. Any longer, and your battery may be completely dead. Allow your engine to run for several minutes at least once a week to make sure parasitic draws don’t kill your battery. For extended intervals, pull the Ignition Off-Draw fuse out, killing those parasitic draws. Beware that pulling the IOD fuse means resetting your memory settings inside.   If you have a dead battery or want yours tested before the cold weather strikes, contact the service professionals at Frank Leta Acura of Springfield. We’ll do a battery health check and advise you if your battery needs to be replaced, recharged, or if you have charging system issues.