How to maintain your car battery

The humble car battery is the life blood of your vehicle. The battery is what provides the charge to make your vehicle go.

Maintaining your car battery well, means you will be prolonging the life of battery, meaning you will have trouble free motoring.

But what’s involved with maintaining your car battery?  Here, Tyrepower Noosa provide some tips on how to take care of your battery so it lasts for as long as it should:

Take the long road 

If you only tend to take your car out for short trips to the shops for example, you are actually reducing the life of the battery. Short trips undercharge the battery, so you will need to periodically drive for longer periods to ensure the battery is optimally charged.

Clean the battery

If your battery is accumulating a white or blue powdery substance around the terminals or on other parts of the battery, this is what is commonly called battery acid. Battery acid is a sign the terminals are starting to corrode.

If you don’t clean the battery acid off it will eventually weaken the connectivity of the terminals and your battery could fail.

Top up the water

Some car batteries have cells that are filled with water.  If your battery has these cells, you need to ensure the water levels are maintained.

You can only use distilled, deionised or demineralised water to not to cause a build up of impurities from tap water within the battery.

Switch off the non-essentials when not in use

You should always start your car first then turn on any accessories, as radios and air-conditioners use energy from the car battery.

Be sure to switch off the car radio, turn off the air-conditioner and ensure any interior lights and headlights are in the off positions when you leave your car.   

With these few simple steps and checks you can preserve the life of your battery, leading to less breakdowns due to a flat battery. 

If your car does breakdown and is need of a log book service or car repairs, be sure to call Tyrepower Noosa on 07 5449 7785. Our expert team will be able to get you back on the road fast!