Winter car maintenance: Battery
and Electics
8 Dec 2010
by Donald MacKenzie
The UK's breakdown specialist, the AA, advices on these issues and has
largely inspired the following:
Batteries tend to last no longer than five years; so if your own
battery is approaching this age, it makes sense to change it before you
get stuck at the roadside without sufficient battery power to start
your engine.
Rush hour driving in the winter with lights, heaters and windscreen
wipers all on and little opportunity for the alternator to keep up with
the demand and recharge the battery will eventually drain the battery.
If you are doing only this type of driving, especially if you notice
that your battery is being a little sluggish in starting the car,
consider getting a new battery if it is reaching the end of its life
and/or recharging the battery yourself overnight. Recharging with the
lowest current is best for battery longevity.
Reduce electric power use by turning down heater fans and turning off
rear window heaters as soon as you can. Likewise, any other high
electric power use devices, for example, heated seats or windscreens.
Even use of a CD player while sitting in traffic can add significantly
to the drain of power from the battery.
Use of the starter motor in short five second bursts with thirty second
breaks between each attempt is, according to the AA, the best way to
preserve battery power. All other elctrically powered devices (fan,
headlights, rear window heater etc.) should be switched off during the
starting procedure.
The above is the first in our 'winter car maintenance' article series:
Winter car
maintenance: Battery and Electrics (above)
Winter car maintenance: Antifreeze
Winter
car maintenance: Vision
Winter car maintenance: Visibility
Winter
car maintenance: Tyres
Winter car maintenance: Getting ready
to go
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