How to Make Your Car Battery Last Longer

One of the most common car problems is dead battery. It is the life of your car. Without it, your car is as good as dead. And yet, the car battery is often neglected when it comes to regular auto maintenances. So how should we take care of the battery?

Here are a few useful guiding tips as to how you can successfully go about taking care of your car battery that will add longevity to the battery and ensure hassle-free start-ups!

Make sure that there is no rusting/corrosion on your battery terminals. This leads to frequent problems in start-ups as a result of loss of electrical contact between the battery and electrical cables. So you need to keep in stock those battery corrosion prevention sprays and glues that prevent rusting of car batteries, the root cause of all battery related problems.

However, if you detect any kind of bluish green or white powdery layers forming anywhere around the battery terminals then you have to take immediate action to prevent further damage. You’ve got to clean away all the formed rust carefully from the battery terminals without damaging the battery or causing short-circuits.

You must keep a wire brush handy for scraping off all corrosion from every nook and corner of your rusted battery.

A useful and proven tip that makes your job easier and cleans the car batteries more thoroughly is you can pour boiling hot water over the corroded parts of the battery prior to cleaning. This actually helps to dislodge chunks of rust deposits facilitating easier cleaning of the car batteries.

To enhance the output of your car batteries as well as add a few more extra years to its average life span you can install greater number of and/or larger sized plates in the battery. It is always advised that you buy those types of car batteries only that is best suited in the condition, read weather conditions (hot/cold climates) in which your vehicle is frequently/continuously exposed.

So to avoid troubles in your car batteries and maximize their efficiency you must always take into consideration the cold cranking amps (CCA) and the reserve capacity (RC) ratings while purchasing new car batteries.

You must also keep in mind that most car batteries are 12-volt lead-acid type batteries that are filled with a highly corrosive lead and acid electrolytes and inflammable gases such as hydrogen are released when the batteries are recharged. So while cleaning and maintaining your car batteries take proper safety measures such as wearing rubber gloves, eye protection gears, etc. to avoid injuries and accidents.

The battery terminals must be provided with insulating caps to prevent accidental contact of your car battery wires with any metal part of your car such as the bonnet. This leads to short-circuit followed by fire/explosion.

Prior to handling your car batteries remove all kinds of metal accessories from your body such as watches with metal straps, metal jewelries like bracelets, bangles, rings, etc. to prevent short-circuit if these items by chance touch the positive terminal of the battery.

Last but not the least you must dispose old worn-out batteries with great care. The toxic components of car batteries can damage the environment. Car batteries with their lead and plastic components can be easily recycled so you can exchange old car batteries with new ones instead of disposing them off carelessly.