Even though most drivers do take care to avoid unnecessarily draining their car battery, there can still be some vampire functions, habits, or conditions that can inadvertently affect battery life.
- Vampire functions like the dome light
- Headlights
- Poor connections
- Bad alternator
- Not driving enough
- Extreme temperatures
- Normal wear and tear
It’s the little things that can turn into big things that often use up battery power unnecessarily. For example, if you flip the dome light on and forget to switch it back to automatic; or maybe you have lights that go one with your car doors. When you’re ready to turn off the car, do one last check of all systems to ensure everything is off.
While some cars have automatic daytime running lamps, if you’re in a vehicle that doesn’t have automatic headlights, you might forget to turn them off when exiting the car. Leaving them switched on can pull power from the battery even if the car is turned off.
When your battery connections are corroded, it can allow energy to escape and cause the battery to drain faster. Make checking under the hood part of your regular maintenance, and keep the engine area clean of debris and grime.
An alternator is the part of the engine that charges the battery as you drive the car and if it goes bad, it can allow the battery to drain instead of recharge.
It does take some time for the alternator to charge the battery so if you’re prone to using your car for short trips around town, it may not have enough time to completely recharge the battery with enough power to meet your vehicle’s demands.
Very hot and very cold temperatures can affect your battery’s performance. If there’s no getting around the weather because of where you live, consider garaging your vehicle if possible, to provide some protection from the extremes.
Even the best batteries only last around five years no matter how well you take care of them so it’s possible that your battery is getting drained simply because it’s nearing the end of its natural life.
Contact SJ Tire Co Today
When you’re having car trouble and you’re worried about the car battery or the car battery replacement, turn to SJ Tire Co. Skilled and knowledgeable automotive technicians can guide you through your options, whether your battery is draining because it needs to be replaced or if there’s another cause.