The battery is an integral part of your car but unfortunately, it is not built to last forever. While well-maintained car batteries can last for up to five years, due to weather conditions and the manner with which you use your car, you can find your car battery wanting within a lesser period. Although the battery will give a series of warning signs before eventually packing up, most people start shopping for a new battery on the day the car would not start. Picking a new car battery might seem to be quite a piece of work for many car owners, but in the real sense of things, it only requires following a few guides:
So what you need to know when trying to select a replacement car battery?
How often do you drive
If you belong to the category of people who drive their cars once in a while for whatever reason, you risk allowing your car battery to drain to a dangerously low level. This is because not frequently driving your car makes the battery discharge on its own, and also driving for only short distances at a time will not make your car battery charge from the alternator as it should be.
To ensure that you can get the best out of your battery, you would be well off choosing a battery that has a high Reserve Capacity (RC) rating. This will ensure that you always have enough battery charge to operate the essential car accessories even if your car alternator stops working.
Number of car accessories
Although many car owners do not realize it, many of the accessories in the car drain the battery. While the air conditioners and LCD screens are only in use while you drive, others like the security alarms and electronic locks still use power when the car is parked. This is another time when selecting a battery with a high RC comes to play.
Type of weather conditions in which you drive
While this isn’t exactly down to any fault of yours, it is an important point that usually gets ignored by many people. Using your car during extreme weather conditions affects the battery more than you think. For example, it is common to find out that it takes longer to start your car during the winter, this is because many battery types require more power in cold conditions. You can fix this by choosing a battery with high Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) as they are specifically built for use in very cold conditions.
Driving Habits
There are a lot of questions that you need to answer before picking a new car battery. Do you take a lot of frequent short trips? Do you often find yourself on country roads? Do you travel long distances very often?
There are a lot of questions that you need to answer before picking a new car battery. Do you take a lot of frequent short trips? Do you often find yourself on country roads? Do you travel long distances very often?
