These are common mistakes drivers make that really drain their vehicles’ batteries. It might be due to stress from work exhaustion or probably just skipped your mind. Check the list to avoid!
A battery in a car is just as important a nucleus in a cell. This means your car relies heavily on this battery to start. A dead battery will surely disrupt your daily plan or leave you stranded due to non-responsive ignition. This is why this piece is a must read on what can possibly drain your car battery.Here on xerodrive.com, regardless of thetype of battery you are using in your car, your battery can be drained for these reasons.
1. When you keep your lights on
This is one of the most common mistakes drivers make that really drain their vehicles’ batteries. This mistake might be due to stress through exhaustion or probably just skipped your mind. When you leave lights in your car such as headlights and dome lights overnight, it will most likely drain your battery. Imagine you waking up and ready for work, only to discover that your car cannot start just because the battery has drained overnight.
To prevent such mechanical or electrical mishap from happening, learn to switch off all your lights in your car before you leave your car after work.
2. Weak battery
When your battery is weak due to bad maintenance culture, you leave your battery exposed to several other bad conditions. This will reduce its capacity to power your engine. It becomes less durable and its lifespan is cut short.
One of the most effective ways of extending your battery life and maximizing its capacity is to acquire a good battery charger such as trickle charger. This battery charger effectively charges your battery well without any case of overcharging.
3. Electrical issue
A glitch in the electrical composition of your car can really drain your battery. There are also times when some electrical required parts of your car may still be working even after you switch off your engine; Components such as security alarm, radio preset and other minor electrical component. Your car glove box light is normally on, but if it comes on after you off your engine, if not check will drain your battery.
4. When the battery connection is loose
Failure to properly maintain your car battery properly, the battery may become corroded. This means your car battery can be drained even when the engine is still running. There is a more complicated issue with cars that use alternator to charge up small electrical components. When you notice this problem with your car, it’s advisable you take your car to an auto repair shop for a professional checkup.
5. Impaired alternator diode
When there is fault with your alternator diode, it will drain your battery by making the circuit to draw power even when your car engine is switched off. This is because it is the sole responsibility of the alternator to supply power to a few electrical components and also to recharge the battery.
6. Worn out battery
Your car battery may be due for replacement since it is old and worn out. Easy way to know this is when you will encounter daily challenge of starting the engine. If you have used your battery for a period of 5 years and you notice the occurrence of finding it hard to switch on your engine, you need to replace your worn out battery with a new one.
Finally, even though most of the problems identified are associated with old batteries, are you aware that you can also have drainage problem with your newly purchased car battery? When you under use the battery especially due to regular driving to short distances, it will weaken the battery life. This can happen because the alternator does not have sufficient time to recharge. Bad temperature or extreme weather condition building up sulfate crystal can also be a factor that reduces or damages the car battery. You should know that when the battery charging system is faulty, it will also affect the lifespan of the new battery.
