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Top Reasons Your Car Battery Keeps Dying and How to Fix Them

Top Reasons Your Car Battery Keeps Dying And How To Fix Them 1
Batteries are one of the most critical components of a car. It plays a crucial role in electricity generation and power supply to the vehicle’s components. However, car batteries won’t last more than four or five years. Proper battery maintenance during their expected life span is essential for a better-performing vehicle.

If your car batteries are dying before time, there must be some reason. In this detailed article, let’s explore the reasons behind the early death of batteries and how to fix this issue. Continue reading to delve into the further details:

Why Do Car Batteries Die?

Car batteries don’t die within a day. All of it starts from battery overheating, excessive vehicle use, and corrosion buildup on the battery terminals. So, you cannot blame a single factor if your car battery keeps dying. However, you can deal with a few of these issues yourself. But if the matter is critical, you must bring your car to a professional mechanic shop or automotive garage.

Most of the time, people who park their vehicles for a long time in the parking with no usage for weeks or months, most complain about battery death. If your car battery keeps dying even though you drive it almost daily on the roads, there might be other significant issues with its health or overall performance.

Why Does My Car Battery Keep Dying?

Some of the most common reasons for car battery dying are corrosion, excessive usage of the vehicle and fluid leakage. However, other most common reasons for car battery death are the following:

Lights Are Left On

These lights could be headlights, dome lights, or other indication lights. Leaving any of your vehicle’s lights on for a long time will drain your battery. So, turn off the lights whenever you park your car.

Power Drain

A car battery can also drain because of the different systems in your car, including speakers, woofers, phone chargers, and anything you left plugged in. If the switches are plugged in, they will keep draining the power from the battery even if your car is not started.

Corrosion on Battery Terminals

A loose or corroded terminal can damage the battery's long-term health. If you witness your car battery keeps dying, it might be because of corroded terminals or connections. Ensure to clean the terminals or connection points from any kind of buildups.

Over or Under Temperature

Excessively cold or warm temperatures also affect the car’s battery health. So, the chances of battery death in excessive heat or cold are higher than in moderate temperatures. The sudden changes in the temperature also affect the overall health of the car’s battery.

A Problematic Alternator

An alternator is crucial in keeping your car’s electrical components charged. If there is an issue with the car’s alternator, it may also lead to the early death of the battery. That’s why professionals always recommend not leaving your car parked for several days or weeks.

How to Prevent a Car’s Battery From Getting Drained?

As mentioned earlier, the car’s battery life depends on how you drive your vehicle. However, environmental conditions also affect battery health in a significant way. But you can slow down the process of battery draining or dying by considering the following tips:

Fix Corroded Car’s Battery Connections

If your car’s battery connections are loose or corroded, fix them. You don't need to go to a professional to remove corrosion from your car’s battery terminals. You can do it yourself by following our car battery corrosion removal tips and tricks.

Unplug Unnecessary Switches

If you are not using a phone charging socket or any other cable connection in your car while driving, ensure to unplug all switches from the sockets. This will prevent the battery from draining in the long run.

Power elimination is the only way to check if you cannot assess the battery drain because of unnecessary plugging. You can also use the multimeter to test the current flow.

Turn Off Headlights

Turn off all lights if you are not driving your car or parked in the driveway. Double-check the lights, including sensor lights on the dashboard, dome lights, and headlights, to minimize battery draining when your vehicle is parked in the parking lot.

Drive Your Car At Least Once a Week

Even if you don’t need to go anywhere, ensure to drive your car at least 15-30 minutes once a week. Keeping your car’s battery and alternator in proper working condition is essential. The car battery health will remain unaffected if the alternator is charged and used correctly.

What If My Car Battery Keeps Dying While Driving?

If your car battery keeps dying even while you’re driving it, the issue is not with the battery but with other electrical components. The only function of a car battery is to power the starter motor and provide electricity to run electrical components.

Once the system has charged, the following function concerns the alternator and car engine. So, check the alternator motor to see if the engine won’t start or the battery is continuously dying.

However, you need to hire a professional to check the alternator and other components, as a novice needs help to do it himself. But you can fix the loose belt of the alternator yourself.

How to Prevent My Car Battery from Repeatedly Dying?

If your car battery is repeatedly dying even after implementing all prevention and fixing methods, your car’s battery life span is short. You need to invest in a high-end and quality battery with four to five years of life.

If you are unaware of car battery replacement, bring your car to London Motor Sports garage for same-day replacement.

Moreover, our professional technicians will also examine and safety check your vehicle for any further or associated issues. Our technicians will replace your car battery only if needed.

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