All car owners have faced one common problem in some or the other time of their life and that problem is dead batteries. Dead batteries often can leave you stranded at unknown places and this can be a scary experience for you. Car batteries have a wicked sense of humor and they tend to die out on you when you need them the most. So in order to prevent this situation from arising, you must follow certain steps and tips.
There are a number of reasons which can lead to your battery becoming dead. The commonest reason why a battery dies out on you is the build up of sulfate on its plates. When this happens, it is next to impossible to charge your car batteries properly. Another reason why your battery could die is overcharging it or overheating the battery. Under charging your battery can also lead to certain problems.
Now that you know the various reasons why a battery can die, you should learn the tips which will help you prolong the life of your battery. If you live in a place, where the weather conditions are extremely cold or extremely hot, then your battery is prone to dying out soon. So you must take special care of your battery.
When you are charging your battery, you must check the electrolyte level in the battery. It should neither be too high nor too low. You must also clean the terminals of your car battery frequently. You need to keep corrosion away form your battery and in order to do so; you can make use of a mixture of baking soda and water. This will help neutralize the corrosion and your battery will perform at optimum levels. If you wish to clean the terminals of your battery, you must make use of a terminal brush, which is easily available in the market. These will get rid of any corrosion left on the cables and the terminals of your car battery.
After you are done cleaning your battery, you must dry it off using paper towels. Once the battery has dried out completely, you can keep it on charge. You must always put the positive terminal first followed by the negative terminal. This prevents arcing. Before you charge up your car batteries, you must calculate the ampere hours which have been lost. You will have to recharge your car batteries accordingly.
The time which is required to charge a battery is dependent on the number of ampere hours which have been depleted. These Ampere hours are calculated using a simple process. You are required to multiply the number of hour’s times with the number of Amps that the battery supplied. Once you get the pertinent information, you can start the process of charging your battery. So these are a few tips which will ensure that your car batteries function well and do not ditch you at all.
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