Essential DIY Tricks to Prevent Car Battery Failure

Imagine a scenario where you’re running late to the office, have a dozen tasks lined up for the day, and you enter your car only to find it doesn’t start! In such a situation, wouldn’t a battery failure be the most austere nightmare of the day? In the UAE, a car is not just perceived as a status symbol, but as the lifeline of the people. Many traverse huge distances in their cars daily, and if the car goes defunct, it represents a detrimental emotional and psychological loss, in addition to the monetary aspect.

As cars’ ignition remains on for hours daily, the cause of a breakdown in many cases is a faulty battery. However, there are certain DIY tricks to prevent battery failure and save a day’s worth of productivity. These require simple, easy-to-understand, and affordable tools which you can use at regular intervals to keep your car’s battery health in check. These are:

1. Voltmeter Test

As the name suggests, this method involves ascertaining the vehicle’s battery voltage. For this, a tool known as a voltmeter is required, which can be found at any car spare parts shop. To appraise the voltmeter reading, it is crucial to keep the car’s ignition off. As you might know, the battery has two terminals (positive and negative). Find these under the hood of the car and connect the red lead to the positive terminal and black to the negative.

If a reading of 12.4 to 12.7 volts appears on the screen, it implies the battery is in good shape. Readings outside this range indicate a fault that needs to be shown to a mechanic. Note that the readings will fluctuate when the car is turned off and when the key is moved towards ignition. When the car’s engine is on, the voltage reading will be higher due to greater load on the battery.

2. Power Probe Test

This method is almost identical to the aforementioned, with a small difference. Here, we utilize a different gadget called a power probe. Like a voltmeter, the designated cables have to be connected to the battery terminals so that the positive lead establishes contact with the positive battery terminal, while the negative lead connects with the negative battery terminal. If a voltage of 12.4 to 12.7 appears, it indicates that the battery is working fine and assures that it will function for a reasonable period.

3. Cranking Test

This evaluation can only be performed when the engine is running. This test can be considered superior to the former two as it provides a real-time analysis of battery voltage under load. Depending on the type of vehicle, ensure to slot the car’s gear in neutral and engage the hand brake if it’s a manual transmission vehicle, or shift the gear to Park (P) in case of an automatic vehicle.

Perform this in a closed and safe environment and let a known person accompany you for the experiment. If a reading similar to the ideal bandwidth is obtained in this test, you can heave a sigh of relief as the battery is in fine condition.

Additional Methods to Assess Battery Life

Additionally, more sophisticated methods to assess a vehicle’s battery life have emerged in recent times. These include:

Hydrometer

As you might have guessed from the word ‘hydro,’ this method involves measuring the specific gravity of the battery electrolyte. Electrolyte is the fluid in which the positive and negative terminals are submerged. Since this liquid can be greatly affected by outside temperature, it becomes challenging to use this technique, and those not having a fundamental understanding of battery components might want to resort to conventional methods.

Battery Analyzer

Similar to a computerized system, this device checks battery-related aspects such as voltage, starter system, and alternator health. This machine is commonly available at trained auto garage professionals or mechanics, but a layperson might not be able to understand the conclusions it provides as knowledge regarding the device and certain terms will be necessary.