Winter driving conditions can often lead to an unexpected dead battery. There can be several reasons for your vehicle charging system to require a replacement battery. Whatever the reason, ensure the technician performs a battery registration on your new car battery.

Winter Driving And Your Car Battery

The performance of your car battery can suffer during the cold winter months. Freezing temperatures can lower lead-acid battery capacity between 20-50%. Plus, winter driving generally utilizes more accessories like headlights, seat warmers, defrosters, and windshield wipers. These accessories can put a considerable strain on your car battery, causing an old or depleted battery to die.

When To Replace Your Car Battery

Performing routine maintenance on your car battery can help prolong its life. Cleaning the battery terminals and keeping them free of corrosion can also help the battery’s performance during the winter. Unfortunately, even the best-maintained battery will not last forever. Here’s how to know when to replace your car battery:

Dead Battery

It’s awful when trying to start your car and hearing the dreaded click-click-click instead. You have a dead battery when it does not have sufficient power to crank the engine to start it. It can happen with age or leaving an electrical component (like your headlights) on after turning off the car. When the battery experiences a full discharge, it requires testing to see if it can still hold a full charge or needs replacing.

Car Battery Won’t Hold A Charge

Over time and use, car batteries accumulate irreversible internal damage, making it harder for them to hold a full charge. Sometimes they can be re-conditioned to hold a full charge again. Sometimes, they are beyond re-conditioning and need replacing.

Car Battery Is Old

Generally speaking, a typical car battery has a 3-6 years life span. If your car battery is older than three years, you should have it checked with every oil change to ensure it can still hold a full charge. Once your car battery reaches six years, experts recommend replacing it, especially if you live in a climate with very hot and/or very cold temperatures.

Bulging, Leaking, or Damaged Car Battery

The battery in your vehicle should be clean, secured with a strap to prevent shifting, and be free of corrosion. Immediately address any signs of bulging, leaking, or cracks in the outer case. Damaged car batteries are dangerous. To be safe, replace them immediately and dispose of, or recycle them appropriately.

Vehicle Charging System

As auto manufacturers design better, faster, and safer vehicles, the vehicle charging system has become more complex. In addition to the basic components (alternator, voltage regulator, drive belt, serpentine belt), many cars now have an electronic control unit (ECU) in their charging systems. The ECU stores data about the charging system.

Battery Registration

The service technician should run the Battery Registration Replacement function on the vehicle charging system’s ECU, each time replacing a car battery. This process completes the following operations:

• Deletes the stored battery statistics (battery charge level, current, voltage, temperature)
• Sets the new battery capacity to 80%
• Stores the current odometer reading
• Clears warning messages, dashboard lights, and low voltage/battery fault codes 

Battery Programming or Coding

Battery Programming (or Battery Coding) is vital when the replacement battery is different from the old battery. Your vehicle charging system ECU needs to know the battery’s specs (Ah rating, AGM or lead/calcium, RC rating) to set the appropriate charging algorithm. If the algorithm does not match the battery, over-charging or under-charging can damage your car battery and possibly your entire charging system.

The OBD2 Port

An On-Board Diagnostics 2 (OBD2) port is the access point for the ECUs in your vehicle. Your service technician uses this port to connect with their computer. It allows them to see all the error codes and other vehicle data stored by the various system ECUs in your car.

Replacement Battery in Ann Arbor, MI

Ron’s Garage has been serving Ann Arbor and surrounding communities since 1982. Our team of qualified technicians can diagnose issues with your car’s vehicle charging system. We can also test your battery and quickly install a replacement battery, if necessary. We have the latest technology to perform the battery registration and battery programming on any make and model.

Schedule Service

Give us a call today at (734) 961-4701 or visit our website to make your car battery service appointment!

The post Car Battery: Why It’s Important to Register a Replacement first appeared on Ron’s Garage Ann Arbor Auto Repair.

This month’s Fall Car Care Tip is to recommend you schedule a Battery Inspection with your local service station. They will check your battery life, clean your battery terminals, and determine if you need a battery recharge or replacement.

Did you know that it’s common for a car battery to fail once the weather gets cold? Most people assume that the cold weather is to blame, but that’s only partly true. See, batteries take a real beating during the hot summer months. High temperatures cause evaporation of the fluid in the battery’s cells. Once that fluid gets low, the battery is severely limited on how much charge it can hold. A weakened car battery may last through the summer, but die as soon as the weather changes.

Battery Life

Battery life depends on a few factors. The type of vehicle you drive, how long you routinely drive, and inclement weather can all impact the life span of your vehicle’s battery. Typically, auto batteries will last 5-7 years under ‘normal conditions’. However, if you drive in a hotter climate, you may need to replace your battery more frequently. If you drive in a very cold climate you’ll need to take precautions to keep your battery from freezing. 

Ways To Extend Battery Life

There are several, simple ways to extend the life of your vehicle’s battery.

Keep it charged

Drive at least 20 minutes to give the alternator a chance to recharge the battery. Short trips of 10 minutes or less, can actually harm your battery over the long term.

Keep it from freezing

If temperatures drop below freezing, park your vehicle in the garage or use a thermal car cover if your vehicle has to be parked outside. Aftermarket battery covers or thermal blankets are also effective at keeping your battery warm when outside temperatures drop. Parking close to a heated building, or in direct sunshine, can also help reduce freezing temperatures from impacting your battery life.

Reduce Drain

Turn off all electrical accessories (radio, seat warmers, media players, etc.) before turning off the engine. And definitely don’t run those accessories with the engine turned off. They are power hogs and can drain a battery fairly quickly, to the point where there may not be enough juice left to re-start the engine.

Battery Inspection & Maintenance

Routine battery maintenance will also help extend the life of your battery. You can check your owner’s manual for a suggested schedule. Your service technician can also perform battery maintenance during any of your routine service appointments.

Keep Battery Terminals Clean

A clean battery operates better. If you notice corrosion on the battery terminals and cables, it’s a good idea to clean them up. Equal parts baking soda and cool water, plus an old toothbrush will remove corrosion with a little gentle scrubbing. If the battery cables are stuck, try cleaning them while they are still connected to the battery. They may be easier to remove once the surface corrosion is removed. Once they are free, you can give the terminals a deeper cleaning.

Check The Fluid Levels

Check the fluid levels if you have a battery that is serviceable. Only use deionized or distilled water if you need to add water. Common tap water has minerals and additives that can harm your battery. 

For maintenance-free type batteries, check the inspection window for the charge status. A green dot in the viewing window means your battery is still good. If the window is dark, your battery needs to be re-charged. However, if the window is yellow or completely colorless, you need to replace your battery. 

Test The Electrolyte

If you want to inspect the actual condition and charge level of your battery, you can do so by testing the fluid in your battery (this doesn’t work with maintenance-free batteries). The battery should be at room temperature. You will need a specific tool called a hydrometer. Follow the instructions that come with the tool, but here are the basic steps:

• Wear safety goggles and gloves.
• Remove the battery cell caps or covers.
• Insert the tube of the hydrometer into the first cell hole and use the bulb to draw the electrolyte fluid into the tester.
• Make sure the tester is level and record the reading.
• Squirt the fluid back into the same cell.
• Test all the cells the same way.
• Compare your results. A fully charged battery will have readings of 1.265 or higher in all cells. If your readings are consistently low (around 1.200) in all cells, then you need to recharge your battery. However, if one or more cells are different by .050 or more, then you need to replace the battery.

Maintain Charge

Finally, your battery should be charged to 12.6 volts. If it falls below 12.6 volts, it could reduce the overall performance and life of your battery. You can test the voltage by using a voltmeter. You can use an aftermarket battery charger or a trickle charger to recharge a low battery. 

Battery Inspection in Ann Arbor, MI

Ron’s Garage has been serving Ann Arbor since 1982 and offer professional automotive services at a fair price with an emphasis on customer satisfaction. We are equipped to perform both major and minor repairs on all makes and models, imported or domestic up to one-ton. Let us test your battery and perform a battery maintenance service for you. 

Schedule A Service

Call us today to schedule an appointment with any of our friendly service agents at (734) 961-4701 or visit us online.

The post Battery Inspection: Fall Car Care Tip first appeared on Ron’s Garage Ann Arbor Auto Repair.