It is essential to keep your battery regularly charged up throughout the year, especially during the winter months. In the winter the effectiveness of your car battery is reduced by the cold. Oil is thick engines are difficult to start and the heater, windscreen wipers and lights are all draining power. It is at this time that batteries have to be at peak power.
If your battery is not regularly maintain and kept fully charged, it can cause problem and a possible breakdown. Listed dare some helpful hints on how to keep your battery healthy in conjunction with your battery charger.
Batteries are usually made with six cells. One of these cells can deteriorate or get damaged. If after several hours charging your battery is still flat, you should test the battery. Take hydrometer readings form each cell in the battery. If one reading is lower than the others this could indicate a faulty cell. If necessary, get an auto electrician at Penrith Car Service in Sydney and Western Suburbs to check your battery. One faulty cell is enough to ruin your battery. It is pointless to continue using it and you would be better getting a new one.
Battery care
Sometimes the battery may appear flat, but this could simply be dirty or loose connections on your battery terminals. It is important to maintain the leads on a regular basis. Do this by removing the leads from the battery, cleaning the inside of each connector and the terminal posts on the battery. Smear the terminal posts with any of the readily available gets that one can get for this purpose.
Replace the connectors and tighten firmly. It is essential to keep the electrolyte level above the plates. Noted, however, that you should not overfill it, as the electrolyte is strongly acidic. When topping up avoid using tap water. Always use distilled or ionised water. It is important to keep the acid level up it necessary have it checked by your garage.
Checking the battery’s condition
Using a hydrometer, which can be purchased from most motor accessory stores, you can check the specific gravity of the electrolyte in each cell. The hydrometer is used to suck up a quantity of fluid from the cell. The weighted float inside the hydrometer will register the condition of that cell. Put the fluid back into the cell after testing, taking care not to splash the fluid.
When the battery is being charged you may notice bubbling in the fluid caused by the release of gas. As the gas is flammable, no naked lights should be used around the battery, and the area should be kept well ventilated. Because of the risk of explosive gas, only connect, and disconnect, the battery leads when the mains supply is disconnected.