If you were jumpstarting your car several times and worried about why your car battery keeps dying, then this post is for you! Be sure to learn how your car battery works, the reasons why it won’t hold a charge, and what you can do about it.
The primary function of a car battery is to start your car.
A car battery gives a steady stream of voltage that maintains your car engine and other car accessories running like radio, headlights, and any onboard computers. However, a weak or old battery may not do either of these things.
Human errors generally cause batteries to drain. These human errors include:
- Leaving headlights on overnight
- Accidentally leaving a door open
- Forgetting about the dome light
However, if your car battery repeatedly requires a jump start, then there is a need for detective measures, chances are that it’s another problem entirely.
Reasons Why My Car Battery Keeps Dying
So, what actually causes car batteries to drain or die? The following are some reasons that may make your car battery break easily.
Bad Battery
A battery that is worn out, old, weak, or even damaged may not be in a position to hold a charge evenly or constantly. Extreme temperatures may even worsen the situation.
Remember that even small drains such as the memory function in your car radio may even kill a lousy battery. The average lifespan of a car battery is 3 -5 years. However, some of the factors that may reduce the lifespan of your battery to two or three years are:
- Extreme temperatures
- Frequent short trips
It will be a good decision if you do away with such a battery and get yourself a new one.
Headlights or Interior Lights
If you leave headlights or dome lights on, then be sure they will drain a dead battery overnight.
It can’t hurt to have a quick glance after dark for any interior lights that may have been left on.
Some headlights are made so that they remain on for some time, but due to malfunctioning systems, they may leave them on permanently. You need to be alert and have any faults in the system fixed.
Corroded or Loose Battery Connections
A substance known as Copper Sulfate always develops on the battery nodes, especially when you leave your battery or when it is exposed to moisture. This substance is not a good conductor of electricity and affects the general performance of your car battery.
To get rid of copper sulfate, you should:
- Be sure to turn off your car
- Loosen the clamps on the battery nodes
- Use a wire to scrap the substance
- Tighten connections using a wrench
The positive and negative terminals connected to your battery can get loose at times.
Loose cables can be caused by vibrations, bumps, and shaking of your car’s battery, primarily resulting from uneven or bad roads.
The end result of loose terminals is that it might make it difficult for you to start your car engine simply because your car battery is not in a position to transmit power.
The corroded battery may hinder the charging system from topping off when you are driving.
To prevent this problem, you should regularly check and clean your car’s battery terminals.
Too Many Short Drives
When you take too many short drives, the alternator might not have enough time to recharge your battery correctly. The alternator’s function is to restore your battery while you are driving.
These short drives may reduce the lifespan of your battery.
You can use a bicycle or just walk short distances or drive around a little longer to cure this problem.
Extreme Hot or Cold Temperatures
Unlike new batteries, which are more resistant to extreme seasonal temperatures, old batteries can be weakened by intense cold or heat and even kill them completely.
Both hot and cold temperatures may reduce the charge capacity of your battery. High and low temperatures cause sulfate crystals in the battery, which in turn causes havoc in the system.
Too much heat can bend the battery out of shape, while cold temperatures reduce the battery’s power capacity.
You should avoid exposing your car to too much heat. You should park your vehicle in shades in the summers.
Make frequent drives during winter to avoid these destructive weather patterns. There are also accessories such as heated battery blankets to help the battery stay warmer during particularly cold weather.
The Battery Is Not Charging While You Drive
The alternator recharges your car battery using mechanical power when you are driving. Moreover, the alternator also plays the role of keeping every electrical component of your car functioning. These components may include lights, an infotainment system, and AC.
If your alternator has a faulty diode, it will not function well and therefore can’t recharge your car battery nicely. An uncharged battery would not start even if you were driving.
It is imperative that you should consult with your mechanic to fix your car alternator just in case your battery cannot start your car even after driving.
Something is Causing a “Parasitic Draw”
A parasitic draw, also known as the drain, can be defined as an electric current that flows through your car when it runs and after the ignition is turned off.
A parasitic draw is the sneakiest cause of a car battery. This refers to something that pulls power that you may find it difficult to know. This may include; a dome light that you may overlook in daylight, a lousy alternator, or an unnoticeable battery “leech.”
You might forget to turn off your car’s headlight, and you cannot turn on your vehicle the following day. Newer vehicles have many onboard computers tied together in a single system; this simply means that there are many operations in the vehicle that uses power even when the engine is off.
When the engine is turned off, the computer systems in your car enter sleep mode and thus reduce the amount of parasitic draw to a significant value.
The few operations that can drain your car battery when the engine is off included:
- Charging Docks
- Alarms
- WiFi
- Audio systems
- Clocks
- GPS
- Bluetooth
- Seat heating modules
Be sure that if any of that system fails to “go to sleep,” then it will use enough electricity, therefore, draining your car battery overnight.
How can you stop parasitic drain or reduce it?
As much as you have a deeper understanding of your car’s computer system use, be ready to experience minimal parasitic drain.
Have proper battery maintenance.
Local Charger
If you want to kill your car battery faster, there is no other way than to use a local charger. When you use local trickle chargers to charge your battery, then it will do the opposite of your intentions.
It would be best if you put in mind that many battery chargers come along with their inbuilt features and have the ability to detect when your car battery is about to top off and stop the excess current.
The local charges only supply electricity into your car battery without putting into consideration the charge levels and their specifications.
These chargers may not only give a suboptimal charge but result in a dead car battery.
Faulty Charging System
A car engine consumes more power from the battery. The charging system uses mechanical energy to recharge the battery of your vehicle. There might be a low charging rate in the battery of your car because of worn-out belts.
Wrapping Up…
There are so many things that can influence the proper functioning of your vehicle.
The list will give you a gateway to finding ways of tackling problems related to battery performance.
However, if you face excessive battery drain, you should reach out to any mechanic who possesses years of experience to help fix the problem.
