What causes a dead car battery?

At G&G we check your car battery each time you bring your vehicle in for service and here’s why.

Have you ever been headed to work or that important meeting and walk out to your car, place the key in the ignition or push the start button only to have nothing happen? I think at some point in our life we have all been there. Dead battery, car won’t start and now you’re late.

What are the causes of a dead battery?

Now, some of the reasons that your car won’t start may be because of an aged battery, or, just the fact that you may have left your car lights on the evening before. You could have left a door ajar allowing the internal lights to stay on. There may be a stuck/bad relay switch. Or, you may have a bad alternator.

The most common problem that we see and why we choose to test your battery at G&G, is that most people don’t give there battery a second thought until it actually becomes a problem. And repeated dead battery

What causes a car battery to age?

The simple answer is TIME and USE. Over time as a cars battery ages it loses the ability to store electricity. This electricity is transmitted through the cables and allow your car to start. The typical life expectancy of any car battery is around 2-5 years. Certain factors do play a role in this such as heat, cold, sun or the battery just sitting and not in use. Your driving patterns as well as idling times have a great effect on your car battery age.

Some of the ways to increase the life of your battery:

  1. Continued maintenance

  2. Avoid using electronics while idling

  3. Control Corrosion around the connectors

  4. Test your battery often.

  5. Allow car to warm up in cold weather

Signs of an aged car battery?

One of the most obvious signs that you may have a problem is the dashboard light in your car or truck. The dashboard in most cars will have a dedicated battery icon. If you see this often it’s a good bet that you have a battery problem or your battery is becoming aged. Another tell tell sign will be the voltage indicator on the dashboard. This indicator should rest somewhere in the middle of the gauge. It tells you how much voltage is getting from your battery to your alternator. Remember,when we spoke about one of the causes of a car not starting could be a bad alternator? Another sign of an aged battery is a slow start. When your car or truck begins to take longer to start this could be a sign that your battery is reaching the end of its life.

We test you batter each time that you bring your vehicle in for service. You can rest assured that we will let you know of any problems that may arise with our inspection of your car battery.

G&G Auto Repair

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