As winter begins along with the holiday season, there is no better time to check the battery. This is needed to make sure that it is functioning well. You want to make sure that your car battery is in good condition to withstand the very cold mornings when you first start your car after leaving it in extreme temperatures over night.
There is a common belief that the winter is the worst time for your car battery. This is not the case. Nonetheless, it is essential that you check your car battery as you start getting into the cooler season. Below, you will find out about some of the things that you need to be on the lookout for. Before you can dive into the winter-related issues, you need to find out about some basics about the battery.
The Car’s Battery and Corrosion
The car’s battery consists of many cells that have a lead acid solution in them. Through chemical reactions in that solution, the battery creates a jolt of electricity. This jolt is enough to start the vehicle. The chemical solution that is inside the batter emits hydrogen gas. This can often time cause corrosion after it reacts to the metal and air under your hood.
Therefore, you can find corrosion near the terminals and the battery cable. To get rid of that corrosion, you can buy commercial washers or anti corrosive gel. Apply it to the terminals to keep corrosion to a minimum. It is very important that you keep the corrosion down as it is a common problem, and can affect battery performance in the winters.
Cold Cranking Amps
With corrosion, your car can also experience disruption in the functioning of the cold cranking amps. The battery’s cold cranking amps or CCA refers to the car’s ability to jolt into ignition at low temperatures. No matter how much corrosion you have, it is important to remove it.
Each battery comes with a cold cranking amp rating, or CCA rating. Each battery also comes with a minimum requirement. For instance, some batteries will have a rating of 800 cold cranking amps at 32 degrees. It may also display a cold cranking amp rating of 700 at zero degrees Fahrenheit.
Therefore, you need to have a minimum requirement setting in place before you start the vehicle. It is also important to realize that a car loses about 60 to 70 percent of its ability to start once the temperature drops below zero. It is critical that you have the right amount of cold cranking amps, along with corrosion free components.
As you can see, removing corrosion can improve your battery. It will help rid you from the troubles of the car poorly starting in winter. Also make sure that you turn off all accessories before you park the car to avoid draining the battery. Doing so can lead to a more efficient start for your car.