Irrespective of how you maintain other parts of your car, it really matters how you take care of your car batteries. Something nice about car battery maintenance is that it is less time consuming, less expensive and simple. There are a few car battery maintenance practices that you need to cultivate. Test your car batteries from time to time. The process is rather very simple. Turn off all the electrical applications in your car. Use a battery meter to test the battery. Under normal conditions, the reading should be around 12.5 volts. If the voltage falls down, it means your battery needs to be charged or may have a problem. Prepare a solution by diluting a tablespoon of baking soda into a cup full of water. Find an used tooth brush or any non-metallic brush to wash away the build up and rust. Once the top of the battery is ready, detach the cables beginning the process with the negative. Thoroughly clean the posts and cables of your car battery. You can take off the covers of the battery cells and check whether the chambers are at least half full with the recommended electrolyte fluid. If you happen to find the fluid level low, you need to top it off with some distilled water. Allow the water to stay in the battery and get thoroughly mixed with the electrolyte.
As part of battery maintenance, you need to check the balance of the electrolyte solution. This can be done through a special car battery hydrometer. Once you remove the cell cover, fit the hydrometer tube into the battery cell. You can let the fluid flow into the device by squeezing the ball. The normal reading should be 1.265. If the meter reads differently, then you can check the battery temperature. The meter is generally tuned to work with a battery maintained at 80 degrees F. Once you learn how to perform battery check, you can examine the car battery from time to time and ensure that it is in a good condition.