While proper maintenance and service can lengthen the life of your car battery, there are a few proven practices that will ensure you don’t pull down the life of your battery.
To the maximum extent possible, avoid leaving the headlights turned on after you turn off the engine. This will avoid over-stressing the batteries.
Once you park the car, take off the key from the ignition. If the keys are left in the ignition, some electrical devices might still remain on and might use up the charge in the battery draining it overnight.
Clean the battery terminals very often and do not let rust remain there for too long.
Interior lights are never meant to be let on overnight. Every time before getting out of your car, ensure you have turned off all the lights and any other electrical appliance that might consume battery power. This you need to do every time before locking the car.
Car batteries have a limited life span specified by the manufacturer. Check the lifespan and replace the battery not waiting for too long after the estimated life span.
If the car is going to be parked without use for a longer time, disconnect the battery. It is all the more better to remove it from the car. This practice will ensure that the battery is not discharged when the car is not in use.
Protect the battery terminals with proper insulation caps. This will prevent the car battery wires from accidentally contacting the metal parts of your car causing a short-circuit, fire or explosion.
At the time of checking batteries or handling them, remove all metal objects from your hand like watches, rings, bracelets and bangles. If these items happen to touch the positive terminal of the battery, they might create a short-circuit.
Regular maintenance of the car battery is not that difficult or expensive. However, the benefits of this cannot be under-estimated. With proper maintenance of your car battery, you will not have to stand helplessly at signals and remote places not being able to start the car. Remember it will cost much more to buy a new battery than spending a few rupees and a few minutes of your time now and then for regular maintenance.
