photo credit: Charles Williams

Here are some tips on car battery care:

• Check the electrolyte level in the battery. If your battery isn’t the maintenance-free sealed type, there will be removable screw caps on the top of the battery. Unscrew the caps and check that the lead plates inside the battery are covered by the liquid inside. Usually the liquid should be at the level of the bottom of the caps. There is sometimes a level indicator at the bottom of the hole that the cap screws into. The liquid should reach this level indicator. Distilled water is the best type to use for topping up.
• Check the tightness of the bracket which holds the battery in place. The battery could get damaged if the bracket is loose and allows movement.
• Check the tightness of the battery terminals. Loose terminals can cause starting problems.
• If you are doing lots of short trips, it’s unlikely that the battery gets fully charged. Use a car battery charger occasionally to bring the battery up to full charge.
• If your battery terminals look corroded, disconnect them and clean them with a wire brush. Before disconnecting, make sure that the engine isn’t running, and any accessories are switched off. When the connections are re-fitted and tightened, apply a small amount of petroleum jelly to the connections to keep out moisture.
• Keep the casing of the battery clean by giving it a quick wipe with a dry cloth. Moist or dirty battery casings can allow a small current to pass between terminals and reduce the battery’s charge over time.

Following just these few simple steps can help to keep your car starting properly and running reliably, and save you a great deal of hassle and stress. If you aren’t sure if your battery needs replacing or not, take it to a mechanic and have it load-tested to see if it’s healthy or not.

photo credit: Charles Williams

Here are some safety tips about safe charging:

• Firstly and most importantly, make sure that you wear personal protective equipment including eye protection that is suitable for protecting your eyes from all angles. Also wear protective gloves if your skin is likely to come in contact with the battery acid.
• Keep clean water to hand so that you can rinse skin or eyes that come into contact with battery acid. If this occurs, rinse for at least 15 minutes and seek medical advice.
• Read the instructions that came with the charger and follow them closely. Avoid using chargers that do not come with clear instructions on how to use them.
• If using a mains electricity-powered charger, conect the charging cables to the battery before plugging the charger into the mains electricity outlet. This will help to avoid sparking.
• Keep anything that could cause sparks or flames away from the battery, including cigarettes, matches, lighters etc.
• Be sure to charge away from fuel vapour, so as to avoid causing an explosion.

• Avoid short circuiting the battery terminals with tools or other metallic objects, and avoid shorting between battery terminals and bodywork.
• Keep the charger as far from the car battery as possible, and keep people and pets away from the area where you are charging.
• Make sure that you charge in a well-ventilated place, so that any gas formed does not build up to dangerous levels.
• In cold weather, flat car batteries can freeze. Avoid charging frozen batteries otherwise they could rupture and leak battery acid.
• Don’t overcharge the battery, most modern car battery chargers will not overcharge the battery, however some models may overcharge.
• Charge the battery on the lowest Amp setting possible, as this will avoid overheating and excessive gas production.

Most of these points are simple to stick to, and following them will ensure that your car battery life is the longest possible and that you avoid injury and damage to property.