How to Check Your Car Battery

Written by Yang Guang
Friday, 07 November 2008

A car's electronics and the starting of its engine are based on the battery of the car. It's important. Sometimes people find that it's hard to start the car, especially in winter. When it happens, maybe it's time for you to check the battery. If battery maintenance is not done well, at sometime you can't start your engine while the interior light may goes dim. This is a sigh that your car battery is discharged or faulty, even corrupted. It's time for you to do some job.

An important thing for you to do is clean up your battery. If there is acid around the battery, do not touch it, avoiding damage your clothes. One of the most common problems when it comes to car batteries is the accumulation of corrosion around the terminals. This is evident by a substance that looks almost like powder. If you identify this on your car's battery, you should clean it off immediately. One of the easiest and most effective measures for doing so is by pouring a little Coca-Cola on the terminals and scrubbing them with a wire brush. It is best to do this when the battery terminals are disconnected from the battery posts. Use safety goggles and gloves when doing this job. Battery acid is dangerous!

Check the water lever of the battery, prying the cell covers off. If the cells inside the battery need to be filled to the top are low on water, it is not maintenance free. It is important that you take some water and fill all of these cells in the battery. Replace the cell covers carefully, preventing cracking or splashing of fluids. Recharge batter if necessary; best done with a slow trickle charge if the cells were empty.

You need check the wires running to and from the battery, figuring out whether or not they are covered and protected. If a bare wire hits the wrong thing under the hood, it can turn into many different types of electrical complications. You need to disconnect the battery terminals, it is absolutely necessary to remove the negative first. When replacing the terminals, attach the positive terminal prior to the negative terminal.

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