How To Properly Store A Car Battery

Car batteries are one of the most important parts of your vehicle, as they provide power to almost all of the other components under the hood. An improperly functioning car battery won't allow your headlights to turn on, your radio to work, your windows to come down, or your vehicle to even start. When you're putting your car away for an extended period of time, you want to make sure that you properly store the battery to ensure that it is in good working order when you try to start your car up once again.

Disconnect the Battery

The first thing you should do if you're not going to be driving your vehicle for longer than a couple of weeks is disconnect the battery. This will ensure that your battery won't lose power as quickly as it otherwise would. Most batteries can be removed using an adjustable wrench or screwdriver, depending on how they're connected to their bracket. Be sure to remove the negative cable from the battery terminal (usually black in color) before removing the positive cable (usually red) to help protect against potential accidents.

Cleaning

The acid within car batteries is highly corrosive, and can cause damage to the other components of your battery and your car if it comes into contact with them. In order to prevent the terminals on your battery from degrading while the battery itself is in storage, you should clean off any built up scale. You can do this by making a paste of two parts baking soda to one part warm water, and then using a wire brush to thoroughly scrub the battery.

Proper Storage Techniques

Car batteries are susceptible to damage if they are put into poor storage conditions. To ensure that your battery remains in good working condition, you should make sure that you store it in a moderate temperature environment with little moisture. This is because humidity can cause corrosion to start on the exposed metal terminals of the battery, and extreme temperatures in either direction will rapidly drain the battery's charge. In order to keep your battery fully charged even over extremely long periods of inactivity, you may want to invest in a trickle charge, available at most hardware and automotive stores. These chargers provide a very small amount of power constantly, allowing the battery's charge level to remain stable without reducing the lifespan of your battery.

For more information, contact a company like Jason's Auto Service.

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