Why Is My Car Battery Not Holding A Charge?
Have you been having to jump start your battery day after day? Did you know that it is recommended that you change your vehicles battery every 4 years as preventative maintenance? Knowing how to jump start a car battery properly is a good thing to know but you shouldn't have to jump start it day after day. If that is what you have been doing and you haven't changed your battery within the last 4 years you more than likely are in need of a battery.
Reasons Why Your Car Battery Is Dead
Do you know why your vehicle isn't holding a charge? Here’s a list of some of the most common causes reasons that a battery isn’t holding a charge:
• Did you leave your lights on or any other power draining accessory?
• When you driving do you notice your battery light coming on, flickering on and off or just a solid on? Could be an alternator going out.
• Do you have a new battery but it keeps dying and your not leaving anything on? There is an electrical issue called a parasitic draw. This occurs when something is shorting out and or staying on that you don't know about like an alternator, starter, computer or module for example.
• Is your battery 4 years old or older?
Diagnosing The Problem At Hand
There are multiple possibilities of why your battery is suffering from an insufficient charge, you might be wondering how do I diagnose the issue at hand and what exactly is to blame. There is several tests that we perform in order to determine the issue which include:
• First off we typically do a charging system analyzation test. Very simple, quick and easy test. Pop the hood, attach the test to the battery, start it up and boom we get the results that will help pin point any charging system problems.
• So you past the first step we then move on to part 2 of step 1. While the vehicle is running we will next want to add a bit of load. By simply turning on the accessories like the headlights, radio, heat & air conditioning, then we take a look at the charging system analyzation tool again to see if that made a difference in the test results. If not the reason behind the no start issue is more than likely not related to the charging system.
• If you turn on your headlights and they are nice and bright as in a normal brightness and then you try to start it and they don't dim what-so-ever it's not your battery. More than likely the culprit your is probably a bad starter, a wiring issue, a bad connection, and or a computer, module alarm or key problem. But if the lights don't come on, if they appear dimmer than normal and or after you try to start it the lights get dimmer, flicker and you hear a click-click-click then the problem is more likely the battery.
• We also test the voltage of your battery with a battery load tester to help determine the health of your battery. Will your battery pass the load test?
• Maybe you just haven't been driving your vehicle enough? To keep your battery nice and charged it's good practice to make sure your vehicle runs non stop for at least 45 minutes per week, otherwise it will never fully charge regardless of the quality, brand, type of battery.
• Is your battery 4 years old or older? If so then it needs to be changed as preventative maintenance regardless especially if you've been having battery problems. So if your at that 4 year range and having battery problems the simplest solution will be to have the battery replaced.
Do you need a battery replacement service Plainfield, Naperville, Bolingbrook, Romeoville, Chicagoland Illinois or any nearby surrounding areas? Our team aka Plainfield auto repair shop has you covered. Give us a call, make an appointment and get your battery replaced before you are left stranded. Did you wait to long now you are stranded? Don't waste your money on a towing or roadside assistance jump start service, we offer a mobile battery replacement service throughout Chicagoland. Call 815-577-0327 now, later, 24-7!
12052 S Naper Plainfield Rd
Plainfield, IL 60585
815-577-0327
