Why my car battery troubled me in winter?

Why my car battery troubled me in winter?

Courtesy: Transcanadaauto@outlook.com; satnamsinghsidhu@outlook.com

BATTERY, ALTERNATOR AND STARTER:

All three are key important components for enjoying the commute, ride or winter vacation in your daily companion; your vehicle.

If any of these components have problems, your companion will fail you! Why?

The BATTERY holds the electric power to start your vehicle with the help of the STARTER. While your vehicle is running your vehicle ALTERNATOR keeps charging the BATTERY close to its full potential.

All three are affected by Cold Harsh Winter in their functioning but BATTERY takes the most hit. Because BATTERY charges through a chemical process which slows down in Extreme Cold Weather. In a lead-acid battery, the chemical reaction that generates electricity slows down as temperatures drop, significantly reducing the battery's capacity (up to 40-50% loss near 0°F).

Moreover during winter the viscosity of engine oil goes up and increases the resistance to engine moving parts such as engine pistons.

DUAL KILLERS OF BATTERY in WINTER: Slow chemical process in battery produce less STARTING POWER and high engine oil viscosity also reduce ENGINE CRANKING POWER during COLD STARTING PROCESS.

Together they make it harder for BATTERY to turn the Engine Crank and Pistons efficiently and a weak battery may not have enough POWER in EXTREME WINTER to START our vehicle.

How to avoid such no starting incidents:

Keep your BATTERY as close to room temp as possible. For example, park your car under a shelter or garage.

 Keep your Vehicle ENGINE oil as close to room temp as possible. For example, put the engine block heater on during parking.

Place an OEM BATTERY BLANKET around the BATTERY. Most European vehicle batteries have it especially if BATTERY is in the engine compartment. 

Keep battery cables and connectors clean and tight.

If Alternator is weak in charging, replace it. For example during charging Alternator produces regulated power supply of around 14 Volts. 

If the starter takes load to start the vehicle unlike normal load, replace the starter.

If your vehicle battery is more than 4 or 5 years old and showing signs of poor starting, it may be a good time to get it load tested or replace it. Generally speaking battery life is supposed to be maximum around 7 to 8 years. But this varies depending on duty cycle, driving conditions, engine tuneup condition, weather condition etc.

SatnamSinghSidhu@outlook.com

Perfect Appliance Care, Surrey, BC