A car’s battery sends electricity to the starter of the car, which in turn starts the engine. Other than that it also acts as a voltage stabilizer for the charging system that you might have in your car. It is a very crucial car part, and without its help, you will have a hard time staring your car. This is also the reason why you must keep it in check and look for the tiniest problems in it regularly.
Below we have some ways using which you can check the battery of your car right at your home. Let us discuss them
1. Do a load test on the car’s battery.
This might sound tricky to you. Some of you might even be intimidated and think that we are going to throw some technical terms and be done with the explanation. However, we advise you not to take stress as doing a load test on the car’s battery is a pretty easy thing to do. For this – start your car’s engine and turn the headlights on. Leave your car as it is for 10 to 15 minutes straight. After you are done, start the car and notice the brightness of the headlight. If you see that the headlights dim as you turn over the engine then, unfortunately, your car didn’t pass the load test. As a rule, the battery must be at least capable of running 10-15 minutes before you start the engine. If it is struggling to do so, you will have to get your car’s battery to be replaced.
2. Check and see if you notice any form of corrosion.
Open up your car’s hood and check if you see any form of corrosion near the battery parts. Generally, corrosion near the battery indicates some or the other type of power problem. The acid in the battery releases hydrogen gas. Over time, it causes corrosion which can lead to an interference with the terminals of the battery and hence slow down its ability of power transfer. Due to this, the battery has to work more than it is supposed to, and this can lead to a shortage in its overall life. To clean such corrosion deposits, try cleaning the terminals with a baking soda and water mixture. You might need to make the application with a toothbrush. Please be extremely careful! Additionally, if the corrosion is very high, you will have to get it replaced.
3. Listen to clicks
The clicks in a car often warn for a problem. As soon as you start the car if you ever start listening to clicks, you will have to look into the battery. After you are sure that it is the battery that is causing the clicks you have a problem in front of you. Now you need a solution. When things are wrong with the battery, the car won’t start. Instead, it will try to start but then settle down. This is how you surely know that the problem is with the battery. However, if you only hear a single click, the main problem is likely with the starter of the car and not the battery. For some people, it is hard to listen to these clicks, but with a little practice, you will understand what we are trying to explain.
4. Take the help of a voltmeter
For this method, take somebody’ help and ask them to crank the engine by starting the ignition. As soon as the engine starts, try holding it for two seconds. During the crank now you have to go to the battery and attach a voltmeter to it. Then it is just a matter of checking the reading. Generally, a reading below 9.6 volts is not good for a car’s battery. A lower reading than this is trying to indicate battery sulfating. Because of sulfating, the battery becomes incapable of accepting and holding the charge.
You can buy a car battery tester online for checking battery yourself at home.
Bottom Line
From feeding the car’s starter to helping to have headlights turned on a car’s battery helps a lot. This is why it becomes crucial to maintain it in a healthy state as much as possible. Please read all the four ways that we described above to realize whether your car’s battery is okay or not after all prevention is always better. If you come along any major problems, you must not delay getting the battery replaced. We hope we helped you.