Your European car relies on the battery to give it the jolt it needs to turn the engine over and get rolling. But if your battery isn’t in good shape, that’s a problem. Motor City European Repair has these tips for you when gauging the health of your car’s battery.
You Can See Cracks or Bulges in the Battery Case
It’s always a good idea to look at your car’s battery every once in a while. This helps you to notice when there are changes to the battery’s casing, like cracks, bulges, or anything else that doesn’t look right. If you’re noticing that your car’s battery has changed appearance in some way, that’s an indication to get it checked out.
You Can See Battery Corrosion
There’s more to see than just the case of the battery, though. When you look at the posts, the battery terminals, they should be clean. If there’s any white, powdery residue on or around those posts, that’s corrosion. Corrosion is the result of sulfuric acid vapor from the battery venting from the battery case. A little bit of corrosion isn’t necessarily bad news, but a lot is not good.
The Car Won’t Start at All
The most common way that most car owners realize that they’ve got issues with their battery is that the car doesn’t start at all. You might not have noticed any other issues before this, but what happens is that the battery is not charged up by the alternator, and therefore can’t get the car started. Sometimes this happens because there’s a problem elsewhere in the electrical system, but if the battery is dead enough, it won’t even take a charge from jumper cables.
You Know the Battery Is Five Years Old or Older
Batteries don’t last forever. They’ve got a limited life, and that might mean that your car battery has seen better days. If you don’t know for sure how old your battery is, look for a date posted anywhere on the battery itself. This can sometimes be the date the battery was manufactured or it can be the date that your battery was installed. No date sticker? You might need to just have the battery tested.
What can you do when your battery is not doing its job? Give us a call at Motor City European Repair in Farmington, MI. We can perform diagnostic testing to determine whether the problem is just your battery or if there are issues with your alternator or elsewhere in the electrical system.
