Back to all

Charge It in Plainfield for Extended Battery Life

July 3, 2016

Here's an interesting statistic for our in Plainfield, Illinois, drivers: Only 30 percent of car batteries make it to 48 months. And the life expectancy varies by where you live. It ranges from 51 months in extremely cold areas to just 30 months in extremely hot climates.

Why is that? It turns out that it's our modern cars with all their electric accessories that are to blame. Things like, GPS, DVDs and entertainment computers are keeping vehicle batteries from maintaining a full charge. The longer a battery goes with a low charge, the sooner it'll die.

It's clear that you Plainfield drivers need to recharge your batteries. This is the job of the alternator. The problem comes when the car's demand for electricity is high and we are driving in stop and go conditions or short trips around Plainfield. The alternator just can't keep up.

The result is shortened battery life. So what can we do to improve our battery's health?

We need to keep the battery as close to a full charge as possible. That can be hard because sitting for just 24 hours in hot weather between charges can be too long. When the weather's cold in Plainfield, sitting for several days will cause discharge.

So some highway driving around Illinois will help keep a full charge if the battery has not been deeply depleted. Car batteries are not designed to be run down really low, or deep cycled, as it's called. So using your headlights or other power accessories when the car is off can deeply deplete your battery. Using the alternator to recharge from a deeply depleted state is also very dangerous to your battery because it charges too fast. In fact, on average, your battery would only last for ten recharges like that.

If you do find yourself with a dead battery or very low battery, use a good quality battery charger to slowly bring the battery up to full charge. Follow the instructions on the charger or talk to your friendly and knowledgeable service advisor at Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Plainfield .

Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Plainfield
23846 W 135th St
Plainfield, Illinois 60544
815-436-1337



More articles from Tuffy Plainfield

Taking the Heat (Batteries in Hot Weather)

December 22, 2024

Quick question. Which is tougher on a vehicle's battery, the heat or the cold? Believe it or not, it's the heat. Think about it. The battery often sits in the engine compartment next to that motor generating lots of heat. That can accelerate corrosion in the battery and may even cause water i... More

It Pays to Take Care of Your Transmission at Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Plainfield

December 15, 2024

If you've been paying attention, you've noticed that vehicle engines are getting more and more powerful in Plainfield. At the same time, they are getting better and better fuel economy. I've gotta tell 'ya, most of that's because of technological advances in transmissions. To get a better unders... More

No Fueling Around (Fuel Filter Replacement)

December 8, 2024

A driver called in to the shop the other day saying his European sports sedan had an odd problem. He was driving when his car started to slow down. Applying more throttle didn't help. He pulled over to the side of the road, shut the engine off and waited a few minutes before starting it up aga... More