If the engine on your vehicle still won’t start after the battery posts and terminals are clean, then it may be time to test the battery. Some auto parts stores will test your battery for free. Walmart will test your battery for free and charge it at no cost if you purchased the battery from them. If it is a battery was purchase elsewhere, Walmart has a small fee for charging your battery. Autozone will test and charge your battery at no charge. A battery test will determine if your car battery will hold a charge.
Is It Your Car's Battery Or Alternator
If the battery test shows that your battery’s power is low, the question is why did the battery’s charge decrease to begin with. One culprit could be the alternator on the car is not working up to specification and is not producing enough power to run the vehicle’s electrical system and keep the battery charged up.
Some cars have a separate gauge on the instrument panel that has a needle indicator and a + symbol on one side and a – symbol on the other side. This gauge is the indicator that informs the driver if the battery is charging of discharging while the engine is running.
If the needle begins to move over to the – symbol, it means that the battery is losing power or discharging while the engine is running. A discharge condition means that the battery is losing power because some of the power of the battery is being used to operate electrical systems that the alternator should be handling. Your alternator needs to be tested if this is taking place. Autozone will test your vehicles alternator at no charge.
Check The Battery For Dry Cells
Of course the water in your battery should be checked as well because a dry cell will cause a battery to work at less than full power. If a battery cell is low, it should be filled with distilled water, not tap water. Batteries generate electricity through a chemical process that involves having water in each cell.
Even car batteries that appear sealed still have water inside and a covering over the cell holes where water can be added. In the past batteries had individual twist-off caps for each cell, but these were replaces by smooth snap down covers. These smooth covers still have a grove that allows them to be removed with a flat head screwdriver.
Hopefully these tips will help you troubleshoot a car battery issue and get back on the road running smoothly.
