Keeping Car Batteries Fresh
Power
- by Joe Weber
- updated on
8/19/2024

Have you ever been stranded somewhere with a dead car battery? If your answer was yes then you know how utterly hopeless it can feel to be stuck somewhere when your car won't start. If you haven't, congratulations, you are part of an elite group. At least it feels that way to those of us who've experienced this stress.
Maybe you were fortunate enough to have access to jumper cables or a handy jump starter, but if you weren't, then, odds are, you spent what felt like an eternity waiting for a tow, roadside assistance or a friend to bail you out of this situation, giving you ample time to think about exactly how you could avoid this situation from ever happening again.
Helpful Tips To Keep Your Car Battery Healthy
Here are some helpful hints to consider to increase the overall performance and lifespan of your car or truck battery:
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Park your vehicle in a garage – Protecting your car from the elements is always a good idea. Keeping the car out of the heat in the summer or the cold in the winter is also a good way to keep your battery at a healthy temperature.
Excessive heat and bitter cold can harm batteries but do you know which is worse? The heat! Read more about ways to protect your batteries in hot weather.
- Keep the battery terminals clean – Corrosion, grease and dirt can impede the flow of electricity, affecting the power used to start your vehicle. This can also affect the return charge placed back into the battery. Use an anti-corrosion cleaner and wire brush to clear these areas on the battery, but be sure to wear the proper eye and hand protection.
- Avoid extreme vibration – Loose batteries increase the risk of damage to the battery plates and the potential for acid to spill into the engine compartment. To make things worse, there could be damage to the vehicle due to the heavy lead battery bouncing around. Be sure the battery is secured using proper hold-downs.
- Regular use – Drive your vehicle regularly, have it serviced regularly, charge it regularly (if needed), and avoid draining it by leaving electronic accessories 'on' when the car is 'off'.
- Have your battery tested – Your car battery is the lifeblood of your vehicle. Testing it regularly will give you insights into potential problems before they show their ugly faces. Stop into any of our over 700 Batteries Plus Bulbs locations to get it tested for free.
- Use a maintainer – If you don't drive your car regularly or store it for the winter, you should plug it into a battery maintainer when it's not in use to keep the battery at a healthy charge.
Why Is It Important to Have a Good Battery Charger?
As Garrett Tortelli, Senior Merchandising Manager at Batteries Plus explains, keeping a car battery charger in the garage is a good tool to have in your arsenal.
"It's important to keep your car/truck battery charged when you aren't driving your vehicle very often or even if you just drive short distances occasionally. You can plug your vehicle in to top off the state of charge to replace the voltage absorption you otherwise would get from driving your car longer distances with an alternator at work."
Tortelli goes on to explain that charging your battery at home is not something we all will need to do.
"This is only really needed in vehicles that sit in storage for periods of time or in climates where the weather can impact performance when the vehicle is exposed to elements such as cold weather."
Did you know?
An unused flooded lead-acid battery can lose an average of roughly 5% of its charge in a month. However, the ambient temperature can greatly affect this discharge rate. That's why it's important to always attach your unused SLI batteries to a maintenance charger when they're not in use for an extended period.
How to Jump Start a Car – A Quick Refresher
Even with the most careful and prepared drivers, dead batteries happen. Follow these steps for a more stress-free jump-start experience. It's only 5 easy steps.
- Position Both Vehicles
- Park the donor vehicle nose-to-nose or side-by-side, preferably so the batteries are close to each other.
- Make sure both cars are turned off.
- Pop both hoods.
- Connect the Jumper Cables
- Connect one red clamp (+) to the dead battery's positive terminal.
- Next, attach the second red clamp (+) to the working battery's positive terminal.
- Then, connect one of the black clamps (-) to the working battery's negative terminal.
- Finally, attach the remaining black clamp (-) to an unpainted metal surface of the dead car.
- Start both Cars
- Start the working car's engine.
- Let it idle for a few minutes to allow the dead battery to begin to charge.
- After a few minutes try starting the dead vehicle's engine. If it doesn't start on the first try let it sit a few more minutes while charging off the working battery.
- Remove the Jumper Cables
- After the dead vehicle's engine successfully starts, remove the jumper cables in the reverse order of how you attached them.
- Remove the black clamp (-) from the metal surface of the dead car.
- Then, remove the black clamp (-) from the negative terminal of the donor vehicle's battery.
- Remove the red clamp (+) from the positive terminal of the working battery.
- Finally, remove the remaining red clamp (+) from the dead battery's positive terminal.
- Let the Engine Run
- Once the jumper cables have been disconnected, drive the vehicle for at least 15 minutes to charge the battery back up to the optimal level. Even better would be to drive it on the highway for a while.
Have A Jump-Starter Handy
Want an even easier jump-starting experience? A lithium jump starter is your best friend in this situation. And, as a bonus, you can jump your car without the help of another person or vehicle.
They are small enough to fit in your glove compartment or center console but powerful enough to jump a dead battery multiple times before they need to be recharged. Jump starters are the perfect companion to have with you, whether it's to go to work or on a road trip.
To jump a car with a jump starter:
- Connect the positive (red) battery clamp to the positive post of the dead battery.
- Connect the negative (black) battery clamp to any unpainted metal surface on the car.
- Try turning over the engine. If the vehicle does not immediately start, wait a few minutes to allow current to flow into the battery before trying again.
- Once the engine has started, disconnect the clamps in reverse order, removing the negative (black) clamp first and the positive (red) clamp second.
Shop Batteries Plus For All Your Automotive Essentials
At Batteries Plus we aren't just about automotive batteries, that's where the 'Plus' comes in. We can also help you with other automotive needs like headlights and interior lights, wiper blades, key fob batteries, and so much more. Check out our Automotive Center or stop by your local Batteries Plus to see how we can help you!