With the market saturated with car battery brands and choices, you might find it confusing on how to choose car battery to suit your car. Basically, batteries are storage units, which can convert chemical into electrical energy. How it works, however, did not change that much over the past decades. Keep reading and learn more about your shopping options.
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What to Know about a Car Battery
A car battery usually is lead acid design (electrolyte), reacting with lead plates in the interior of the battery to produce electricity. Take note, however, a bigger engine will require more power versus a small one. It is the reason you also need to choose the right rating and size properly.
However, you should not wait until your car’s battery won’t start before shopping for a new one. Probably, you’ll need replacement for it at most twice for your car’s life.
Top reasons to replace it are worn out battery for being charged and discharged many times or being old. It is a real hassle to have a dead battery if you have to wait for roadside assistance or you cannot find the jumper cables.
Pro Tips
- Stay proactive. You should always be mindful of the maintenance of your car’s battery to keep in on top of working condition or to know when to replace it. This practice is done to find a battery replacement according to your needs including scheduling.
- Get your batteries tested yearly. Even if car battery makers claim maintenance-free batteries, these guarantees are not enough. You should still consider annual maintenance once it reached two years of age. This practice applies especially if you’re in a warm climate area. On the other hand, those living in a colder climate and have a battery of four years old should also have their batteries tested annually.
How to Choose Car Battery
Before shopping around for a new car battery, see the following tips for a better decision in the end. Check out the following for ways on how to find a replacement vehicle battery.
- Look for one that fits your driving needs and your car. Look into the battery and find the terminal type or location as well as the right size. As a tip, read your manual or visit the in-store fitness guide prior to shopping around.
- Check for a strong warranty. Some brands are offering a 3-year replacement warranty, and others go longer than this. Some also offer prorated refunds if the car battery dies within a period of time when your warranty expires.
- Look for a good research capacity. What is it? It’s the included juice, which keeps your battery running even when your vehicle is off. This applies especially when you leave your lights on while parked. For help, proceed to websites offering test rating of batteries in the factor of batteries that do not conk out or dry quickly.
- Check for cold-cranking amps that indicate the amount of battery power when running in frigid temperature environments. Look for one with higher cold-cranking amps to ensure that your car will still start up without any hassle of repeated cranking on cold days. Here is a complete guide on how to check the cold-cranking amps.
- Shop around for one with a maintenance-free design and construction. It only means that the unit won’t need topping up with distilled water from time to time. There are models coming in a sealed case, and it means you cannot open the unit. On the other hand are those with caps, allowing you to add water when needed.
- Find one with long life. Go ahead and search for testimonials to look for models that last beyond their warranties. You might want to find those that can last the longest.
- Is there a carrying handle? It is another important factor to consider because car batteries are heavy, some about 40 lbs. A carrying handle proves valuable for carrying it around without any hassles if you’re trying to lower it into your engine’s compartment.
Final Thoughts
Learning how to choose car battery will make the big difference between using a reliable and poorly functioning one. Look for one with a carrying handle, good cold-cranking amps, long life and strong warranty.
Hope you find this guide useful when considering certain factors to help you pick up the best car batteries on the saturated market today!