A dead battery means your car won’t start – making the headlights dim and the engine unresponsive. It can be a real trouble should it drop dead in the middle of nowhere or in a morning when you are already late for work. What drains a car battery? Are you curious about what the reasons might be?
Many of us wonder what causes car battery to drain. Contrary to popular belief, there are quite a few things that can happen which lead to drained batteries even if you already equipped the best rated car batteries. Read on, and learn about the 6 most common reasons that may suck the juice of your car battery.
Keeping the lights on is one of the reasons what kills a car battery. It’s a mistake that every driver has made at least once in their lifetime as they ask more than one time “what could be draining my car battery”. You have come from work really tired and rushed to the home leaving the headlights on or the trunk open, making the battery to drain overnight.
Even the small dome lights can drain the car battery dramatically. Or after packing your car at home, you forget the light so the car battery drains overnight. So, make sure you haven’t left any lights on before closing the door behind you.
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If someone asks you the question of “what drains a car battery when the car is off?”. Electrical problems are the answer you should bear in mind. Even if you turn the ignition key off, some functions still keep running. It’s normal for the security alarm, clock, and radio presets to be operational all the time. However, some other components might be switched on if there’s an electrical glitch. For example, the parasitic drain could extend to turning on the trunk and glove box lights, which typically remain off.
Poor maintenance can leave a battery in a fragile condition, so it may not retain power for a long time and it is what causes a car battery to die quickly. It will be vulnerable to every condition. Even small drains like the clock or the radio’s memory function can leave it dead. Besides, such a battery doesn’t fare well in extremely hot or cold weather. So, take care of it if you don’t want to deal with a dead car in the morning.
Note: Trickle charger is an effective solution for battery maintenance. A trickle charger helps charge a battery slowly and prevent it from overcharging. Therefore, if you need to buy one, here is the list of best trickle charger products to purchase recommended for you.
It’s another consequence of irregular maintenance. Loose or corroded connections won’t let the charging system to work properly. It may drain the car battery even when you are driving. Many car models use the alternator to charge radio, clock, lights, and other small components. In that case, a charging issue can make the draining worse. If the battery doesn’t charge up properly, you should have it diagnosed by a professional mechanic.
Another answer for the question of what drains a car battery is a faulty alternator diode. The alternator does the jobs of supplying power to a few electrical systems and recharging the battery. If its diode is corroded, it will cause the circuit to draw power even when the engine is not running.
If the car consistently shows the problem of not starting, the problem might be a worn out battery. An old battery is the last reason of what drains a car battery. Typically, car batteries have a lifespan of 4 to 5 years. So, if you often face the drain car battery trouble, it’s probably the time for purchasing a quality battery. Changing a new battery is the right choice for you by going to the trustful garage.
A normal lifespan of a car battery is about 3 – 4 years. After that, the battery can start wearing out eventually and need to be replaced by a new one. If you have got a new battery for your car but you find out that your battery keeps dying? Here are 3 reasons for it:
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If you often drive your car in short distances, it could be a reason what drains a car battery. There is no surprise that your battery has a tendency to end too soon. The main function of the car battery is supplying power to the vehicle’s ignition. Driving in too many short distances means your alternator doesn’t have enough time to recharge between starting and stopping your vehicle. Gradually, it makes your battery drained and doesn’t last long as it should.
If the weather gets too high (above 100 degrees) or drops too low (below 10 degrees Fahrenheit), this will result in a bad impact on your car battery. Leaving your car in these bad temperatures for a long period of time will force a build-up of lead sulfate crystals. The sulfate buildup is one of the main reasons shortens your battery life and increases more recharged time that your battery needs.
What drains a car battery could be a faulty charging system. In order to recharge your car battery, the alternator of your vehicle must provide it with energy. If some parts of the system go wrong, it is not surprising that your car battery will be dying too soon.
If you have the drained battery, and you ignore it, the battery will drain to 0 % and dead. So most of the time you can not start the engine. Think about you are driving on the highway, and you have a dead battery. You will be in trouble since everything will be delayed and it affects other drivers too. Or you are about going to work or date but your engine does not start? What a bad day. So remember to check your car or go to the garage to make sure your car works continuously.
It is frustrating to have a battery that won’t hold a charge , and figuring out what’s causing the problem can be tricky. Given that the cause of the battery drain is not human error, you will need the assistance of a qualified mechanic who can diagnose your car’s electrical problems and determine if it’s a dead battery or something else in the electrical system. Or else, you may also learn these tricks to perform at home.
In case your battery is still new (car batteries have a lifespan of approximately six years), a jumpstart should be all you need to get your hand dirty. This solution comes with jumper cables or a standalone jump started stashed away in the truck. Since the battery is healthy, it’ll receive electricity from the other battery, and then charge up properly.
Before taking off though, remove the battery cables in the reverse order they were attached. That means the black cable attached to the metal ground first, and so on.
A new battery is all you need here. However, it’s best to determine if it’s actually your battery and not something else before spending over $80 on a new one.
There are a few popular signs of a bad battery. One evident sign would be the complete absence of any lights or cranking when you try to turn on the car. Another would be the engine cranking furiously but not actually starting. This one is less clear, but happens more times than not, it’s the battery.
It’s easy to jump straight to towing the car to a garage if it won’t start, but you’ll spend less time and money by doing a little self-diagnosis.
Note that you’ll most likely be able to jump a dying battery to get somewhere, but there’s a good chance it won’t begin under its own power if you try it again with the same bad battery (i.e. don’t strain yourself somewhere).
Sometimes the battery can be so damaged that it’s unable to take a charge for a jumpstart, too. The best way to know for sure is by taking your battery somewhere that does free battery testing. Auto parts stores like O’Reilly, Autozone, and Advance Auto Parts will all offer this—then you can buy a new one right there if need be.
Watch the video below to see how to check for and fix a car battery drain in your car:
As you can see both old and new car batteries can drain if you don’t take care of them in the right way. Hopefully, after reading this article you will get a deep knowledge about most of the reasons that make your car battery keep draining and do know how to handle them. If you have any question of “what drains a car battery” or any car question, feel free to leave us a comment in the box below.
