Car battery is a necessary device for any vehicle. Will the car start or not depends on the battery. Therefore, it should be very carefully chosen. A few tips from this article will help you avoid mistakes that are caused by ignorance of the battery’s features and parameters.
What criteria should you rely on when choosing a car battery
When choosing a battery for car, you should pay attention to a number of the following criteria: battery type, size type, polarity, cranking amps and capacity.
As for the type of battery, it is necessary to proceed from what car the battery is purchased for. If you have an inexpensive foreign car, a domestic car, a used car, in general we can advise you to buy a low-antimonial battery. It will be the optimal purchase in terms of price and quality.
In foreign-made cars from the mid-range with a standard set of options, it is reasonable to install a Ca/Ca battery, which is classified as a maintenance-free car battery. We can also recommend a Sb/Ca hybrid batteries, which combine the benefits of calcium and low-antimonial batteries.
For executive cars, models with a large number of electrical equipment and start-stop systems, experts recommend purchasing AGM batteries or models with liquid electrolyte, produced using the EFB technology. These are the best car batteries to date.
When buying a new car battery, be sure to consider the size type. There are three main size types: “Euro”, “Asia” and American. They differ in size, shape, current leads. The Euro standard is used on domestic and European cars. The “Asia” size batteries are designed for use on vehicles manufactured in the Asian region. Batteries of American type are not widespread in Russia and are intended for use on American-made cars. The best advice when buying a new battery for a car is to purchase a model with a size type of the old one.
If you are poorly versed in batteries, you should focus on the old car battery when choosing the polarity of new one. You need to buy a battery of similar polarity, so that there will be no problems with its connection later.
Cranking amps and capacity are parameters that determine the power of the car battery. Simplistically, we can say that the larger the volume of a car’s engine, the greater amount of the cranking amps and capacity should have a battery. It can be purchased with a small margin so that the operation of the car battery will be stable.
How to increase the useful life of car battery
It’s not enough just to choose the best battery for your car. You should also be able to maintain it properly. What exactly needs to be considered is listed below.
- You mustn’t keep the battery discharged, be sure to recharge it after a deep discharge and periodically carry out the test cycle of charge/discharge.
- Monitor the operability of electrical wiring and current consumers in the car’s network. You should pay particular attention to the health of generator and voltage regulator. They have a direct impact on the battery’s state.
- In no case should you allow a situation in which the battery is operated with the electrolyte level below the plates. The electrolyte should be poured 10-15 millimeters above the level of plates.
- In addition to charging of the battery, you need to undertake a series of activities with the car. This includes the replacement of spark plugs, pouring of synthetic oil, getting the ignition system in order. Battery operation is difficult enough in winter. Therefore, there is no need to create additional problems for it.
- Terminals need to be well tightened; when oxidation appears, clean these places with abrasive paper. It is recommended to cover terminals and leads with a special solution.
- A fully charged car battery should have a density of 1.27 g/cm3. In winter, the density can be increased to 1.29 g/cm3. The density table will help you to orient in electrolyte parameters.
- It is recommended to keep clean at least the upper part of the battery. Oil, dust, electrolyte smudges – all of this turns into a conductor on the battery surface and leads to the battery’s discharge.
- Regular inspection of the battery will allow you to timely find damage, malfunction, contamination, broken contacts of the battery terminals, etc.
- During long idle period, it is recommended to remove the battery from the car, to charge it and store separately.
We hope that this article will help you to choose the best car battery and operate it properly.
Getting on the road, check the battery readiness and don’t forget the international driver’s license, and if you still don’t have one, we invite you to quickly and easily process it on our website.
