After severe frosts
If your car battery drains quickly in winter, checking for leaks will be the best solution. The fact is that exposure to low temperatures leads to freezing of the electrolyte and an increase in its volume. Because of this, microscopic cracks may appear in the housing, through which working fluids leak. This is why it is so important to insulate the engine, and along with it the battery - this way the battery will be less exposed to negative temperatures
In winter, loss of battery capacity can be caused by other reasons. At sub-zero temperatures, accelerated discharge of even completely new batteries is a natural process. On the other hand, winter trips are often much shorter than summer trips, and the battery does not have time to fully charge. In such a situation, everything can end with a severe battery discharge.
Lighting up the car
The “lighting” method is suitable for any car. To do this, you need to connect the wires from the working battery to the non-working one in order to use the energy of the working car to start your non-working one. But, it is definitely worth remembering that when “lighting up”, parallel connection of batteries is not allowed. A discharged battery must be disconnected.
What to do if the battery discharges suspiciously quickly? First you need to find the energy leak. Perhaps you simply forgot to turn off the side lights or interior lights. If this is really the case, then there is nothing wrong with it - the battery will restore its potential during the next trip, but if it discharges again, then the problem most likely lies in the battery itself, or rather in the sulfation of the battery plates.
Sulfation is the coating of the battery plates with coarse-crystalline lead sulfate, which looks like a white coating. Unfortunately, only slight sulfation of the battery can be eliminated. If this process is “started”, then the battery will have to be changed.
However, if we are dealing with a dead or almost dead battery, and the task is to avoid shaking the battery using improvised means, then, first of all, it is worth determining what the “diagnosis” of the car battery is.
Rare use of the car
Batteries in weekend cars are often subject to sulfation and gradual self-destruction. The fact is that due to long periods of inactivity, not only the battery capacity is lost, but also lead crystals form on the surface of the plates, which can lead to a short circuit. Therefore, if you leave the car in the garage for a long time, charge the battery and remove the terminals. In this state it can be stored for several months, after which it will need to be recharged.
There can be several main reasons for battery failure:
- If the plates become sulfated, the battery capacity drops to almost zero.
- Destruction of the plates - when charging, the electrolyte turns black.
- Short circuit of the plates - the electrolyte in one of the battery sections boils away, the section heats up.
- A frozen battery - swollen sides, the electrolyte immediately boils when charging (numerous short circuits of the plates) - nothing can help here.
When shorting the plates, do not try to charge it under any circumstances! It is necessary to rinse the battery with distilled water. Don’t be afraid to turn over and shake the battery, you won’t make it worse. Rinse it until the coal crumbs stop washing out. When washing, the shorting of the plates is most often eliminated.
After washing and removing any debris from the depths of the battery, we begin to eliminate sulfation of the plates. Experts recommend doing the following procedure with the battery:
To eliminate slight sulfation of the plates, the battery is fully charged and the electrolyte density is adjusted to 1.285 g/cm3, adding electrolyte with a slightly higher density of 1.4 g/cm3. At the same time, do not let the electrolyte boil or heat up! If necessary, reduce the charging current, gas bubbles and overheating destroy the battery! Charge until the voltage at the battery terminals reaches 2.3 - 2.4V for each section, i.e. for a 12-volt battery - 13.8-14.4 V.
Next, we reduce the charging current by half and continue charging. We stop charging the battery if the density of the electrolyte and the voltage at the terminals remain unchanged within 2 hours. Then, we bring the density to the nominal level by adding high-density electrolyte (1.4) or distilled water.
After this, we discharge the battery through the light bulb with a current of approximately 0.5A until the voltage at the terminals drops to 1.7V per element. For a 12-volt battery this value will be 10.2V, for a 6-volt battery 5.1, respectively. If the capacity of our battery is below the nominal (4 ampere-hours), then it is necessary to repeat the charge cycle from the beginning until the battery capacity approaches the nominal, close the battery holes and that’s it! Now we have a fully working battery on our hands.
Do not forget that when connecting and disconnecting a battery, there is a certain algorithm of actions: first the minus is disconnected, and then the plus, and the plus is connected, and then the minus. This sequence of actions is due to the fact that when screwing it in the reverse order, you can accidentally touch the car body with the key and a short circuit will occur.
Another possible reason for a low car battery is an incorrectly connected alarm system.
In this case, you need to contact a car service. Share:
Short trips and frequent discharge
We already said above that short trips do not allow the battery to fully charge. The situation is aggravated when the main energy consumers (climate control, lighting, etc.) continue to operate during downtime. After the battery is at least half drained, and you recharged it a little on a short trip and left the car in the garage for several days, the battery accelerates aging, which is why it may fail before the end of its service life.
Why doesn't my car start in winter?
The car and all its systems experience increased loads in winter:
- The battery is usually the first to suffer (quick discharge in the cold, the battery does not hold a charge);
- the load on the starter and generator increases noticeably, causing breakdowns;
- in conditions of high humidity, the car does not start due to oxidation of the contacts or as a result of water entering the engine compartment;
- when “cold”, worn out engines lose a lot of compression;
- in some cases, a significant change in the properties of the engine oil occurs (the lubricant becomes very thick);
For example, if the engine oil has thickened, it is more difficult for the starter to crank the crankshaft in such a viscous mass. Add to this the battery discharge, general engine wear and compression reduction, as well as not the best spark plugs and fuel. The result is that the engine starts normally in the summer, but completely refuses to start when cold weather arrives.
To avoid such problems or minimize them, it is better to fill in engine oil with “winter” viscosity (0W, 5W) in advance. It is also recommended to change all filters, change spark plugs and BB wires. As for the battery, you need to remove the battery, service and charge the battery with a charging external charger.
Problems starting a diesel engine
Starting problems occur in cars with both gasoline and diesel engines. At the same time, the diesel engine requires increased attention. Below we will consider what to do if the car does not start, but the engine itself is diesel.
When a diesel car does not start, not all car enthusiasts know what to do in this case. In diesel engines in winter:
- Diesel fuel often freezes;
- glow plugs fail;
- A well-charged battery is required;
The diesel fuel is frozen
In fact, diesel fuel freezes due to the “waxing” of such fuel in the cold.
If the starter turns, but the diesel engine does not start, you need to take the car to a warm box. In the event that the performance of the fuel system is impaired as a result of frozen fuel, the problem will be solved.
In cold weather, you should always use special winter diesel fuel (contains additives in diesel fuel that prevent the fuel from freezing).
Glow plugs
Glow plugs are also the reason why a diesel engine does not start in winter. Unlike gasoline engines, diesel glow plugs heat the combustion chamber before starting the engine so that the fuel is effectively ignited by compression.
We also recommend reading the article on how to flush the power system of a diesel engine. From this article you will learn about methods for flushing the fuel system of a diesel engine, as well as the subtleties and nuances that need to be taken into account when such flushing.
If such spark plugs do not work on a diesel engine, ignition does not occur. Glow plugs require regular inspection and replacement. At the same time, it is better to change them before the onset of cold weather; it is optimal to replace them as a set (all glow plugs are immediately replaced with new ones).
Manual push method
It is one of the most common - of course, in urban areas or where there is a busy highway. To do this, the driver needs to turn on the speed, and several people will simply push the car from behind so that the wheels spin, and the engine itself starts due to the transmission.
Before assistants begin to push the car, the driver should engage (best!) reverse gear . As you know, its gear ratio is higher than the others. The road surface should be as hard as possible and not slip - in this case, the car will start faster.
Next , turn on the ignition, try to squeeze the clutch properly and give the assistants the command to push the car. As soon as the speed is gained, the clutch must be released and, if the tire grip is sufficient, the crankshaft will begin to move with the help of the transmission. When you understand and hear that the engine is working properly, squeeze the clutch again and give the gas to stabilize the engine.
Despite the effectiveness of this good old method, it will not work in winter on slippery roads . If the surface is smooth and slippery, the traction of the wheels will be very low. This means that the engaged gear will simply work “idle”.
Fast charging method
If you have a portable charger on hand, on which you can adjust the current indicator, you can quickly recharge the battery with its help. To do this, you should charge the battery as usual, just keep it for no more than 15-20 minutes, setting the current to no more than 10 percent of the nominal battery capacity.
The method always works, but it cannot be called useful for a battery: the battery may lose a significant amount of capacity . Therefore, it is recommended to use it only in emergency cases.
Engine starts slowly
When you try to start the engine and it cranks slowly, you can assume that the situation is most likely due to a problem in the transmission of the electrical signal through the circuit. Although a possible cause could be a poor connection to the starter or its electrical circuit, which led to the battery not being fully charged. There is a possibility that the battery may have been discharged due to the vehicle being parked for a long time. One way or another, in such a situation, you should immediately contact a service center to conduct a technical inspection of the vehicle.
Where to check the battery status
Malfunctions of the car generator
The best option for checking the condition of the car battery is professional testing of all parameters in a car repair shop. The presence of all the necessary equipment will allow us to make an unambiguous conclusion about the possibility of resuscitating the battery.
The working life of any battery is not unlimited and depends on operating conditions. An average annual temperature of +4°C with a mileage of 30 thousand km/year will allow the battery to last a little more than 2 years. Annual mileage of up to 20 thousand km/year extends the battery life to 3 years.
To check the battery operation, it is better to contact a car repair shop.
Predominant driving on broken roads, constant shaking and vibration make it advisable to purchase a maintenance-free battery to avoid short circuits. For trouble-free starting of powerful Japanese SUVs with installed subwoofer, air conditioning, heated steering wheel, seats and windows, you will need a battery 5-10 Ah more powerful than recommended by the manufacturer.
Short circuit of plates
This problem occurs when the separators are destroyed, as well as when sediment appears at the bottom of the cans. As a result, the opposite-polar plates come into electrical contact, causing self-discharge of the car battery. There are other reasons for a short circuit:
- charging the battery for an excessively long time;
- increased electrolyte density;
- constant vibration, shaking due to poor fixation of the battery in the engine compartment.
In such cases, the car battery is not charged at all or not fully charged. A short circuit cannot be corrected in a garage, so it is advisable to send a battery with such a fault for repair. If the battery design allows, then its restoration is quite possible. As practice shows, usually one bank of the car battery is not charged, which can be replaced. Otherwise, the battery will have to be disposed of and a new one purchased.
