Precautions to Take for Your Exide Car Battery During Summers

Long summer days mean it's time for road trips, weekends at the beach, and fun evenings spent driving around town with the windows down. However, the hotter weather may catch your car’s battery off guard after cosy winters. Thankfully, a few preventive measures help ensure your Exide battery stays pepped up for miles of reliable performance when needed. Protecting the battery from overheating is key. Let's run through essential maintenance aspects as the mercury climbs higher.

The Importance of Car Battery Maintenance

Your car relies on the battery to start the engine and power essential electronics. During high temperatures, they strain batteries by accelerating chemical reactions that can drain power more quickly. Heat also evaporates battery fluid faster. 

That's why careful maintenance is crucial in summer. Checking fluid levels, avoiding overcharging, and keeping your Exide battery cool will prevent premature failure. Establishing smart charging and maintenance habits will extend the life of your battery and ensure hassle-free summertime driving.

Precautions to Take for Your Exide Car Battery

Here are key tips on how to protect car battery in summer:

Keeping the Battery Cool

Heat is the natural enemy of car batteries. High temperatures inside the engine compartment can cause the battery to overheat. You can help your Exide battery keep its cool by:

• Parking in shady spots to rewindduce heat exposure
• Wrapping a heat shield around the battery
• Letting the engine and battery compartments fully air out if fluid appears to be boiling

A battery that frequently overheats in summer will have a shorter life and capacity. Maintaining a moderate under-hood temperature will prevent electrolyte evaporation and premature wear.

Maintaining Fluid Levels 

The fluid inside a lead-acid car battery is integral to its chemistry. But summer temperatures can lead to rapid evaporation of battery acid. That makes checking and maintaining fluid levels important.

Every 2-4 weeks, examine the transparent cell caps on your Exide battery. If the fluid is low or you see sediment, carefully top it off with distilled water to the indicator ring inside each cell. This simple step will prevent deterioration and ensure your battery stays fully charged.

Avoiding Overcharging

Today's smart voltage regulators prevent overcharging and excess gassing. But it can still happen, especially if you frequently make short trips while running accessories. The heat worsens matters by accelerating chemical reactions.

Prevent problems by taking weekend drives and longer trips weekly to allow the alternator to charge your Exide battery properly. Also, disconnect battery tenders and avoid leaving accessories on for more than 10-15 minutes with the engine off. This will minimise boilover and deterioration from overcharging.

When to Consider a Car Battery Service or Replacement

Despite your best efforts, extreme summer heat can still shorten the lifespan of an aging battery. Signs it may be time for a new Exide include:

1. Slow Engine Crank

Hot temperatures make a weak battery work harder. If your engine cranks over sluggishly even after recharging, it could indicate cells are wearing out. Have your battery tested, especially if it's 3 or older.

2. Swelling or Bloating of the Battery Case

A puffed-up battery case signals the plates and cells inside are deteriorating. This symptom of heat exposure requires immediate car battery replacement to avoid acid leakage or total failure, potentially stranding you.

3. The Age of the Battery

Modern batteries last 3-5 years on average. If your Exide is getting up there in age and not cranking with full vigor, have it tested at a shop. Proactively replacing an older battery avoids being stranded with a dead one on a steaming summer day.

Conclusion

Taking steps to protect your Exide battery from summer's intensity will keep you on the road. Simple fluid checks, prevention of overcharging, and battery cooling methods can optimise performance and charging. Recognising age-related failure warning signs will allow you to swap in fresh power before getting stuck. With smart precautions, your battery can stay strong all season long. Moreover, you’re looking for top-notch professional help, contact AIS Windshield Experts today.