Things to do When Your Car Gets Stuck on the Road

Perhaps you are out on a long drive in your precious car, and it stops suddenly. You try to turn on the ignition but to no avail. Accidentally you are stuck in the middle of the road with no idea what is wrong with your car and with no help in sight.

Sudden stopping of a vehicle indicates some fault within either the engine, the fuel delivery system, or the electrical system, i.e., car battery. More often than not, cars get stranded due to a dead or weak battery. While you cannot be an expert on matters of the engine or the fuel delivery system, you can quickly check whether there is a problem with your car’s battery.

If you are stuck on the road with a car that won’t start, you can do the following -

Check the Headlights of Your Car

Get inside your vehicle and turn on your car's headlights. If they turn on, notice them carefully. Sometimes, dead car batteries lead to flickering lights. You may also see a decrease in their brightness. Both of these are signs of a weak or almost dead car battery. If your car battery is completely dead, the headlights may not turn on at all.

Try Turning On the Ignition

As you twist the key for ignition, your car’s battery sends a powerful electrical signal to your vehicle’s starter solenoid. The starter solenoid, in turn, prompts the engine to start. If your car battery is weak, it will be unable to send the required amount of power to the starter solenoid. This will create clicking sounds, which will be noticeable every time you try to turn on the car.

Try to Remember if Your Car’s Engine Has Been Behaving Sluggishly

Did your engine not start at once while you were leaving home for the drive? You might have also faced difficulties while trying to start the engine for a few days before your car broke down. While an engine can be sluggish due to cold climatic conditions or long parking hours, dead batteries is often the number one reason behind it. Slow cranking engines are one of the commonest signs of dead car batteries.

Did You Jumpstart Your Car Recently?

Your engine might have ceased a few days ago, prompting you to jumpstart your car. If you have been jumpstarting your car repeatedly over the past few months, you are probably stuck with a dead car battery. However, remember that few jumpstarts over a couple of years do not indicate a problem.

Check Your Battery’s Terminals

If you are stuck on the road, simply open the hood of your car using support. Observe the battery of your vehicle which should be easily visible right under the hood. If you notice a solid blue or a powdery white deposit on the connecting terminals of the car, your car battery is badly corroded. You may also notice some bluish-green or transparent coating on the battery’s body. These are also signs of corrosion. While you can clean up the corroded terminals if you have a soft cloth handy, it would be difficult to restart your car if the battery is completely drained.

Check for an Unusual Smell

Pop open the hood of your car. If the smell of rotten eggs instantly hits you, you are probably dealing with a dead car battery. All automotive batteries use sulphur in some form in their electrolytes. As batteries age, their bodies get weaker, and this electrolyte starts to leak. Since sulphur is known to have a pungent smell akin to rotten eggs, funny-smelling batteries are signs of electrolyte leakage. Sometimes, you might have to lean closer to the battery to perceive the smell.

Check the Body of Your Car’s Battery

As soon as you open the hood, your battery should appear in a perfect rectangular shape. If a weak battery is allowed to operate for a long time, it gets charged and discharged rapidly. This frequent alteration causes sudden temperature fluctuations which physically alter the shape of your car’s battery. The case swells and appears out of place. If not attended to immediately, such cells can burst and cause you physical harm.

Damage to your car battery might also be a result of physical tampering. Check for scratches and deep cuts on the body of the battery to detect signs of tampering.

If you have followed the above-mentioned steps and notice any of those signs, you should immediately get your car battery checked and if needs be, get it replaced without delay.

So, What Next?

Finding a battery replacement shop in the middle of alienated highways and deserted roads is tough. Add to that your need for a mechanic and the challenge increases. The best way to get out of such a situation is to seek on-site car battery service from experts such as AIS Windshield Experts.

At AIS Windshield Experts, we stock almost all kinds of batteries required by modern cars. Our trained professionals will reach you wherever you are and replace your faulty automotive battery maintaining the highest safety standards. Simply contact us on our customer care number -1800-102-6364 to avail of our on-site battery replacement services.