How to charge your battery!
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Oh no, you're driving along and the battery light comes on. What now?
- a) Panic?
- b) Stress?
- c) Pull over?
- d) Turn your radio up and ignore the light?
For heaven's sake...don't do any of those options! Good car maintenance includes checking your battery regularly. A car battery that's kept clean and filled with water should last a long time. But let me guess, you have never done this? Well there is a first time for everything, and She Buys is going to guide you through the process of checking and charging your battery.
Steps to a better battery!
1. When you see the light flashing on the dashboard, don't panic - you have some time. But please whatever you do, don't ignore this light!
2. Make sure you turn off all unnecessary accessories, such as the radio, seat warmers, A/C, headlights and windshield wipers.
3. Avoid turning the engine off and on at the lights. Starting your car uses more of the battery's charge than anything. A lot of people think that turning your car off will save battery life....it doesn't!
4. Pop into the nearest mechanic or petrol station and ask a mechanic to do an alternator output test to check if the alternator is charging.
5. If you can't get to a mechanic, wait until you reach a secure destination, such as your home or work and turn the engine off and open the bonnet.
It's now time to charge your battery
Now charging your battery can be quite dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. A charging battery produces hydrogen gas. Hydrogen gas is explosive, so allow proper ventilation and take all necessary steps to reduce the chance of sparks. Thanks to ‘How to do things', you can now learn the easy way:
1. Park a running car close enough to the car with a dead battery to attach the jumper cable. Turn off all unnecessary electronics, and turn off the ignition on both cars. Be careful that the two cars are not touching.
2. Clamp the "+" (red) clamp to the + terminal of the dead vehicle.
3. Clamp the "+" (red) clamp to the + terminal of the working car.
4. Clamp the "-" (black) clamp to the - terminal of the working car.
5. Clamp the "-" (black) clamp to an unpainted metal surface of the dead car to provide a solid ground connection. Do not clamp it to the "-" terminal of the dead car. Make sure that the cables will not be in the way of any moving parts.
6. Start the working car and wait several minutes for the battery of the dead car to charge. Then, try and start it. If the dead car doesn't start, wait a few minutes and try again.
7. Once the dead car starts, remove the jumper cables in the opposite order from when you put them on.
8. Try to let it run for a while before turning the engine off. The battery needs time to charge from the alternator if you want to be able to start the car again later on.
Happy battery charging!