How to Tell If Your Car Needs a New Battery

Our vehicle’s battery isn’t something we really think about until we go to start our car and nothing happens. Is there a way to prevent the inconvenience of a dead battery? The professional mechanics at Best Auto Repair in Longmont can test your battery alongside your vehicle’s entire charging system, and quickly replace your car battery with a new one if needed.

Most car batteries are composed of lead cells filled with a dilute sulfuric acid and eventually the process of sulfation causes the battery to lose its capacity. If your vehicle is driven daily, you can expect its battery to last between 5 to 7 years. A battery can fail sooner than that if it sustains mechanical damage, starts leaking or if there is a problem with the larger charging system.

Besides the telltale sign of silence when you turn the key in your ignition, are there other signs that indicate a failing battery?

3 Signs That Your Car Battery May Need Replaced

1. When starting your car, the engine turns over sluggishly.
2. The interior lights flicker or dim when the starting your car.
3. The warning icon on your dashboard comes on while driving.

Everyone would like to avoid the hassle of dealing with a dead car battery, so periodically getting the battery tested- especially before a big road trip this summer- makes sense. Mechanics use a battery tester to get a reading on the state of the car’s battery and also its alternator, the main component of the vehicle’s charging system, which could be causing the battery to not charge properly. The ASE certified technicians at Best Auto Repair of Longmont can efficiently test your entire electrical system and, if needed, make an economical recommendation for the best car battery replacement.