I know. What a lame and ‘girly’ question. Still, I’m having trouble getting the straight dope from people. I have an old Civic that still works great. The battery’s a couple years old and the car had its checkup in November, at which time supposedly the systems were tested and found fine.
I don’t drive a lot. I can walk most places and drive to get groceries sometimes if I’m going to be carrying too many bags to do so walking. I was driving more until the fall, when weather was wretched every Friday so I didn’t go to the local events I used to attend which required me to drive more (maybe 15 minutes each way).
I don’t need to use any highways to get anywhere.
So the car gets used for very short stints maybe once a week (and by ‘very short’, I mean driving for 10 minutes or less) at usually 50 k or less. I always drive with the lights on and always turn them off when the car’s turned off.
A week or so ago I went to use the car and the battery was dead. I hadn’t left any lights on.
I know there’s plenty of things that could be wrong with it but the one thing some folks assure me is true (and others say is not) is that lack of use can allow a battery to drain. Is this true? When it’s charged up and running again do I need to use it for x amount of time per month? Is it vital that I drive it faster every now and then or should a 1/2 hour drive at 50 k (about 35mph) be fine?
Well, short drives with the lights on are not going to charge it up much.
The other thing is that the contacts could be corroded, taking the leads off the battery, cleaning the contacts/terminals and reassembling with petroleum jelly (Vaseline) can bring things back to life.
It is probably worth investing in a cheap charger, they are always useful.
Not using a car much can have interesting side effects, total brake failure due to binding disks can be pretty scary. That spooked me.
Let’s just say that I’ve had battery problems due to lack of use and corrosion and the battery was actually fine - and I would expect even an abused battery to last a lot longer than two years.
I thought that might be the case. How much/often should I drive it more? Will 50k do (for half an hour or so) or do I have to go to the highway and get it up to 90 or 100k?
I’m a little leery of doing stuff like that myself. I don’t feel I know enough about engines to be messing about with them.
Good news is that I live in a building with lots of suites so there’ll be somebody to give me a boost. I do have my own cables.
Eep!
That’s what I thought! Fortunately, I got me one of those ‘lifetime replacement’ guarantees. It’s been well worth the bucks.
A wet battery, which is what cars have, is a small chemical factory. Chemical reactions are constantly occurring, it’s just that more reaction occurs when the car is used or there are demands on the electrical system. This little factory can and does wear out. There is always a small demand on the battery, even when the car is turned off and parked. Intermitant charges (using the car) will regenerate the battery temporarilly but may not recharge it fully. Time will take a toll.
If you have a battery charger and occasionally do a slow (deep) charge you can fully recharge the battery and extend its life. Suffice it to say, very few people ever do this. Under the circumstances you describe, the battery probably died after four years. Don’t look at it as an inherent problem with the car or the battery. Just buy a new battery and you should get at least another four years of trouble free service from it.
If you drive that little I would suggest you go to a local auto supply store and buy a small “trickle” charger. This can be mounted, under the hood, near the battery. It is connected to the battery posts and you plug it into a 110V outlet when the car is not being used. These devices keep the battery at full charge and turn off when it reaches that point.
The only thing you have to do is remember to unplug the charger before driving away and, of course, pluging it back in when the car is unused.
Cleaning the battery posts is a pretty simple, straightforward job. The only danger is shorting the battery to ground, or crossing the leads, but that’s easy to avoid w/ a minimum of common sense and care. Corrosion is usually fairly obvious and, if you think that’s a problem, you should be able to find a friend, or relative, to help. A couple of simple tools and a wire brush is all you’ll need. If you go to a shop to have the battery checked, or replaced, they should make sure everthing is up to snuff.
I had the same problem. Come to find out my battery kept going dead because my alternator was going dead so even when I was using it it was never getting fully charged again. I got a new alternator and haven’t had the problems anymore.
Speed doesn’t matter(or matters very little). Battery charging is more a function of time. Drive it slowly for ten or twelve miles at least once a week and you should be fine, assuming the battery and alternator are in good shape.
I have the same issue on my garage car. It is a little Miata that I drive less then 2000 miles a year, mainly in the summer. This is twice now I have had to replace the battery! I agree with John Carter–just drive it a few times a month. BTW–the advice above about cleaning the terminals is very easy to do. I am very confident that you will be able to do it.
This is not quite correct. Sulfur is deposited on the battery plates anytime the battery is discharged. The sulfur combines to form lead sulfate. This lead sulfate is soft and spongy, and will go back into solution when charging current is applied to the battery. If however the battery stays discharged for a long period of time, or several other things, I’m too tired to go into, the lead sulfate becomes hard, and will not easily go back into This is what is commonly known as sulfation. It is not the presence of sulfur, but rather how easily it will go back into solution is what determines if the battery is sulfated.
Getting back to the OP, yes not driving the car can cause a battery to go bad. Not driving the car enough, and help it on its way.
Driving a car less than 10 minutes a week is bad for the car in a whole lot of ways. Water vapor condenses out of the air and gets into the engine and exhaust. Normally, when the car gets to its operating temperature the water gets converted into steam and gets blown out of the engine. But, if you never let the car really get up to its operating temperature, then water can build up in the engine and exhaust, causing your exhaust system to rust out and die a premature death. Water also gets into the oil and can decrease the effective lubrication inside the engine.
A normal car will drain the battery in about a month or so if left unused. This is because the car’s computer and the radio and a bunch of other electronic stuff in the car do have a very small drain on the battery even when the car is off. Otherwise, your radio would lose all of its preset stations whenever you turned the car off. If you are going to let the car sit for a while, you can disconnect the battery which will stop the radio, etc. from draining it. You will also lose the presets in your radio and the engine computer will lose all knowledge it had figured out about how your particular car is running. On some cars they have specific recommendations about how to drive after the battery has been disconnected so that the computer doesn’t get confused. Consult your owner’s manual.
As for the OP, the car might have been draining the battery just because it wasn’t getting a good charge for long enough, but it might also indicate a problem with the car. A weak alternator often won’t charge well if there is a significant load on the car’s electrical system, like if the lights are on (per the OP). You’re getting the alternator checked out though, so they should find a problem if one exists.
Make sure you drive the car at least once a week for at least 20 minutes to half an hour. Your car will last longer.
I really appreciate all the information. I will certainly take it out for a run more often. I used it more before this winter - we’ve just had such horrid weather that I hibernated in my warm, dry condo.
I don’t know how much computer it’s got - it’s a 1990! It has served me well so I’ll not replace it until it dies a natural death. It’s still got some shine to the paint, even.
Do most people have chargers of their own? Do you folks? I always figured cables were enough but maybe since it’s getting older I should get one? Or maybe I should just renew my CAA.
My wife’s Nissan always died if left not running over the weekend. We did everything from replacing sensors to replacing the battery (BTW, don’t go to Sears anymore to exchange a new battery that’s died, they just recharge the old one. At least, that’s what our mechanic told us they did with ours) to changing her driving patterns to looking into getting the alarm disconnected.
Turned out some sort of electrical problem affected the trunk light switch, and it didn’t turn off when the trunk lid was closed. A little slower than leaving your headlights on all night, but just as effective. When they told us that, I recalled having an identical problem with a used Saab about twenty years ago, but it was found much much quicker. My wife’s problem bediviled everyone for literally years.
You should be able to find one at your local auto parts store. It will come w/, simple to follow, installation instructions. You will need a 110V outlet near the car to provide power when the car is parked.
I once got a battery at Sears (my oops - my warranty is for mufflers, not batteries) and they tried to convince me my alternator was shot. Turned out they didn’t have the right machinery to test a Honda battery. That’s when I went back to the dealership for repairs and I don’t venture elsewhere.