If you're wondering “how to know if the car battery is bad,” below are the ten most common signs:
⚠️ If It's Broken, Don't Fix It - Get Paid Cash for Your Vehicle ⚠️
- Slow cranking
- Dimming lights
- Clicking sound
- Warning lights on the dashboard
- Electrical malfunctions
- Engine misfire
- Difficulty starting
- Corroded battery terminals
- Sulfuric order
- Old age
Your vehicle's battery is one of the most critical components for the starting system. It is responsible for providing the initial charge to get your engine going. Otherwise, you'll rely on a jump start, and your vehicle will give you a hard time every time you start it.
Like any other component, the car battery is not designed to last forever, and there will be a point inwhen you must replace it. Typically, the car battery will go bad as it approaches the end of its lifetime. However, there are some instances where some other external factors might be leading to damaging the battery.
Understanding what to look for if you suspect a bad battery is very important to help you identify the culprit so you can address the problem as soon as possible.
This article highlights the ten most important symptoms indicating that your car battery is bad. It helps to ask the question, ‘How do you know if a car battery is bad?' Finally, it highlights some important recommendations to help you extend the lifetime of your car battery.
How do we know if a car battery is bad?
You'll notice some important symptoms if your car battery is going bad. Once you experience any of these symptoms, it is important that, you address the problem as soon as possible. The longer you end the problem, the more complicated things get and the higher repair costs.
The following list summarizes the ten most important symptoms to help answer the question “How to know if a car battery is bad?”
1- Slow cranking
Slow cranking is the first and most critical symptom you will notice when the car battery is going bad. Typically, as you turn the key and ignition switch, your vehicle should go right away,. Still, if things are taking longer time and the engine is not cranking immediately, it might be a problem that you have to address by changing the battery.
2- Dimming lights
Another common indication of a bad battery is when you have dimming headlights. The lights might be the front lines or could be the doom lights, and sometimes there might be the rear lights. Regardless of which lines are dimming, this could be a problem linked to the car battery.
3- Clicking sound
If your vehicle makes some clicking noises every time you try to turn the key in the ignition switch, you might have a problem with the starter system. Sometimes, the problem might be related to the battery,, but you havemust keep in mind that it could also be linked to some other components like the starter motor.
4- Warning lights on the dashboard
If your vehicle does not receive the right charge to get the engine cranking, it'll throw some warning lights to help you address the internal problems. Remember that the warning lights might be linked to the battery directly,, but in some instances, it could be a general light translated into a check engine light Illuminating.
You won't be able to understand what this engine light is looking for and it tell you to translate the error codes. In other words, you can use a tool like an OBD scanner and get the error code your engine is suffering from. Once you have the code, you can translate it online to see what is happening.
5- Electrical malfunctions
Since the battery is linked to the electrical system, another potential indication that your car battery is bad is when you have some issues with the electrical system. You might have tried to turn on the door locks or the radio before running your car and realize that they're not working. While the problem might be linked to the electrical component itself, it could be a simple issue in the car battery.
6- Engine misfire
In some severe scenarios, your car battery might impact the engine's performance. For example, some owners complained that their engine experienced misfiring because of issues with the battery. Therefore, before you conclude that it's a complicated problem that linked to the engine itself, check on the battery and see if it works properly.
7- Difficulty starting
While we mentioned before that a bad battery might prevent your engine from cranking at all, sometimes it might just be translated into difficulties starting. When you cannot start your car or your car struggles to start, automotive experts recommend checking the battery and replacing it if needed.
8- Corroded battery terminals
If the battery is going bad, you'll start noticing some visual issues in it or the surrounding components. For example, many experts indicated that at early age, you'll see some corrosion building up on the terminals or the connections around the battery.
The good news is that by cleaning the corrosion, sometimes you'll be able to resolve the issue without needing to replace the battery. However, if the issue is more severe, you'll likely need to replace the entire battery.
9- Sulfuric order
Your vehicle's battery contains many chemicals,, and as it ages, some of these chemicals might start leaking. Therefore, many automotive experts recommend that every time you try to get in your car if ,you realize that there is a sulfuric smell, it could be something leaking from the battery.
Remember that the sulfuric odor can be very toxic to people with respiratory problems. Therefore, you mustn't ignore the problem and address it as soon as possible. However, sometimes, the problem might not be linked to the battery only because other components might have a similar smell. Therefore, your mechanic needs to pinpoint the true culprit.
10- Old age
Finally, a bad car battery might be linked to just the battery reaching the end of its lifetime. Therefore, you must check the expiration date on the battery to confirm whether it did or not.
In most scenarios, the car batteries are expected to live somewhere between three and five years. If your vehicle is approaching this threshold, it might indicate that you have to replace it as soon as possible.
How to extend the battery lifetime and prevent premature damage?
As you might notice, the battery is a significant component in your vehicle, and if it's not working properly, you will have a lot of difficulties running this car. Therefore, it is critical for you as a car owner to understand what needs to be done so you can extend the battery's lifetime or at least prevent premature damage.
The following list summarizes some recommendations by automotive experts that could help you prevent premature car battery damage:
- Keep up with regular maintenance and avoid ignoring what's recommended by vehicle owner's manual
- Drive your car regularly and avoid letting it sit for a long time because this could impact the battery
- Consider combining your trips and avoiding short trips that might impact the lifetime of your car
- Try not to expose your car to excessive heat because this could damage the battery and allow chemicals to leak out of it
- If you don't need the accessories, make sure to turn them off, especially if your car battery is weak
- Whenever you leave your vehicle and turn it off, make sure to turn off all the accessories and electrical components
- Consider investing in a quality battery that is expected to last longer
How do we know if the car battery is bad? Final Thoughts
The car battery is a critical component in the starting system,. If it's not working properly, your vehicle is not going to start or is going to have difficulty starting. Therefore, it is important for you as a car owner to address the problem as soon as possible.
This article summarized the ten most important signs to help answer the question “How to know if the car battery is bad?” Whatever you notice any of these symptoms, you have to address them as soon as possible before things get out of hand.
If you're a mechanic who confirmed that your vehicle requires major repairs beyond changing the battery, it could be the perfect time to sell this car. Are you looking for someone to buy your car with some problems? Call Cash Cars Buyer at 773-791-4363.
If you're interested in similar posts, we highly encourage you to visit our blog by clicking here.