Yahoo Autos Question Of The Day: Why Does My Car Battery Keep Dying?
Question: Why does my car battery not last very long?
A battery is definitely not the sexiest item on a car. In fact, it’s safe to say that very few people ever inquire about these little black boxes when researching their next vehicle purchase. However, a car with the best gas mileage, the fanciest safety features, and the most exotic hood ornament won’t even make it off the lot if the battery doesn’t work—which arguably makes it the most important aspect of the car.
“A car battery works exactly the same as any other battery,” says Richard Reina, product trainer at CARiD.com. “The battery has a ‘positive’ terminal and a ‘negative’ terminal, and electrons flow through wires from one terminal to the other.” The primary function of a car battery is to start the engine by powering the starter motor and provide electric power to the spark plugs to ignite the fuel. It also provides electric power to the lights, horn, heater, etc.
That’s an awful lot of responsibility for a 12-volt battery—the voltage used on most modern vehicles, especially considering that the batteries in your household flashlight supply a whopping 1.5 volts of electricity. And just like your typical flashlight, camera, and smoke detector batteries, car batteries eventually wear out and need to be changed from time to time. “An average battery [life] will be in the 3-4 year range,” says Bob Augustine, technical training manager for Christian Brothers Automotive. But that life can be dramatically shortened depending on how you treat your car:
