The other day we discussed how to properly check all of thefluid levels in your vehicle. Keeping an eye on all of your fluids is extremelyimportant in ensuring the proper functioning and longevity of your vehicle. You don’t need to break down what an encoder motor is, or exactly how diesel injection pumps work, but there are other maintenance tasks that should not be overlooked. The first onewe will talk about in this short series is the maintenance of your car battery.
Your car battery is usually located towards the front ofyour car. You will know if your car battery is critically low if your car ishaving trouble turning over. Checking the battery before problems occur is agood idea, but requires a trip to the local auto parts store, or a specialpiece of equipment – a handheld voltage meter. To check the battery life usinga handheld voltage meter, touch the meter leads to the positive and negativebattery terminals with the ignition key is OFF. A reading of 12.66 volts is afully charged battery, 12.45 volts is 75% charged, 12.24 volts is 50% charged,and 12.06 volts is 25% charged. If you don’t own a voltage meter, you canalways take your battery to a local auto parts store that sells batteries andask them to test it for you. They can tell you how much charge your battery hasleft, and if you should change it. You should also check your battery for corrosion around thepositive and negative terminals. If you have corrosive build up on your batteryterminals, it’s important to clean them. To clean them you will need eyeprotection, gloves, a soft brush (like a toothbrush), distilled water, andbaking soda. Keep in mind that adding baking soda to the acid build up on yourbattery terminals causes an exothermic reaction that produces heat – proceedslowly, adding the baking soda slowly and deliberately and do not get itanywhere but on the corrosion.
Make sure to FIRSTremove the battery cables from the battery terminals. Remove the negative onefirst, then the positive. If there is excess corrosion you may also need a pairof locking pliers to wiggle and lift upward until the clamp comes off theterminal post. Treat the corrosion like crystallized acid, because that’s whatit is – don’t get it in your eyes or on your skin or clothing.
Examine the cables and clamps for excess wear or corrosion.If you find them severely eaten away, you should replace them. Secure the loosecables so they don’t accidentally flop over onto the terminals – you could getan electric shock. To remove the corrosion, pour baking soda directly onto theposts. Use a damp or wet toothbrush to scrub the baking soda into the terminalposts and cable clamps. If this isn’t doing much, use a battery terminalcleaner brush purchased at the auto parts store, or a plain wool pad.
Dry everything off with a clean rag. Apply grease orpetroleum jelly onto the posts – this will slow down the formation of corrosivedeposits. Replace the positive clamp and then the negative clamp. Use a propersized wrench to tighten them down. Replace the rubber boot or plastic shieldthat covers the terminal.
With your battery checked and cleaned, it should lastseveral years and keep your vehicle turning over quickly, your headlightsbright, and have you singing along to your favorite tunes on the radio.
