When checking over their vehicles prior to driving away on a holiday, many motorists ignore the condition of their battery and simply hope it will continue to work. Yet, as with other parts of a car, it can stop working and can see people stuck at the roadside while they are on their holidays. So it is important for motorists to be able to understand how to take care of their battery and the most common reasons why it may fail or go flat.
The car battery is the only power source for starting up a vehicle and faulty breakdowns are one of the top reasons why breakdown calls are made in the UK. This is the last thing anyone wants to have to do when they are travelling, which is why it is important to maintain the good condition of a car battery to reduce the chances of a breakdown or finding that the vehicle will not start.
If the car is left unused for a long period of time then its battery could go dead, which is something that drivers should bear in mind if the road trip they have planned is the first time in months that they plan to take their car out. Most vehicles draw on battery life when the ignition is switched off because the internal memory of engine computers in modern cars as well as radio presets require a little bit of energy.
Old age is a common reason why batteries can die but there are a lot more causes besides. Not using a car as well as only using it for frequent long journeys can drain its life. Therefore, drivers on holiday should be careful about stopping and starting too many times to admire the scenery as this could kill the battery.
If there is a long journey involved in getting to a holiday destination then this is actually good for the battery, being in operation for an extended period of time helps it to regain its charge. Starting up a car takes a lot of energy so a long drive is the way to recover this lost battery life. If there is a lot of travelling required in a road trip then even better.
One of the most common reasons why drivers find that they cannot start their car is when they have left their lights on overnight, which can drain their battery. Luckily a lot of modern cars come with an alert system to warn drivers that their lights are still on when they get out of their vehicle. Others also turn off automatically if they have been left on after a car has been parked up. Nevertheless, some people do not have these features and can still encounter this problem.
It is important that when they have parked their vehicle, drivers make sure all electrical appliances in their cars have been switched off. This includes headlights, interior lights and the radio. Otherwise, this can drain the battery fairly quickly so that when a driver gets in their car after a night at their hotel or campsite, ready for a day trip, they will find themselves stuck at the place where they are staying.
Faulty components are also important to look out for but these are best looked at by a technician. Drivers can book in at their nearest ATS Euromaster centre to have theirs checked by clicking here.
