why does my car battery keep dying when i don't drive it

How to Keep a Car Battery Charged When Not in Use. Many cars power their lights radio and other systems from the alternator which can make the battery drain worse if there is a charging problem.

Why Does My Car Battery Discharge Overnight Or When Parked Axleaddict

The battery will last a about a week before needing to be recharged with enough power to start the car.

. Replace any damaged cables and clean the battery terminals. Your battery shouldnt be at risk as a result of these things. But as long as you dont do it yourself thats pretty rare.

It needs a separate connection to the battery because the power sockets all go off when the ignition is off so thats a fuse and a bit of 05mm2 wire from the positive terminal through the firewall to a hidden aux socket under the dash with the negative wire earthed nearby. What Is Draining My Car Battery When Its Off. A dead battery after a few days has been a problem on several makes of car not just my 2012 Hyundai Sonata.

A weak or dead battery cant provide the power needed to get the engine started. This is called parasitic drain. Why car batteries die.

Some of the most common reasons for a car battery to die repeatedly include loose or corroded battery connections persistent electrical drains charging problems constantly demanding more power than the alternator can provide and even extreme weather. If you run your vehicle properly and on a regular basis keeping your car battery charged isnt something you have to think much about. The battery terminals are the points of contact on the top of your battery one is marked with a positive the other a negative.

Forgetting to turn off your headlights. There are some parasitic drains. A failed diode in the alternator creates a closed circuit that drains your battery even when the engine is off.

Car battery keeps dying when not in use. Battery acid is corrosive. A dirty battery top can leak voltage between the terminals draining the battery when not in use.

The very common cause for battery connection issues is corrosion. Keep a Parasitic Drain From Killing Your Battery. That might sound obvious but one of the other reasons why car batteries repeatedly die is due to corrosion at the connections.

To prevent this keep a trickle charger connected to the battery when it is not in use. A weak or poorly maintained battery is usually the main reason a battery dies. In order for your car battery to recharge your vehicles alternator must provide it with electrical current.

If you do not have a sealed battery remove the battery caps and top off the battery cells about 12- to one-inch from the top of the battery with distilled water. If the engine runs off interior lights door lights or bad relays may drain the battery. If your charging system is not working properly then your car battery can drain even while you are driving.

If your battery is disconnected your car definitely wont start. Some have had the dead battery problem because of a bad cell in the battery faulty battery cables a bad diode in the alternator or even a problem in the cars radio. Once the car is running the alternator continuously charges the battery so its in top form the next.

Therefore the only way to get the battery going is to clean the corrosion. The battery in your car is still powerful even when you are driving off supplying power to the clocks radios and alarms. If it is not working properly this is another common reason why your car battery keeps dying.

There are few common causes of regularly dead batteries. First thing to do is to inspect the connections between the battery cables starting solenoid and starter for bad corrosion or damage. Check under your hood.

When that happens your car may just shut off or the engine may sound like its suddenly running poorly. Although its easy to leave your headlights on accidentally without noticing that type of situation actually has an outward indicator that something is wrong. The alternator charges the battery as your vehicle runs this is why you typically dont have to worry the battery dies while youre driving to work.

Im not a professional. Luckily most of them can be fixed by simply replacing it. If you start the car and then only drive it about five miles or less then you are not recharging the battery sufficiently.

Problems with your car battery. Extreme Hot and Cold Temperatures. The best way to protect your battery is by driving your vehicle regularly.

Your battery provides power to the starter motor when you turn the key so your vehicle can start and run. Your car battery dies for one of three general reasons. Up to 8 cash back If you do not drive your vehicle very often and when you do it is only a short drive then yes the mechanic was correct.

But over time that changes. Some of these problems are enough to kill a battery on their own. Oops I did it again The most common cause of battery drain is human error ie.

Whats much more common is for the connectors to be loose. A car battery dies when you are not using the car because it is not being charged by the alternator. Too Many Short Trips.

Loose battery connection. October 9 2012-- A friend who owns a 2013 Sonata spoke with his dealer in a. This is the one thing thats worked AMAZING to get my car battery to keep its charge overnight in cold weather.

In the case of many. In addition to interior lights door lights and bad relays what can drain your car battery when its out is when its off. Or your headlights or radio.

If your vehicle doesnt shut these off automatically and you park your car out of sight like in a garage this could explain your dead battery. If you look closely at the battery connections you will see that a lot of corrosion can build up over time. An abnormal parasitic draw from the cars electronics can also kill a car battery.

If youre too busy during the workweek and cant get to it until youre off some short term fixes are to disconnect the battery at. Identifying a parasitic drain before it kills your battery can be tough since you typically wont notice anything out of the ordinary. What Causes a Car Battery to Keep Dying.

A car battery will keep dying in short order primarily due to excessive and irreversible lead sulfation which has built up over time as a battery spends time in a state of partial or full discharge. If you let your car sit long enough this parasitic drain will use up the batterys entire store of power leaving you with nothing to turn over your engine.

Why My Car Battery Won T Hold Charge Rx Mechanic