{"id":3108,"date":"2016-11-14T21:34:15","date_gmt":"2016-11-14T21:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.leithcars.com\/blogs\/1421\/?p=3108"},"modified":"2016-11-14T21:34:15","modified_gmt":"2016-11-14T21:34:15","slug":"dead-coming-dead-car-batteries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/?p=3108","title":{"rendered":"The Dead Are Coming \u2013 Dead Car Batteries, That is"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"zombies\"You only have a few weeks left before it\u2019s too late. Soon winter will be upon us, and car batteries will be dropping like flies. Do you know what won\u2019t be dropping? The price of car batteries. In fact, that price seems to be rising every year. So, we\u2019re here to tell you how to check if you need a new battery, and what you can do to make it last through the winter.<\/p>\n

Part one: checking your battery<\/strong><\/h3>\n

First, you\u2019ll need to locate your battery. This shouldn\u2019t be too difficult, but if you\u2019re having trouble consult the owner\u2019s manual in your car.<\/p>\n

Next, you\u2019ll want to visually inspect the battery for any battery acid buildup, also known as corrosion. Battery acid looks white and dusty, and generally appears around the terminals of your battery. Corrosion doesn\u2019t necessarily mean your battery has gone bad, but it\u2019s not a good sign. You\u2019ll want to clean it off your battery terminals in order to preserve the connection. The best way we know how to do this is using a carbonated soda, like Diet Coke. Just pour some soda on the terminal and watch the battery acid disappear.<\/p>\n

\"dead<\/p>\n

If you want to check your battery\u2019s voltage, you\u2019ll need a multimeter. Multimeters aren\u2019t exactly household items, so you may have to go out and buy one. Here\u2019s a great video on how to use a multimeter to check your car\u2019s battery.<\/a><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t have a multimeter, but you still want to test your battery, swing by your local AutoZone or one of the Leith Dealerships and have an expert do it for you.<\/p>\n

Part two: protecting your battery<\/strong><\/h3>\n

So, you want to protect your battery from a wintery death? Well, you may be too late. The real battery-killer is heat, and here in North Carolina we\u2019ve got plenty of heat to go around. Batteries fail in the winter because oil is thicker when cold, and that thick oil puts more strain on your starter, and therefore on your battery.<\/p>\n

With that being said, you can take care of your battery with a few simple rules:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. In the summer, try and park your car in the shade as much as possible.<\/li>\n
  2. Keep your battery\u2019s voltage consistent. Too much fluctuation in voltage can cause damage, so charge it to full every few weeks and do your best not to leave your lights on.<\/li>\n
  3. If you can, remove your battery and store it at room temperature when you\u2019re not using it.<\/li>\n
  4. For older cars, you can install a battery insulation kit<\/a> (comes standard on most new cars) to keep it safe from the elements.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you need a new battery<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    We hope you\u2019ll come see us at Leith Automotive. We\u2019ve got top-of-the-line service facilities and technicians with years of experience to make your experience a breeze. Check out all our locations at Leithcars.com<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    You only have a few weeks left before it\u2019s too late. Soon winter will be upon us, and car batteries will be dropping like flies. Do you know what won\u2019t be dropping? The price of car batteries. In fact, that price seems to be rising every year. So, we\u2019re here to tell you how to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,4,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-automotive","category-cars","category-leith-cars-service"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3108\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}