A bad battery means your car won’t start, which can be frustrating—especially when the cause is unclear. When it’s working correctly, the battery should start the engine and then be recharged by the alternator while you drive. Often, it’s your driving habits, not battery defects, that lead to battery failure.
With normal use, most car batteries last for three to five years. For some battery types such as AGM and EFB batteries, the battery life can stretch up to six years or even more.
When it comes to lead acid batteries, they show multiple signs of failure such as slow cranking, flickering lights or an inability to start-up the engine.
On some models, a Check Engine light with low voltage codes may appear. While this indicates a bad or discharged battery, it doesn’t reveal the root cause of the problem or how it could have been prevented.
Ahead, we will discover these causes and how you can avoid them to ensure longer battery life.
5 Causes of Car Battery Failure
There are myriad of battery drainage causes that lead to car battery failure. Let’s explore the top most common ones.
1. Decreased Battery Capacity
Over time, your car battery’s capacity will decrease, even with regular use. If the battery isn’t recharged properly—either too slowly, which risks overcharging, or too quickly, which prevents full charging—lead sulfate can build up on the plates, leading to reduced capacity and eventual failure.
Regular maintenance and ensuring your alternator is functioning correctly can help avoid this issue.
How To Avoid It
When you get the opportunity, attach a smart charger on your battery overnight. This can ensure that the battery is fully charged, and it can sometimes condition the battery to reverse crystallization.
Read more: Tips for Preventing Common Car Issues That Lead to Towing Needs
2. Corrosion
Battery acid is corrosive. That might sound obvious, but one of the main reasons for car battery failure is due to corrosion at the negative and positive terminals.
The chemical reactions inside separate a small amount of the hydrogen and oxygen out of the electrolyte material. If the hydrogen escapes, it creates a corrosive environment. A natural seam where the hydrogen escapes is around the battery posts, thus the terminals corrode.
The battery terminals are the points of contact on the top of your battery. One is marked with a positive charge symbol and the other a negative. These are the points that you use to jump your car. They’re also the way your battery is able to be charged by your alternator. If your battery’s connection is corroded, your alternator may not be doing an adequate job of recharging your battery.
If you see blue or green growths hanging off your battery terminals, that’s a telltale sign that your battery is damaged by corrosion. Corrosion may also look like a thin white powdery substance. Though this is a perfectly natural and expected process, it’s the car battery failure culprit.
More corrosion on the negative terminal indicates an undercharging condition while overcharging is the culprit if there’s more buildup on the positive terminal.
How To Avoid It
You can improve your car’s ability to charge the battery by improving the connection. If there isn’t much corrosion, use a dry rag or stiff wire brush to wipe away dirt and grime. With a little effort, your battery will have a cleaner contact surface and an easier time charging.
If you have corrosion on the battery terminals, it can be neutralized with a battery cleaner spray and washed off. A mixture of baking soda and vinegar can neutralize and clean the terminals too.
Corrosion is a natural process, so there’s only so much you can do to prevent car battery failure because of this reason.
3. Parasitic Drain
If the electrical devices in your car or the lights on your car are left running even when your ignition is off, they will drain your battery slowly but dramatically.
Parasitic drain, also known as parasitic battery drain, refers to the gradual discharge of a vehicle’s battery when the engine is off. It occurs when certain electrical components continue to draw power even when the car is not running.
While these electrical problems can be addressed, they aren’t as predictable as the other reasons for car battery failure. A bad alternator is a common issue. Your battery relies on your alternator in order to recharge. If the alternator isn’t pulling its weight, your battery dies frequently.
Sometimes a broken fuse can drain a battery, even when your car is off.
How To Avoid It
For electrical problems, you’ll want to get a skilled mechanic involved. Though the voltage produced by a car battery isn’t enough to kill a person, there are other hidden dangers that can pose a threat to your safety if you don’t know what you’re doing.
To avoid unwanted parasitic drain, turn off every light and make sure your trunk, glove box, and doors are fully closed and latched before leaving the car.
4. Broken Plates From Vibration
Vibration can indeed cause damage to lead-acid batteries, especially in vehicles driven through harsh environments. This occurs in vehicles with lead-acid batteries that are driven through rugged and harsh environments like rock crawling, off-roading, and travel on logging roads or badly rutted gravel washboard.
Vibration is a primary contributor to commercial battery failure as it shakes the plates around and can loosen internal connections. It can also cause cracks in the cell connectors and separators. Disrupting the conductivity and immediately causing the car battery failure.
How To Avoid It
To minimize vibration effects, use special hold down hardware to secure the battery in place and prevent it from moving.
You can’t correct a battery with broken internal plates, but some battery designs are less susceptible to damage in these harsh conditions.
Consider a spiral cell or AGM battery to prevent getting left in the dirt.
5. Damaged Battery Case
The case of a car battery is commonly polypropylene resin. This material is impact resistant, but not damage-proof. It can warp or crack if there is very high heat or extreme cold. The result is either internal damage or leaking electrolytes.
Swelling occurs when the battery is overcharged or when the electrolyte freezes and expands inside. It can cause leaks at the seams or around the posts, or the case can crack. A damaged battery case exposes the battery to external elements, which can lead to internal corrosion and electrolyte leakage. This corrosion hinders the smooth flow of electric current within the battery, resulting in diminished performance.
How To Avoid It
Avoid overcharging the battery for extended periods of time, and never store a discharged battery in freezing temperatures. Once the case is damaged, the only correction is replacement.
Quality 1st Towing
If you’re facing car battery failure in New Jersey and you’re stressed out — we’ve got your back.
Our team at Quality 1st Towing will reach you immediately, 24/7. We handle the job, from a dead battery jump start to emergency towing.
Looking for the fastest towing without breaking the bank? Call NOW.
