Battery Replacement Service

When to Get a New Car Battery

The most common indicator of a dead battery is a car that won’t start. If you drive long enough, you’ll experience this. Fortunately, there are some early indicators that can help you prevent things from escalating to this point. A lot of modern vehicles have battery monitoring systems. If and when the battery is no longer holding a proper charge, a warning light will pop up on your dash. Double check with your manual, and you’ll see what your car is telling you. The other early warning indicator is when electrical stuff doesn’t seem to work quite right. Car alarms get wonky when the battery doesn’t provide quite enough juice. Clocks might fail to keep the correct time, and lights might flicker erratically. If you ever want to be completely sure about your battery, hook it up to a voltmeter. A healthy battery should maintain 14 Volts when the car is off. At even 12 Volts, the car will typically start, but your battery is past its prime. When in doubt, a proper load test will give you the best review of your battery’s health.