Most of the parts in your vehicle do require regular maintenance to ensure the best safety and performance, but some just last a long time, so you don’t really think about them until they go out like your car battery.
Without it, your car won’t start. And without electrical components like lights, audio, internal computers, and navigation systems working properly, you might as well be driving blind.
If you have space to store one (and can afford it), we suggest keeping a spare battery on-hand in case of an emergency.
If your car battery isn’t holding a charge for very long after being jumped or driven around for a bit, one of several things could be causing the issue.
Possible Causes of a Drained Vehicle Battery
There are many different reasons why cars batteries don’t hold charges for very long if that’s happening to yours – but here are the most common:
Corroded Battery Connections
The electrolyte from the top of your battery can cause corrosion on connections to battery cables, preventing them from charging up all the way – which is why your car dies again shortly after jumping it or running it around for 30 minutes.
Corroded battery cables will appear with blue-white or green-tinged substances on your car’s battery terminals, cables or posts.
You should be able to clean them off yourself at home with vinegar and water using a toothbrush or wire brush (after disconnecting the negative terminal), but if they’re toast then take it into a shop for proper cleaning and evaluation.\
According to NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), corroded battery connections are among the top five neglected vehicle maintenance items affecting safety.
Battery Not Recharging As You Drive
Your alternator recharges your car’s battery while you drive. So if there’s something wrong with that component or its connection between other parts of the electrical system, it means your battery isn’t getting recharged at all.
Battery health should be checked during routine maintenance so that early signs of failure can be detected before they’re catastrophic.
However, if you’ve just had work done recently and want to rule it out as a possible cause, check the terminals for cleanliness and tighten any loose connections you see.
Loose connections can build up excessive resistance, which inhibits adequate battery recharge.
Corrosion will also clog up the process of a healthy recharge, so clean off any deposits you notice.
Studies have shown proper maintenance can double your car battery’s life up to 50% longer than with no maintenance at all.
The Battery is Old or Past Expiration Date
If your car battery is really old and has reached the end of its useful service life, then replacing it is the only way to ensure your car starts every time you turn the key.
A standard lead-acid car battery usually lasts anywhere from three to five years depending on usage patterns and environmental conditions – but sometimes they die faster than that due to an internal defect or some other quirk.
You’ll know for sure if yours died prematurely when corrosion returns after having been removed with baking soda water just a few months prior (and doing so again doesn’t bring it back to life).
When this happens, take your vehicle in for full-service car battery replacement immediately – don’t wait!
The average cost of a replacement ranges from $45-$250 depending on the brand and specifications of the new one you buy.
Faulty Alternator
An alternator will eventually fail because use over time wears out moving parts or components internally break down causing electrical shorts – but premature failure may result if fluid leaks onto it contaminating its windings.
There are several symptoms commonly associated with faulty alternators like smelling burning rubber when driving slowly (like in traffic), hearing whining or growling sounds while cruising along highway speeds without touching the brakes, and battery warning lights on your dashboard.
The best way to fix it is to take your car to a repair shop for diagnosis and assessment – where trained technicians will determine exactly what’s wrong (and what isn’t).
Alternators have pretty typical lifespans of 7-10 years depending on usage conditions, but they can fail much earlier if you live in an extremely hot climate or tend to drive through deep water often.
Parasitic Draw on Charge
If your car is off but you’re still losing power, there’s a good chance you have what’s called a parasitic draw.
Something in your vehicle could be sucking the life out of your battery even when the ignition is turned off. It could be an electrical malfunction or as simple as a trunk light that was left on for days.
If it exceeds about 50 milliamps, a parasitic draw will quickly drain your battery and prevent your car from starting.
Overcharging, Undercharging, or Allowing Deep Discharge
Batteries don’t like to be overcharged or undercharged.
Overcharging causes them to overheat and eventually fail.
Overcharging can come from charging too frequently or for too long.
If you don’t charge enough, the lead plates inside will begin to sulfate.
This reduces the surface area available for the necessary chemical reaction.
And deep discharges — allowing a battery to discharge completely before recharging it — can damage the battery and reduce its capacity to hold a charge.
This problem is particularly common among electric vehicle owners who rarely drive their cars and allow them to sit for weeks without being plugged in.
A properly charged car battery should read about 12.6 volts at rest (meaning not in use).
A fully charged one will read around 12.8 volts at rest.
Anything below these numbers means the battery isn’t holding its full charge capacity.
Extreme Temperatures
Both hot and cold weather can kill batteries.
Hot weather evaporates battery water and makes them less efficient.
Cold cranking amps are important in very cold areas because they define how much current a battery delivers at freezing temperatures.
The higher the CCA rating, the more starting power it has; anything above 600 CCA is considered high CCA by most professionals.
Extreme Heat:
If you live somewhere extremely hot, get your local mechanic to check if you need to add water often so that the battery stays cool enough to function.
Blown or Defective Fuse
If you overload your battery, it will blow a fuse.
This happens when more current flows through the circuit than it can handle.
Blown fuses often result in minor electrical problems, such as interior backup lights that don’t work.
You can find and fix a blown fuse yourself using your vehicle’s manual or at your local mechanic.
Or you could take the car to a mechanic to have them identify and replace fuses related to the charging system. That could resolve the charging issue without professional intervention.
How to Diagnose a Battery Issue
If your car isn’t starting, won’t stay running or has other electrical issues, there are a number of ways you can diagnose if it’s the battery causing these problems or something else entirely.
Check Your Headlights: Not only do headlights help with nighttime visibility, but they’re also an easy way to check whether your car’s battery is good.
Would-be mechanics call this a “load test.”
Turn on your headlights and observe their brightness.
If they’re at full brightness, that means you likely have a wiring issue or faulty starter motor — not an exhausted battery.
If they appear dimmer than usual (and they should be pretty bright), that means the voltage in your battery might have dropped below 12 volts.
If nothing else, this will absolutely get your brain pumping. However if the reading you’re getting is less than 12 volts, you may need to continue looking deeper into the cause of your battery not holding a charge.
This simple test can prevent unnecessary battery replacements by identifying issues that may be resolved through charging or cleaning connections.
Check Age and Condition: Old car batteries will often become worse at holding a charge.
Look for obvious signs that the battery is too old or worn, such as visible corrosion and cracking.
If it’s at least four years old, it’s time to consider a replacement. If younger, it could lose charge if it hasn’t been started for days or weeks.
Regular inspection and maintenance can help extend its life to get reliable service throughout its lifespan.
Figuring out whether or not the battery is the problem will help ensure you correctly repair the issue moving forward..
Fixing Battery
If your battery is under four years old, fix your battery issue rather than replace it by charging with a battery maintainer (also called battery tender).
Note this should only be used after all other potential electrical problems have been ruled out before using one of these tools.
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