How much should you spend for a battery?

By Brian Klaubert

With the onset of cold weather, some people are going to find themselves with a stranded car. Cold weather puts a strain on your car in three ways. First, cold weather reduces the power available from your battery. A drop in temperature from 80 degrees to 32 degrees automatically reduces the available battery power by 20%. When the temperature drops into the teens, you loose another 10%. A healthy battery has adequate reserves. An older battery may not.

Secondly, cold temperatures make your engine oil thicker and more resistant to moving. This makes it harder for the starter motor to spin your engine. Colder temperatures also make it harder for your starter motor to engage and to turn. Thirdly, cold air and cold gas are harder to ignite. Your engine has to turn over longer to start than when it is warmer.

The typical life of a battery is greatly impacted by the location of the battery with respect to heat sources under the hood. Some cars can’t get more than 3 years on a battery, while others will get 6 years of life.

Batteries come in 3 quality levels. The $35-$55 batteries frequently die out in about 2 years. The $75-$85 batteries generally last 4 to 5 years. The $100+ batteries have a better warranty, but don’t seem to really last longer than the $85 batteries. My personal opinion is to stick to the $85 batteries. (Expensive vehicles, such as Lexus or Mercedes, will need $100+ batteries in order to maintain the same battery case size.)

If your battery is 3 years or older you should consider having it tested every 6 months. Many full service repair facilities will test your battery’s capacity for free, as will all of the discount part stores. Some repair facilities have a small charge, but include cleaning the battery terminals. Just ask at your next repair or oil change if they will test your battery for free.

Another common problem that is easily prevented is corrosion on your battery terminals. At all times of the year we see vehicles towed in that would not start, and the only problem was that the battery terminals were corroded.

I would seriously recommend each of you to go open your hood right now and look at the top and sides of the battery. Look where the big cables connect. If you see green fuzz or scale on these connections, you have battery terminal corrosion. This corrosion is a barrier between the power your battery has and the demand your starter needs to turn.

You can have your battery terminals cleaned at most service facilities for around $15. If you are adventuresome, you can also do it yourself. Mix equal parts of baking soda and water. Poor it on the battery terminals and watch it fizz! Rinse it off with fresh water. Then loosen the bolt holding the battery clamp on. Remove the clamp and repeat the process with the baking soda and water rinse. Be sure to firmly tighten the bolt again, or you could have problems.

Brian Klaubert owns Christian Brothers Automotive-Hamilton Mill, on Braselton Hwy in Dacula, 2004 winners of “Best of Gwinnett” in both Gwinnett Magazine and the Gwinnett Daily Post.