Why Does My Car Battery Keep Dying?
Tips & Support
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- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Does your car battery keep dying? We might be able to help. First of all, fully-charged car batteries will measure at least 12.6 volts (with the engine turned off). If your battery is well below that level, then it may be deeply-discharged. Do you have a battery charger? If so, try charging your battery with a battery charger.
We hear from a lot of folks who mistakenly believe if they jump-start their car, the alternator will recharge their battery. That is a bad idea. Alternators are designed to maintain a battery near a full state of charge, not recharge deeply-discharged batteries. Trying to use the alternator to recharge a deeply-discharged battery can shorten the lifespan of the alternator and battery and lead to a cycle of dead batteries and jump-starts until one or both of them fail.
Modern electrical accessories, like satellite-based communication systems and car alarms can discharge a battery in a matter of days and make people believe their batteries are dying, when they are only being discharged. If you have high-demand electrical systems in your vehicle, like those described in the video below, we recommend periodically using a quality battery charger or maintainer, to maximize battery performance and lifespan.
If you don't have a battery charger, we recommend using a quality battery charger that is microprocessor-controlled and can deliver the amperage your battery needs, when it needs it. OPTIMA Digital chargers and maintainers are very simple to use and work on 12-volt lead-acid batteries, including AGM batteries. You can buy them factory-direct right here.
We hear from a lot of folks who mistakenly believe if they jump-start their car, the alternator will recharge their battery. That is a bad idea. Alternators are designed to maintain a battery near a full state of charge, not recharge deeply-discharged batteries. Trying to use the alternator to recharge a deeply-discharged battery can shorten the lifespan of the alternator and battery and lead to a cycle of dead batteries and jump-starts until one or both of them fail.
Modern electrical accessories, like satellite-based communication systems and car alarms can discharge a battery in a matter of days and make people believe their batteries are dying, when they are only being discharged. If you have high-demand electrical systems in your vehicle, like those described in the video below, we recommend periodically using a quality battery charger or maintainer, to maximize battery performance and lifespan.
If you don't have a battery charger, we recommend using a quality battery charger that is microprocessor-controlled and can deliver the amperage your battery needs, when it needs it. OPTIMA Digital chargers and maintainers are very simple to use and work on 12-volt lead-acid batteries, including AGM batteries. You can buy them factory-direct right here.