5 Top Reasons Why Your Battery Is Getting Drained

You want to go grocery shopping to prepare for a family luncheon and you try to start your car only to find that it won’t start. The dashboard if flashing on not coming on and the car simply won’t start. You the realize that your battery seems to be flat. You ask yourself, how did this happen?

Your cars’ battery is one of the most important piece of equipment in your vehicle. Its main function is to power the starter to crank the motor and send electricity to the spark plugs, to ignite the fuel. The battery also powers your radio, lights, computer box and other components in the car.  It is easy to tell if your car will not start because of the battery. You will experience flickering lights, a clicking sound and in some instances a central locking not working.

We have identified the the top 5 most common reasons for battery drain:

1. Parasitic Drain (usually caused by your tracker device)

In our experience, we have found that after market devices such as trackers tend to be the culprit when it comes to parasitic drain. If you experience abnormal battery drain over night, ask yourself if there are any after market electronic devices added to the car that draw power directly from the battery.

2. Human Error

As humans we do make mistakes, hey, it happens. sometimes we forget our lights on to our despair. Try to be vigilant and make sure your all lights are off and doors are closed properly. Luckily modern cars tend to sound an alarm if the head lights are left on.

3. Bad Charging

Your battery needs to be constantly charged to keep 12v of battery power at all times. The drain on the battery happens even when the car is running as some components connect directly to the battery to draw power. If there is charging system mulfunction, the battery can go flat even while driving. This is usually caused by loose fan/drive belts and/or failing tensioner hence the alternator is not fully charging the battery.

4. Broken Alternator

The alternator acts as a charger for the car battery. If it is unable to charge the battery, the battery will drain and this will cause the car not to start.

5. Long Term Parking

We are now mostly working from home and do not drive as much as we used to. Even the drives have shortened significantly and therefore the battery does not get enough charge. While the car is parked for extended periods, your battery continues to power the clock, alarm, tracker etc and over time, these small components (in terms of battery drain) can drain all the current from the battery. Try remove the positive terminal from the battery if you are going to park the car for a long time and if that is  not possible, try start the car everyday for 5 -10 minutes to charge the battery, Older batteries tend to susceptible to accelerated battery drain.

If you are still unsure, check your vehicle Owner’s Manual or book an inspection today. We understand that your car plays an important part of your daily life, transporting you and your loved ones. Michanic is dedicated to providing the most convenient services for our customers, so if you have any other questions or concerns regarding your car, feel free to talk to our customer service team via email at [email protected], or by phone on 087 803 9000.

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