Category: Battery

Hello Glendora drivers, let’s talk about batteries. Car batteries are just like any rechargeable battery. They will eventually wear out and die. If you are shopping for a new battery in Glendora, here’s some auto advice to help you.

There are two measurements to consider when purchasing a new battery: cold cranking amps and reserve capacity. The power required to start a cold engine is measured in cold cranking amps. The number you need is determined by what kind of vehicle you drive and where you live. In general, higher-cylinder engines require more cold cranking amps than lower-cylinder engines. In other words, an eight-cylinder engine needs more cold cranking amps than a six-cylinder one. Also, diesel engines require more cold cranking amps than gasoline engines.

The Los Angeles weather also determines the number of cold cranking amps you need. The colder the sedan engine, the more power it takes to get it started. Also, cold California weather reduces the electrical efficiency of the battery, which reduces the amount of energy available in the battery to start the engine. Thus, in freezing temperatures, you need more power to start an engine, but you have less power available to get it started.

So if you live in a cold climate, or in an area in California where winters can get really chilly, it is critical to have a battery with more cold cranking amps than if you live in a more mild or warmer climate.

The battery that was installed in your sedan at the factory may not have the appropriate number of cold cranking amps for your area. It is essential to check the manufacturer’s recommendations and get at least that number of cold cranking amps, but you may want to upgrade if you live in a colder climate.

Reserve capacity is the number of minutes your battery can maintain essential functions in your sedan without being recharged. There are two things that affect reserve capacity. The first is referred to as parasitic drain. Your sedan has power systems that must be kept running while the engine is off. These may include the security system, the remote start systems, and any computer systems. The number and power requirements of these systems has greatly increased over the last few decades. As a result, the need for reserve capacity in vehicles’ batteries has also increased. Very short trips around Glendora and Azusa do not allow a vehicle’s battery to recover the energy that was used to start the car. So these trips require reserve capacity as well.

Again, the reserve capacity in the battery installed at the factory may not be what you need for your Glendora lifestyle and driving habits. Again, use the manufacturer’s recommendation as a minimum, but consider upgrading if your sedan has a lot of parasitic power drain or if you frequently make very short trips around Los Angeles.

Your reliable service advisor at Certified Auto Specialists in Glendora can help you choose an appropriate battery for your vehicle and your lifestyle. If you need extra power owing to cold weather or a need for more reserve capacity, you may want to choose a heavy-duty battery. Just make sure it fits into your sedan. An oversized battery may give you the power you need, but it’s a serious safety hazard if the terminals come into contact with other parts of the vehicle.

Car batteries aren’t cheap in Glendora, so you may want to consider the warranty when purchasing. Pro-rated warranties will give you credit for a portion of the battery if the battery fails during the warranty period. The amount of credit will depend on how long the battery lasted. A free replacement warranty will replace your battery if it fails during the warranty period. Before you purchase a battery, make sure you know what you are buying.

Keep in mind that preventive maintenance and good car care can extend the life of your battery. Judicious use of electric gadgets and good driving habits is vital and can help you get the most out of your battery.

It’s important for Glendora motorists to know battery basics. First, let’s talk about which is harder on a battery – hot or cold California weather. Most Los Angeles drivers think it’s cold weather because that’s when we call on our batteries to have enough power to start a cold sedan engine.

However, heat does more damage to a battery than cold. Truth is, our batteries start to die a little from day one. Keeping a full charge slows the process, which is hard with short Glendora trips because the alternator doesn’t have time to fully recharge the battery from starting the engine. Glendora car owners can top off the charge with a computer controlled battery charger – say, once a month in the California summer and every three months during the winter.

As far as how long a battery will last, statistics show that 70% have given up the ghost within four years. By that time, they aren’t capable of taking a full charge like they used to, and your sedan alternator has to work overtime to keep up. This causes your alternator to wear out early.

If you’re pushing 4 to 5 years on your battery, see your reliable Certified Auto Specialists tech for a battery test to see if it’s recommended to replace it. Not only can you avoid getting stranded with a dead battery, but you’ll save unnecessary wear and tear on your sedan alternator.

Give us a call

Certified Auto Specialists
626-963-0814
476 Vermont Avenue
Glendora, California 91741

Car problems of any kind can be frustrating but the one that seems to annoy people the most is when their car won’t start.  There are several possible reasons your car won’t start but the number one reason is a battery issue.  If you try to start your car and you don’t hear a noise we call that a “no crank” and this could be caused by one of three things; the battery, the ignition or the starter circuit. 

The two main reasons for shortened battery life are;

• Excessive heat – Heat causes battery fluid to evaporate, damaging the internal structure of the battery.
• Overcharging – A malfunctioning component in the charging system, usually the voltage regulator, allows too high a charging rate, resulting in a slow battery death.

To get the most out of your battery:

• Have your battery and its connections checked at every oil change
• Be sure the electrical system is charging at the correct rate.  Overcharging can damage a battery as quickly as undercharging.
• Always have the battery replaced with one that’s rated at least as high as the one originally specified.
• Keep the top of the battery clean.  Dirt becomes a conductor, which drains battery power.  Further, as corrosion accumulates on battery terminals it becomes an insulator, inhibiting current flow.

Batteries do not always give warning signs before they fail. It is always wise to check it after summer’s end.

If the battery isn’t the issue, if you don’t have experience with ignitions and starter circuits it is best to leave this to professionals.  This calls for inspecting, cleaning and tightening plus testing.  If the test proves the part is beyond repair, you need to purchase the part and replace it. This is great if you know what you are doing but if you don’t you could inadvertently cause more problems.

Crank is when you hear your car trying but it just won’t start the engine. This again could be caused by one of three issues…your car has run out of fuel, it has no spark or it has no compression. Of course the first thing to check is the fuel.  If your car is on empty then of course you need to refuel.  Hopefully you can just add gas and all will be well but sometimes this isn’t the case. Most vehicles have an electric fuel pump.  This sits inside the tank actually submerged in the fuel.  This allows the pump to stay cool and lubricated and this submergence in fuel keeps the pump from destructing due to overheating.  The reserve fuel inside your tank prevents this from happening.  Some vehicles have a well that the pump sits inside and if this well runs dry the pump also gets damaged. If your vehicle is fueled by diesel and this occurs, it also becomes necessary to “prime it” to get fuel to the pump.  Obviously, you can’t drive forever on an empty tank…but if you regularly put in just enough gas to get by; your fuel pump can fail earlier than normal. Your pump will also be taking in the “bottom of the barrel” fuel which is full of debris. This sediment in the bottom of the fuel tank can also clog the fuel filter, fuel injectors as well as the pump pickup. I generally don’t let my tank get below 1/4 tank for this reason.

If the problem is no spark or no compression I again recommend you get your vehicle to your car care provider.  If you don’t know what you are doing you could even have a “shocking” experience.

Hello, welcome to Certified Auto Specialists. Today’s topic is batteries. It seems like everything in Covina runs on batteries. Of course, the batteries we’re most concerned with here at Certified Auto Specialists are those in our vehicles. Car batteries wear out just like any other battery and need to be replaced. There are a couple of things Covina drivers should know when looking for a new battery.

There are two measurements that come into play: one is cold cranking amps and the other is reserve capacity.

Let’s start with cold cranking amps. This can be thought of as the power output used to start a cold engine. The number of cold cranking amps you need depends on your vehicle and where you live, specifically how cold it is where you live. The two factors are that the colder your sedan’s engine is, the more power it takes to turn the engine over to get it started. It has all that cold, sluggish oil to contend with.

The other factor is that the chemical reaction in the battery that creates electrical energy is less efficient in the cold. We even have a table. Let’s say it’s eighty degrees Fahrenheit out. At that temperature, 100% of the battery’s power is available. At freezing, only 65% of battery power is available, but it requires 155% as much power to start the engine as it did at eighty degrees.

As you can see from the chart, the colder it gets, more power’s needed, but the available power drops.

Percent of Power Available	Celsius	Fahrenheit	Power Required
100	27	80	100
65	0	32	155
40	-22	0	210
25	-32	20	350

So if you live where it’s cold, you need a battery with more cold cranking amps than you do where it’s moderate or hot. The battery that originally came with the vehicle was based on averages. At Certified Auto Specialists, we like to remind Covina auto owners that they should always get at least as many cold cranking amps as the manufacturer recommends, but may want to upgrade if they live where it gets real cold.

And the type of engine you have will impact the battery you need: A six-cylinder engine requires more cold cranking amps than a four. An eight cylinder needs even more. And diesel sedans require more than a gasoline engine with the same number of cylinders.

Now on to reserve capacity: It’s a measurement of the number of minutes of reserve power the battery has at a given load. The number is more important to Covina drivers these days because of parasitic drain. Parasitic drain is the battery energy that’s used when the key is off in your sedan. So, the power drawn by the security system, the remote start system, even the power the computers require to maintain their memory.

Reserves are also needed when you make very short trips around Covina. You’re not driving long enough for the battery to recover the energy it used to start the engine. So go with the minimum recommended by your manufacturer or Certified Auto Specialists and upgrade if you need more.

Talk with us at Certified Auto Specialists about your options. If you need more from your battery, a larger, heavy-duty battery may be called for. At Certified Auto Specialists, we remind our customers that it’s very important that the new battery fits your sedan: the terminals can’t be touching other parts and stuff.

Batteries are a big ticket item for most Covina motorists, so the warranty gives piece of mind. There’re two kinds of car battery warranties: pro-rated and free replacement. With the pro-rated, you get a credit for a portion of the battery if it fails during the warranty period. With a free replacement warranty, you get just that, a free replacement. Be sure to ask us at Certified Auto Specialists about the warranty so you know what you’re getting.