General Enquiries
Join AA Member
Sign in
Sign in to your account using Membership ID or email and password.
Don't have an account? Sign up
Car Battery FAQ
Don’t Know The Causes of Car Battery Failure? Let AAS Help!
Find yourself feeling lost when it comes to maintaining your car? Do you feel anxious thinking about the possibility of your car breaking down in the middle of the highway someday? Well, you’re definitely not alone! The good news is that AAS will always be here for you whenever you require any form of roadside assistance.
However, to quell any further fears or worry that you have, read on to learn how you can anticipate an imminent car-breakdown.
What are the causes of car battery failure?
What’s a car without a functioning battery? Without a working battery, a car’s engine will not be able to start and chances are the electrical accessories will not be able to function properly too. One reason why car batteries start having issues is that the car is used for short trips too frequently. The amount of power used to start the engine will not be able to be replaced during the short drive, and the battery will end up with no power causing the battery to fail upon the next engine start-up.
Extreme weather can also affect your car battery. Thankfully, this problem is rare in sunny Singapore as car batteries are most suited to be in an environment without extreme temperature which ranges across seasons.
How often should you change your car battery?
As a rule of thumb, maintenance-free car batteries should undergo a check every year, to determine if it should be changed. However, this varies across different brands of batteries. You might want to check the brand of your car battery before thinking about changing it. Before your car battery is having issues, you might notice abnormalities in your car’s functions. Learn to identify some of these signs, know when and how to spot them, and you might just be able to prevent yourself from mid-journey vehicle breakdown one day.
These signs below will tell you when to change your car battery:
- Softer-than-usual car horn
- Headlights are not as bright
- Slow cranking speed
- Bad smell (signifies battery leakage)
- Warning light on the dashboard
Car Battery Care
The Problem
Car battery can fail without warning. If your car fails to start one morning and you don’t hear any sign of life from the engine then chances are the battery is weak or dead.
Things to check: If your battery has not been serviced for two years or more, here are a couple of things to check. See if the terminals are tightly secured and look out for corrosion marks. The battery water level is crucial also. It has to be at the minimum required level at least for the battery to work properly.
What To Do
Buy a bottle of battery water from any gas station and top up to the maximum allowed level. You can remove the corrosion on the terminals by using sandpaper and apply some grease after that to minimize it from coming back. If the terminals are loose, use a pair of pliers or adjustable-wrench to tighten. All this should be done with the ignition off. Ultimately, you can invest in a voltmeter. If it reads 10 to 12 volts then the battery is fine. Anything below 10 volts means the battery is barely acceptable. Battery water should be checked fortnightly and the average lifespan for a car battery ranges between two to three years. It is strongly advised to have the car battery replaced at that age.
Call 6748 9911 for AA’s 24-hour car battery service center.
