Get Your Battery Checked for FREE at LaCava Auto Parts in Fall River
Winter is the absolute worst time to wind up with a battery that is dead, especially when it’s cold, snowy, and icy. As far as I can tell, this has happened to every car owner at some point. It seems to happen more often in the winter than any other season. If you want to keep this from happening, you can get your battery checked for free at LaCava Auto Parts in Fall River. We do more than just test batteries. For example, we can turn your brake rotors so you don’t have to pay as much for your next repair, and we can also fix your hydraulic hoses.
Winter Car Care Tips for Fall River
If you want to know why car batteries die more in the winter than other times of the year, you should learn how they work. Lead acid batteries are the most popular kind of car battery. They don’t cost much and work better than other kinds of batteries. The battery is made up of lead plates that are submerged in an electrolyte pool that is made up of sulfuric acid and water. The battery is housed in a plastic case. Each cell of the battery has two plates, and when all of them are charged, they give off 2.1 volts. There are six cells inside a 12-volt battery.
Chemical reactions happen between the liquid and the lead plates inside each cell. This is how the battery gets charged and keeps it charged. It’s not possible for the battery to make a charge. As the solution reacts chemically, lead sulfate is added to both the positive and negative plates. This is called sulfation. The battery will not be able to hold a full charge for as long as this continues. Another thing that works against the lead acid battery is that it loses power naturally over time. If you don’t charge the battery often, it will run out of power over time.
Taking Care of Lead Acid Batteries
Temperature has a big effect on how fast lead acid batteries drains. Winter and summer are the worst times for your battery because they are so cold and hot. In the summer, the heat evaporates the water in the electrolyte. This makes the sulfation worse, which makes the battery less able to hold a charge. In the winter, the cold temperatures slow down the chemical processes that happen inside the lead acid battery. This makes it less effective at its full potential.
Another issue that comes up in the winter is that the battery needs to supply more power to a cold engine than it does in warmer months. In addition, elements that keep you warm in the winter, like the heater and defroster, put more stress on your battery. Most of the time, a lead acid battery will last you four years. But in harsh conditions, like the ones we’re having here in Southeastern Massachusetts, they might not last as long. We recommend that you get a free battery test at LaCava Auto Parts in Fall River to make sure everything is okay.
LaCava Auto Parts in Fall River
Regularly getting skilled and friendly services, like free battery checking in Fall River, is important. It also pays to learn as much as you can about the signs of a low or failing battery. Headlines that are faded yellow instead of white, electronic devices that don’t work, a battery warning light on the dashboard, dimmed dome lights, an engine that starts slowly, and a car horn that sounds funny. Another sign that you should get your battery checked out is a smell that is like gas or bad eggs. It’s also a bad sign if the battery case is broken or swollen.
If your batteries are more than three years old, you should check them before the cold weather comes. Besides the brakes, other important parts of your car should also be checked. When it gets cold, snow and ice are likely to follow soon after. Check your brakes and tires before the weather gets bad. Rotor turning is something that LaCava Auto Parts does. If your brake pads aren’t too worn down already, this can help your rotors last longer when you change them. Our hydraulic hose services are available seven days a week to help you get back to work with cars and tools that use hydraulics.
Get Your Battery Checked in Fall River
People who live or work in the Greater Fall River area should look into the jobs at LaCava Auto Parts. We offer a lot of different paid and free services in Fall River. For example, when you buy windshield wipers from us, we’ll install them for free. We also do professional rotor turning, industrial hydraulic hose services, and free battery testing. You can call us at 508-676-1951 or come by our Fall River, Massachusetts, store on Bedford Street. LaCava Brothers Auto Supply has been serving the South Coast area for more than 70 years, offering a wide range of auto parts, accessories, tools, and services to both individual car drivers and companies that work in the auto industry.