Your car depends on a healthy battery to start your engine. Over time your battery will slowly wear out and eventually fail. As your used car dealer, we can test your battery and replace it or repair any damaged components to ensure it's working correctly. We like you to know some signs that you'll probably need a new car battery soon. Your Battery Is Old A car battery usually works effectively for three to five years before it needs replacement. With good care, a battery can last for up to six years. Inevitably, your battery will age and start to fail. Battery failure is usually caused by the breakdown of chemicals inside the battery, but can also occur due to other worn or damaged components. more There are tell-tale signs that your battery is failing, including increasing difficulty in starting the engine and dim interior and headlights when your engine is switched off. These signs aren't definitive, and they can be caused by other issues. We recommend booking a battery check-up. We'll connect your battery to our battery tester and check its health. If it's failing, we can install a new one for you. Phantom Drain A phantom drain is a strange situation where your battery is working perfectly and then is almost dead. This situation usually occurs overnight when the engine is switched off. When your engine isn't running, the battery supplies power to all your devices, including the alarm, lights, and other accessories. These systems don't place a strain on a healthy battery. The phantom drain is caused by an electrical system that doesn't switch off when it should. The glove box and trunk lights are two of the main systems affected. These lights will remain on due to an electrical fault and will drain significant amounts of power in just a few hours. If you experienced a phantom drain, we'll trace the source of the drain and repair it to fix this problem. Rotten Egg Smell A nasty rotten egg smell from the engine usually means your battery is failing. A failing battery leads to the creation of hydrogen sulfide gas, which causes corrosion and hastens battery failure. It can also be due to a faulty alternator that provides too much power to your battery. The alternator is responsible for recharging your battery and usually does this very efficiently. A worn alternator could be supplying more power to the battery than it should. This additional power increases the temperature in the battery and causes the chemicals to boil. The boiling chemicals produce a harsh rotten egg smell. We'll examine your alternator and install a new one if necessary. If your battery is failing, call us right away at Duncan Suzuki! Our rigorously trained technicians will fix the problem!
