How to Maintain Your Sitting Car or Truck Battery in Littleton, Colorado

In these days of layoffs, reduced hours of work, and working from home, we are finding that people are driving their vehicles less per day than a year ago. People may not drive their cars or trucks for days or even weeks at a time, resulting in a weakened or dead car or truck battery.

How Long Does a Car Battery Last Without Driving?

If you have never left your car parked for an extended period of time before you may not know that a car battery will go dead if the car is not driven. After about four days (depending on how old your car and battery are) of sitting without use, the battery will no longer have enough power to start the vehicle. This time period is even shorter if the car is in a colder climate.

Battery Saving Tips While Your Car Is Not in Use

Should you find yourself in a situation where you know that your car will not be in use for a while, there are a few things that you can do to help save your battery while it is not being used.  

Drive to charge

Your battery provides the power to start your car, and your generator charges the battery while the car runs to replenish it. You should drive the car 30 minutes per week to give the battery the boost that it needs. 

Disengage security system

The security system is one of the biggest sources of power drain from a car that is not running. If the vehicle is in a secure location, such as a garage, you should disengage the security system to prevent this drain on your battery. 

Disconnect battery terminal

When your vehicle is turned off there are many elements still using power other than the security system, including, clocks, radios, computers and other types of security features. In order to prevent all sources of power drain, you will need to disconnect the negative terminal safely to stop all of the connections. 

How to Jump-Start a Car

There are two main ways to jump-start a car. One is to use jumper cables and attach them to another vehicle or you can use a portable jumper. Here are the basics of how each works. We are recommending getting a battery tender and plugging that in your power source that will prevent your battery from being overused and depleted excessively.

Portable Jumper

A portable jumper provides a rechargeable and reusable power source to jump-start your car. They tend to cost around $50 to $60 for a good working option. It will attach to your battery terminals and should be able to provide you with a jump start after several hours. 

Car to Car Jump

This is done with jumper cables attached to both cars’ batteries. This is a nice option because it works right away, but beware if it is done incorrectly, damage can be done to the electrical system of both cars. 

Does Your Car Need Service?

If your vehicle has been sitting a lot lately or you feel like it is running a little rough, make an appointment with Hartman Automotive right away!