Don’t be the onewho gets caught out with a flat battery on the first day back to work!

For millions ofmotorists the first day back to work in 2019 could litterally get off to a bad startif they don’t make sure their cars battery is ready for when they need it most.

With cars stood for long periods oftime over the Christmas & New Year period a cars battery could have lostit’s power through lack of use. This is because when a cars ignition isswitched off it is still using a small amount of power to keep certain vehiclesystems working.

Another reason is short, stop start,journeys whereby the power taken out of the battery to start the car is notreplenished because the distance travelled is too short to recharge the batteryfully.

Also, the loss of power could spellthe end for your battery, especially if it is getting old, as the powerreduction could have dropped below the recoverable power level. This means noamount of re-charging will fully bring the battery back to life.

The AA has predictedJanuary 2nd 2019 will be one of the busiest days for breakdown recovery in 2019due to a surge in flat batteries. It expects to attend more than 13,000breakdowns which is nearly a third (29%) more than usual.

To make sure thisdoesn’t happen to you follow these simple rules:

a) Have your battery checked to makesure it is holding power correctly & also to make sure it can withstand thecold temperatures of winter & the high temperatures of summer. (Werecommend your battery is checked every 3 months)
b) Start your car & leave it running for at least 15 minutes or takeit for a drive for at least a 30 minute to recharge the battery. Another way tomaintain the battery would be to use a smart or trickle charger to keep thebattery power levels maintained for those times when the car is not used &stood for long periods of time.
c) Have your alternator checked (The alternator recharges the batterywhen the engine is running). If the alternator isn’t putting enough power intothe battery it could take months for this to come to light in summer. In winterthis will happen quicker as the alternator also supplies power to the vehicleslights & other vehicle systems.

If you are not surehow to check your battery or if you want to have your battery & alternator checked by uscall into any of our centres and we will carry out the FREE checks for you.

While your with us, we can also check(FREE of Charge) your tyre pressures & tyre condition, again to make sureyour car is ready for winter.

Don’t be the one who gets caught out this winter.

To find yournearest centre click here 

If youyour car won’t start you could get it started it with the use of jump leads (jumpcables).

Before”jump starting” any car always refer to the vehicles handbook to make sure thismethod of starting your car is appropriate.

To jumpstart a car you will require a good set of jump leads and a second vehiclewhich has a good battery. (Another person to help you is also advisable but notessential)

1) Position the vehicles soboth vehicle batteries are as close as possible.
2) Attach the red jump lead cable to the positive (+) terminal on theflat battery
3) Attach black cable to the negative terminal of the flat battery(-) 
N.B. Make sure the opposite ends of the jump leads are not touchingor even close to each other before attaching the leads to the ‘good’ vehicle.

4) Connect the other Red jump lead connector to the positive (+)terminal on the good battery 
5) Connect the black jump lead connector to the negative terminal (-)on the good battery. 
N.B. When connecting the jump leads between the two vehicles makesure you are not in a position where you could be trapped between the twovehicles.

6) Once the two batteries are connected with the jump leads start theengine on the vehicle with the good battery & slightly increase the enginerevs & hold the revs constant for a couple of minutes to put power into theflat battery. 
7) With the good vehicle engine still running (preferably withconstant increased engine revs), try to start the car with the flat battery.

If thevehicle doesn’t start straightaway leave the good vehicles engine running(again with increased but constant engine revs) to put more power in the flatbattery before trying to start the car again.

When thevehicle with the flat battery has started leave its engine running & disconnectthe black lead on one car first followed by the red lead but make sure theconnectors do not touch each other until the connectors on the othervehicle have been removed from the batttery.

Leave the vehicle with the flat battery runningfor at least 15 minutes or take it for a drive for about 30 minutes to put asmuch power into the flat battery as possible.

Once the car has started we advise having the battery & alternator checkedas soon as possible after starting the car this way to find out the cause ofthe problem.