In the past I have talked about maintenance in broad strokes. Now I want to drill down on specific things to help everyone better understand theses things. Having said that, today’s topic is the battery. I will explain the automotive battery, how it works and how to service it.

Let's start off with why your car needs a battery. Depending on your age you may remember the old cartoons or TV shows where car owners would have to walk to the front of the car and use a hand-crank to start it. That got replaced in 1911, first on Cadillac's by the electric starter. The electric starter obviously needs electricity to work and that’s where the automotive battery came in. The battery since has taken on additional responsibility but at first starting the car was the primary roll.

What is an automotive battery, also known as a SLI battery (Starting/lighting/Ignition) or a shallow cycle battery consist of?

Your car battery is designed to give quick bursts of energy. After the vehicle is started they are consistently being charged by the alternator. These are mostly lead-acid batteries consisting of lead and lead-oxide. They consist of something called electrolyte. Electrolyte is a mix of 65% distilled water and 35% sulfuric acid. Lead plates are emerged in this solution and that's where the magic begins. A chemical reaction occurs between the plates and the solution and this in a nutshell creates the electrons needed to start your car.

How do you maintain your battery?

Now let's get down to a few old school ideals that no longer apply. Back in the old day’s car batteries were not insulated so while out of the car they needed to be placed on a non-conductive or grounded surface. This is why your grandpa puts his batteries on pieces of wood in the garage! With the insulation today there is no need to worry about putting a battery on the ground. Another thing of the past is "topping off". Almost all batteries today including those made by JCI (DieHard, Optima, Costco brand) or Exide (Kragen, K Mart, etc.) are all maintenance free. So stop your friend from prying off the tops of your battery if they say maintenance free! Tampering with the vent caps on a maintenance free battery voids the warranty. Now if you don't have a maintenance free battery and it needs topping off, simply used distilled or deionized water. Never use tap or rain water as they may have a high mineral content which can hurt the batteries performance!

Changing and jump starting a battery.

When changing a battery always detach the ground first so as to avoid possibly grounding the battery while detaching the positive. For jump starting, always connect the cables to the dead battery first. In case the battery is under pressure or at breaking point, attaching it first before the jumper battery will ensure you are a safe distance from the car when making the jump connection.

Happy Motoring,

Lance

Interesting Fact Timeline:

1903 U.S.patent is issued for first auto electric self-stater.
1911 GM tests the self-stater on their Cadillac line.
1912 All of GM's Cadillac line is equipped with self starters.
1920 Nearly every new car built came with a self starter.