Comments on: Top Tips For Car Battery Maintenance

By: chinky m

chinky m — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:54:58 +0000

Yes

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:52:52 +0000

does the battery have caps that come off so you can add water? low maint. no caps no maint

By: AAGI

AAGI — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:54:12 +0000

Maintenance free means just that. It is sealed and water cannot be added. Typical battery life is usually around 5 years max. You got 8 years out of it. Best to replace it.

By: strikeagle1

strikeagle1 — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:09:24 +0000

this is 12v battery.. no harm can be done…
water resistance is high…current will flow, but very little…
BTW: when flowing current through water, one terminal will have Heliume and the other terminal will have Oxigen you will see bubbles….

By: Tiara

Tiara — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:45:35 +0000

AS A GENERAL RULE—
Most car batteries are good for from 3-5 years, depending on the quality and the degree of maintenance.
As for the telltale signs of failure, there aren't many other than the car begins to crank over a little slow. The only other sign is the car won't start in the morning.
There are signs that the mechanic sees, but you won't notice it because you aren't checking it and probably don't have the equipment.
As for tires, those are easier to check.
If you look closely at the tread pattern, at the bottom of the grooves, you will see little raised bars that run across the entire tread. When you can see them clearly, and they are as exposed as the tread, the tires are no longer safe or legal.
These are the 'safety bars' that are cast into the rubber to identify when they have reached a tread depth less than 2/32".
You can also tell it is time when you place a penny with Lincoln's head toward the tread. If you can see the top of his head, you have less than 2/32" remaining.
It is smart to not allow them to get this worn, because this is the absolute minimum tread. It is best to keep at least 4/32" (1/8") tread depth, and then begin to look for sales.
Replace them with the size recommended by the manufacturer, and replace them in matching pairs left to right.
Keep them inflated properly (check the owner's manual or the driver's door post) for longer tire wear and safety, not to mention the fuel economy.
Hope this clears things up

Good Luck

By: Joe

Joe — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:43:34 +0000

replaceing the posative cable isnt all that hard to do but you need to disconect the cables from the battery and then follow the posative cable down to where it is connectted and disconnect it and put the new cable in its place it isnt hard to do but if you aint careful you can bump something else and that may cause something else not to work so heres the deal i am a 16 yr mechanic and i am retired now and i have worked on some camarys in my time and they can be tricky the best bet is to take it to a pro mechanic and have them do it that way it is under warrenty and if theres a problem you can take it back and it wont cost you all that much either ok i hope this helps thanks for reading this ……..

By: ladyboxer

ladyboxer — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:50:29 +0000

if it was maintenance free there wouldn't be anything on the top to pry off it would be completely sealed

By: Danish Deshmukh

Danish Deshmukh — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 06:05:21 +0000

Get maintenance free battery. Interstate batteries are the best, but they also make most of them… Sears, Auto Zone, these are two that I can thank of quickly that Interstate makes and of course the Interstate brand. Battery life has nothing to do with tune-ups, etc. Most if not all have a warranty for so many years, depending on how good of battery you get. Most will only last about that many years.

By: moondreamer721

moondreamer721 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 06:05:09 +0000

no thats why they are called maintenance free. once they no longer hold a charge or can be charged then they are replaced.

By: TraumaER

TraumaER — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:44:17 +0000

Yeah your battery is clean but what is up with the rest of the engine bay? Looks like it has never been cleaned EVER lol.