As the Philippines slowly eases out of lockdown, many of us may find ourselves with another problem – a flat car battery.
Due to lockdown measures, thousands of Filipinos have left their cars parked – opting to have their essentials delivered to their homes instead of venturing out. This is great as it helps ensure physical distancing to prevent the spread of COVID, but it isn’t so great for your car batteries.
You see, car batteries shouldn’t sit idle for too long. When things are normal, car batteries are charged by the car’s alternator as the car runs. However, with people parking their cars or only making short journeys at most, batteries aren’t getting as much charge as normal
You might ask – but I’m not using my car, so why should I charge my car battery? Simple. Even when the car’s switched off, its on-board alarm system, the immobilizer, the car clock, and other plugged-in car accessories (e.g., dash cam) continue to require power. While these don’t cause a huge drain on the battery, over time, it does add up – ESPECIALLY if your car battery is leaking and not being “charged” like normal since you don’t use it.
So, what can you do to look after your car battery?
For those with flat car batteries, but need their cars to drive to work…
- Don’t keep trying to crank the engine – no matter how tempting this might be. Doing so could draw even more charge from the battery as it struggles to start running, and you could leave it completely flat.
- If there’s still residual charge in your battery, try using a battery charger to charge it back up. There are two types: manual battery charger and automatic battery charger. While more expensive, if your vehicle will likely spend a lot of time not being used, the automatic battery charger may be the better option as it can actively monitor the health of your battery.
- Jumpstart your car battery, then bring the car out for a run for at least 30 minutes to get the batteries charged up again.
- If both the battery charger and jumpstart didn’t work for your car, it may be time to get a second opinion or purchase a new car battery.
In case you don’t have a battery charger or jumpstart readily available, Panther products on offer include manual battery chargers, automatic battery charger, and jumpstart.
For those who’s working from home in the foreseeable future…
- Start and run your car at least twice a week, and keep it running for 15-20 minutes each time. This is enough time for your car batteries to top up and not get drained
- Alternatively, consider using an automatic battery charger (with trickle charging feature). How does this work? The automatic battery charger is plugged into your house’s power supply and “trickles” energy into the car at a slow rate, providing sufficient charge to ensure your battery stays topped up and doesn’t get drained.
And that’s it! We hope this gives you an idea of what you can do to revive your car batteries, and keep it healthy for the foreseeable future. If you don’t have a battery charger or jumpstart at home, we highly recommend you invest in one, as these serve as your car battery protection kit. Not sure what’s available on the market? You can see the full list of Panther manual battery charger, automatic battery charger, and jumpstart available in the table below.
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