It is summer, it is hot, dry , sometimes muggy. You go outside to start car ... The car unlocks but will not start because no juice from battery. Guess time to get new battery. WRONG. The battery may simply be low on water. NOT tap water, but "Distilled water" - which costs $1.00 to $1.50 per gallon at grocery store.
Most car battery's are low maintenance NOT No maintenance !
If your car is running fine, it is still an idea to check the battery water levels from time to time. A lot of mechanics fail to check this simple thing. And it is such a simple fix . If the battery gets too low in ater it can damage the battery.
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To check battery, open car hood or where ever the car battery is. wipe off the top of battery so dirt will not fall in the battery when the caps on top of battery are removed.
Pry up the caps on top taking care to not touch the metal contact on top of battery. DO NOT WEAR METAL JEWELRY when doing this. look inside the holes. if you can see metal or something else above the water level you are probably low on Distilled water. Battery's differ on exactly how much the water level needs to be. Some want it just below the bottom of where the plastic caps would be when on the battery. ( my car is like that. ) Others are just above the metal part inside the battery. Check the internet for your battery, or ask place of purchase.
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After the water is added, the battery will still need to be recharged, either by driving around a lot of having a friend with a car battery charger, or buy one. car battery chargers cost starts at $20 going up from there. the main differences are on how fast they charge a car battery. Keep in mind, it is actually better to slowly charge any battery.
Inside a battery is metal plates spaced apart, in an acidic solution. as water evaporates the acid levels lower , not being as effective. Distilled water is different from other types of water like tap, or bottled drinking water. It is more pure water, no minerals or other things as such it does not conduct electricity well. The reason other types of water do not work is because the minerals and other contaminates conduct electricity. This internally shorts out the battery, ruining it. Do not be cheap or lazy spend the $1 to 2$ get a gallon of distilled water!!!.
This is far cheaper than a $70 to $200 battery and you are able to get going sooner. Keep in mind, this still may not work if the battery gets damaged due to the low water.
The image above was from Nissan site describing the level for one of their battery's. The 2nd image was from Arizona golf carts.
Any questions google
car battery water
