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When it comes to the early signs of the bad car battery, there are some problems. We take some
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false signs and we can change our batteries. We can replace the batteries when they don't
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actually need this. So, first of all, these are false signs. These are not the signs of
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the bad battery. Battery light. Battery light will most likely tell you about the alternator
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problems but not about the low battery. Then, dim headlights. I've read in hundreds of
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websites that dim headlights mean that your battery is bad, but it's not true. It may be
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true only when your headlights are dim or when you turn them on but your engine is off. In this case,
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maybe they may partially mean the bad battery, but usually dim headlights mean that your alternator
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is not giving the proper power and it's not supplying the best power to the lights and to
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the battery, of course. And the third false symptom is flickering lights on your dash. A
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lot of people think, oh, this is the problem with the battery, but no, it's not a problem with the
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battery. It's again a problem with your alternator or with some other electrical system in your car,
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maybe some connections, maybe some short circuits, maybe some other problems. So, when it comes to
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the battery, what are the symptoms of a battery that is going to die soon? First of all, this is
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the look of this battery. If this battery looks like it's changing its shape plastic is melting,
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or you can see some huge amount of residues, white or blue, or green residues on the terminals, this
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is the sign that this battery is going to die. You may try cleaning it if it's about residues,
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but if you see that the shape of the battery box is changing, it's melting, or something weird
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is happening with it, this is the clear sign you need the new battery as soon as possible. Then the
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second symptom is slow cranking of your engine, especially in the morning. After the night,
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the battery may have lower power, and if this battery is not that good, it's old,
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it may have lower voltage than needed, this battery may not start your engine as it should,
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so your engine will be cranking slower than usual. And you may not notice this during the day
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because once your engine starts, the alternator starts supplying your battery with some power,
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and this battery may keep living a normal life. But after the night, especially after cold night,
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if you notice this slow cranking, this is the early sign that the battery is going to die
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really soon. Then the third thing you should keep in mind are some intermittent problems with your
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electrical equipment. So, this problem comes up out of nowhere, and in five minutes you don't see
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any symptoms of this problem anymore. It can be a problem with your infotainment system or with some
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other electrical equipment that stops working or starts glitching heavily, and after five
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minutes everything is okay. This is the sign that something is wrong with the power in your car,
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and when something is wrong with the power first of all it can be because of the alternator,
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but also the battery can be the culprit of this. And the fourth reason, which is actually connected
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with the third one are software glitches. When the software in your car starts glitching heavily,
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this is the symptom of bad power, and of course it can be because of the alternator,
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but when the battery is low there is one catch for the software. When you just turn on the ignition
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without starting your engine, your electrical equipment starts making some tests. So your ECU,
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TCU, and all other control units start making tests, and when these units, control units, don't
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get the proper power, proper voltage, they start glitching. And then when you start the engine,
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they don't have the proper program anymore, so they will not be working properly. They may have
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all kinds of glitches, all kinds of problems, and you can see all kinds of error messages or
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warning lights. And then when you turn your car off and turn it on again, you may see no lights,
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no problems. So, when you go to the dealership with this "Oh, I have a Christmas tree on my
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dash with a lot of warning lights", and the mechanic comes to you with the OBD scanner,
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they just plug in the scanner and see no codes, no problems, no warning lights. This is exactly
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the problem with the battery, problem with the power supply. So, what should you do in
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this situation? If you suspect that your battery is bad, but you don't want to buy the new one,
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which costs over $200 and your battery is three years old, for example, or it can live another one
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or two years. Well, you may do the following: you may find a store or maybe repair shop that has the
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equipment for checking the battery, and you may check this battery. So, what they do, they give
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big loads to this battery and check the voltage. So, they try to drain power from the battery and
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check the voltage. If the voltage drops to 10.5 volts, 10 volts then the battery is not that good.
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Even charging will not help to bring this battery back to life. But if the battery can still hold
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the voltage, hold the power, you can charge it. You can charge it with a good charger, with a
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good battery tender, and try using it another year or maybe sometimes even more. Of course,
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if your battery is five years old or even older than that, maybe it's time to replace it when it
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starts showing these symptoms. If you keep driving your car with the symptoms of low battery, you may
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need to keep in mind that you may get stranded any time. So, if you go on the highway or somewhere,
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maybe you should have something in your car that will protect you from getting stranded,
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like a booster, for example, or maybe at least, cables for jump-starting your car. So,
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jumping cables. If you don't have these, any moment the battery can go just dead,
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and after turning off the engine, you will not turn it on with the low voltage of your battery.
