Here in KC, it’s been a nasty winter, at least compared to our normal. For many of you living in truly cold and snowy parts of the US, Canada and the world, this comment might bring a snicker. But, we were at -10˚F last Thursday morning when we headed to work and we’d say that’s cold by almost any standard. The good news is that, by Sunday, the worm had turned in our area and we’re now experiencing highs in the mid-60s, which is great while it lasts.
There’s been much commentary about the sudden change here, particularly as it relates to cars, SUVs, trucks and other toys in garages around town. That got us to thinking about readying your vehicle for better weather and prepping a vehicle electrical system for the great warmup. So, this month, we’re sharing what we’re doing to take advantage of the better weather and setting ourselves up for a great driving season.
Of Course, We'll Start with the Battery
In places that get cold (or very cold) in winter, there often isn’t time or energy to check under the hood and observe the condition or your vehicle’s working components. In these cases, if there isn’t an obvious maintenance issue presenting itself, you pull up to the house or into the garage and, dodging the cold as much as possible, head into your warm house until you have to brave the weather again the next day.
Now that things are thawing out a little, it’s a great time to pop the hood and have a good look at your battery. First, visually check its condition. Does everything look OK? Connections are tight? If not, give them a good tightening, per the manufacturer’s specification. Are there visible signs of corrosion around the battery posts? If so, clean the battery with a solution of baking soda and water, making sure that you use hand protection. When finished, make sure that you wipe down the top surface of the battery, as collected liquid could cause a micro short across the battery terminals, which would sap the battery’s power and shorten its life.
Next, check the health of your vehicle’s battery using a quality Digital Battery Tester, like our BA9. Doing so will allow you to determine your battery’s State of Health (SoH) and charge condition (SoC). This will alert you to where your battery is in its useful lifecycle and whether it needs a charge (more below). The spring check is important for several reasons, but mainly because your battery likely had to work extra hard when temps dropped over the winter, plus, summer heat is a real battery crusher. Checking your battery’s health in the spring gives you a good sense of how well it will fare when temps ramp up in the summer. It’s a good early warning system that allows you to know if you need to start budgeting for a new battery in the next few months.
It’s not unusual to find your battery is depleted at this time of year. Winter loads, combined with short trip driving that’s more common during cold snaps, can result in your vehicle’s charging system not getting your battery fully charged compared to other times of the year. I like to charge each of my vehicle batteries (I have several college-ish aged children, so the fleet is bigger than I’d like it to be) in the spring using my PRO-LOGIX PL2320 battery charger. By delivering a smart charge service to each of our vehicle batteries (whether they are flooded, AGM or LiFePO4 lithium), I know that they have gotten a full, beneficial charge coming out of the high demand winter season. Periodic charging using a quality smart charger extends battery life and reduces the likelihood of a no-start situation.
- 4.5 to 16V operating range
- 40 to 1200 CCA testing capacity
- Tests multiple battery types
- Tests CCA, CA, DIN, EN, IEC
- Bright LCD display
- Small, portable, pocket-sized
- Reverse polarity
- Over-voltage protection
- One-year limited warranty
- 20/10/2A charge rates
- 0-20A power supply mode
- Fully automatic operation
- Advanced multi-phase charging
- Services most battery types, including LiFePO4 Lithium
- Charges even zero volts (totally dead) batteries
- Soft Start Mode
- Recondition Mode
- Temperature Compensation
- Data-rich display
Other Standard Spring Check Boxes
Next, we’ll move off of the electrical system for a moment and address several other great checks to consider as part of your spring vehicle prep routine. First, while you’re in the engine compartment, give a quick look at your belts and hoses. Does everything look OK? None of your belts are frayed or otherwise looking ragged, correct? None of your hoses looks like it’s hanging on for dear life, right? If either of these seem amiss, it’s time to dig in and sort it out or schedule a service appointment with your technician.
Next, you’ve probably seen huge temperature swings in the last 6-8 weeks. As noted earlier, we saw a 70˚+ swing in temperature this week in KC. This can impact many areas of your vehicle’s performance and condition, but almost no area is impacted as much as your tire pressure. We’ve all seen how quickly tire pressure drops when temperatures drop to zero and beyond. Similarly, your tire pressures will rise as the temps go up. Over-inflation can be as problematic as under-inflation. There are lots of reasons to get your tire pressure dialed in correctly, from improved safety, to longer tire life, to better fuel economy. According to AccurateAutoAdvice.com, “If a tire is over- or under-inflated, it has more rolling resistance, which can reduce your vehicle’s gas mileage 3-5%. On a pickup truck that averages 15 mpg, for example, a 3% decrease in fuel economy amounts to an extra $10 spent on gas for every 150 miles traveled.” So, check those pressures and get them where they need to be.
Lastly, check your washer fluid and wiper blades. No season consumes wiper fluid more than the spring thaw. It seems like you always end up behind a car that’s throwing just enough water onto your windshield that it’s bothersome but not enough for the wipers to clear it. In these situations, you’re constantly spraying wiper fluid onto your windshield to maintain your sanity. So, check your levels and fill as needed. In addition, winter is rough on your wiper blades. The cold makes them harder and more brittle, then they’re asked to scrape ice off the windshield and more. Now is a great time to give them a once over and replace as needed. When the April showers arrive, you’ll be glad you did.
Shaking Off the Dust – Pulling that Seasonal Vehicle out of Storage
Everything we covered above goes x4 for vehicles coming out of winter hibernation, plus you’d probably add a bunch of additional steps, such as checking all your fluid levels. That said, we’ll emphasize a few key items as it relates to the starting and charging system, which you know is our first love and our best love.
We would hope that, during the storage period, your vehicle had a quality battery maintainer on it to keep the battery charged and conditioned during its period of non-use. For us, the perfect tool for this task is the PRO-LOGIX PL2140, 6/12V 4A Battery Charger and Maintainer. It will bring your battery to full charge at the start of the process and then maintain it during the storage period. What’s great is that it deploys an enhanced maintenance routine that rests the battery after each charging cycle is completed, which is less stressful over weeks and months of storage as compared to traditional methods. This results in longer battery life and significantly reduces the chance of boiling, or drying off, the battery’s electrolyte and rendering it inoperative.
Separately, whether you’re storing your vehicle offsite or in an extra bay in your garage, having your trusty Booster PAC or Jump-N-Carry jump starter at the ready when you first fire it up makes total sense, just in case you encounter a surprise. For instance, let’s say you’re not using a PL2140 (which has a power-interruption recovery mode) and power was interrupted while you were faithfully maintaining your vehicle’s battery (or, at least you thought you were) while it was in storage. Now, due to the loss of AC power, your battery wasn’t being serviced as intended. Having a quality jump starter can make quick work out of that problem.
A member of our team pulled his 20-year-old Corvette out of storage Wednesday. The first thing I asked him was, “Did you have a PL2140 on it?” The second thing was, “Did you bring a jump starter just in case?” For me, when I took my car out of storage, I brought my trusty JNC345 as an insurance policy. I figured things would be fine, but, its compact design made bringing it a breeze and, with 550 Start Assist Amps, I knew it would tackle any surprise I encountered, Of course, with my PL2140 on the battery all winter, it fired right up. But, I was prepared.
PL2140
6/12V Battery Maintainer
- 4A charge rate
- Fully automatic operation
- Advanced multi-phase charging
- Properly charges all battery types
- Soft Start Mode
- Recondition Mode
- Enhanced maintenance mode
- Temperature compensation
- Recovery Mode allows charger to overcome power outages
- Reverse polarity protection
JNC345
12V Lithium Jump Starter
- 550 Start Assist Amps
- 40″ Cable Reach
- #6AWG Output Leads
- LED State-of-Charge Display
- Dual USB Outlets
- 10A DC Pinjack Outlet
- Automatic Charging
- Built-in LED Flashlight
- Repair Service Coupon
- 1 Year Warranty
Spring is Opportunity Time
In many locations, like here in Kansas City, it will be prohibitively hot in just a few weeks, which makes vehicle tasks much more difficult. That’s why spring presents a great opportunity to really get your vehicle in order before the next wave of (good) tough weather arrives. When it’s 97˚F here at 7:00 p.m., anything more than a car wash is a real pain. So, while there’s good weather to be had, it’s a great time to perform all the checks noted above to make sure you can have a summer of easy, hassle-free driving.
Do you have a spring vehicle prep ritual? Did we miss any critical steps you would like to share with your fellow readers? How about our professional techs – anything that you tell your customers to be addressing this time of year? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
