Winter is not a car’s best friend. If not protected from cold winds, snow, and road salt, cars can easily corrode, or worse, have an accident. Before you have to worry about getting cash for junk cars, though, it’s important to take precautions to keep your car safe and protected in the winter. While snow tires, special winter toolkits, regular and thorough washes are all great ways to help four-wheelers survive the winter, it’s important to protect your car’s engine too. Overheating aside, your car’s battery plays a very important role in keeping the engine in optimal condition. Much like other aspects of your car, the battery is prone to a number of hazards during winter, and protecting the battery is akin to protecting the car. In this article, we discuss 5 ways on how to keep car battery from dying in cold weather.

Creating The Right Conditions 

Like most electronic devices, batteries appreciate warm, dry, and protected regions better than frozen and sub-zero temperatures. The first step in how to keep car battery from dying in cold weather is to always park your car in a closed and warm location during winters. Constant cold winds are very unfriendly to a car battery, and low temperatures lead to a number of unwanted storage conditions we’ll discuss shortly. If you don’t have a garage or a storage area for your car at your disposal, parking your car in a location opposite to the direction of the wind is how to keep the car battery from dying in cold weather in spite of exposure. Summer is not very friendly to your car’s battery either, so it’s only imperative that you take the utmost care of your battery during winter.

Take Pause

The walk through the cold to get to your car in winter mornings can definitely tempt you into instantly switching on the heater, radio, and lights the moment you step into your car. This takes a toll on your car’s performance and is not how to keep the car battery from dying in cold weather. The best thing to do is to wait a minute before switching any of these devices on when you enter your car since it’s best to let the alternator charge the car’s battery before using it for anything just yet. Another important piece of advice is to turn off any devices that use the battery when you exit your car - and this might include lights, the A/C, heat, or music system. When the car’s ignition is turned, the battery immediately pumps energy to the car’s motor engine while also providing electricity to any other device that is switched on, and this may overload the battery and affect its performance and longevity.

Keep It Clean 

A little known fact is that even the most well-placed, unlit, and cozy storage places can catch dirt and debris. Your car’s battery terminals can easily gather dust, grime, and of course, rust during the winters. How can you keep your car battery from dying in cold weather if you don’t keep it clean? Maintaining a spick and span car battery is not as tough as it sounds. All you need is some baking soda, a toothbrush, water, and a damp cloth. This straightforward cleaning process ensures that dirt on your battery’s terminals does not contribute to electrical resistance during winters, which is increased due to thickened engine oil from the low temperatures.

Get it Checked

Before December throws you into the throes of an unstoppable cold, and with it the many quirks of a frigid car, it’s best to get your car’s battery checked. Though this might be the most important step in how to prevent your car battery from dying in cold weather, it is often overlooked as daily schedules take over and little time is left to spare for an auto check. While conventional auto checks focus on belts and hoses and tires, a battery check can help ensure that the battery’s terminals, charger, cables, and charge/discharge mechanism are fully functioning and in optimal condition. Though it’s hard to mistake a dead battery for a dead engine, winters can make car diagnoses much more difficult. If your car is a lost cause and beyond repair (battery, engine, and all), then there are many agencies in your locality that provide cash for clunkers, regardless of their condition.

Wrap It In A Blanket

Even electronics want to be snug during winters! An electric battery blanket or a battery warmer is the easiest answer to how to protect your car battery from dying in cold weather. It maintains your battery’s temperature regardless of the weather, ensuring that you keep the battery charged during winter. A blanket’s ability to insulate your battery helps prevent its fluids from freezing. Battery blankets are affordable and easy-to-install alternatives that prevent serious car battery disasters. They simply need an electrical outlet. Plug the blanket to the outlet and wrap it around your car’s battery - and you’re good to go! 

Maintain It 

It goes without saying that good battery maintenance is the most important answer to how you protect your car battery from dying in cold weather. Remember to regularly give your car battery juice by plugging it to a portable car battery charger. Not only are these devices very affordable, but they also help your battery easily withstand cold weather! If the cold weather ever renders your car inoperable and it is time to let it go, the answer to “How can I sell my junk car?” is a simple one - multiple locations near you now accept junk cars and provide cash in return without any hidden terms or conditions.    

Out of all the seasons, winter is the most precarious for your car. It is much more likely to suffer from rust, accidents, failing parts, and other prevalent dangers during cold weather than any other kind of weather. That’s why it’s all the more important during winter that you keep a close eye on your car’s battery - not just because it is so closely connected to a number of other vital aspects to your car’s daily functioning, but also because a failing car battery can be much more expensive than the preventative measures outlined above.