Maintenance Free Batteries

What Are Maintenance Free Batteries?

Over my many years in the tyre and battery trade, car batteries have changed enormously. One of the biggest improvements has been the development of the modern maintenance free battery.

Years ago, checking a car battery was simply part of looking after your vehicle. Many motorists will remember batteries with removable caps along the top. You could unscrew these caps, look inside the individual cells and check the electrolyte level.

If the level was getting low, the battery could be topped up with distilled or de-ionised water.

For most modern motorists, those days have largely disappeared.

Today’s car and van batteries are generally designed to require very little attention throughout their working lives. This is where the term maintenance free battery comes from.

Here at Pellon Tyre & Autocentre in Halifax, we have been supplying and fitting vehicle batteries for many years and have watched battery technology develop alongside increasingly sophisticated cars.

How Does a Maintenance Free Battery Work?

Most conventional car batteries are based on lead-acid technology.

Inside the battery are lead-based plates surrounded by an electrolyte containing sulphuric acid and water. A chemical reaction between these materials allows the battery to store and release electrical energy.

Older battery designs could lose some of their water during normal charging and discharging. Consequently, owners occasionally had to check the electrolyte and top up the cells.

Modern battery technology and improved charging systems have greatly reduced this requirement.

Many modern batteries are sealed or effectively maintenance free during normal use. They’re designed to operate throughout their service life without the motorist having to regularly remove caps and add water.

That makes life considerably easier.

Modern Cars Put Batteries Under Greater Pressure

Although modern batteries require less physical maintenance, the job they’re expected to do has become much harder.

Think about how many electrical systems are fitted to a modern car.

Heated seats, heated windscreens, air conditioning, electric windows, infotainment systems, satellite navigation, cameras, parking sensors and numerous electronic control units can all depend upon the vehicle’s electrical system.

Then we have start-stop technology, where the engine may switch off and restart numerous times during a single journey.

Because of this, modern vehicles often require more advanced battery technologies such as EFB (Enhanced Flooded Battery) or AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) batteries.

It is important that the correct type and specification of battery is fitted.

Simply choosing a battery because it physically fits into the space isn’t necessarily good enough anymore.

Maintenance Free Doesn’t Mean Forget About Your Battery

The words maintenance free can sometimes give people the impression that the battery can simply be forgotten about forever.

Unfortunately, batteries don’t work like that.

Every vehicle battery has a finite working life.

Cold weather can expose a weakening battery particularly quickly. This is something we regularly see here in Halifax when the Yorkshire winter arrives.

A battery that seemed perfectly adequate during warmer weather can suddenly struggle on a freezing morning.

The engine requires considerable power to turn over, while heaters, lights, heated screens and other electrical equipment may all be demanding electricity at the same time.

This is why winter has traditionally been one of the busiest periods for battery replacement.

Short Journeys Can Be Hard on Batteries

Modern driving habits can also affect battery condition.

A car that regularly makes longer journeys gives its charging system more opportunity to replenish the energy used when starting the engine.

Cars used mainly for very short journeys may not always get the same opportunity.

This became particularly noticeable when many vehicles were left standing for long periods or were being used much less frequently than normal.

If your vehicle is only covering short distances, particularly during winter, it is worth being aware of the condition of the battery.

Signs That Your Battery May Be Failing

There are several warning signs that a car battery may be approaching the end of its useful life.

One of the most obvious is when the engine turns over more slowly than normal when you start the car.

You may also notice electrical equipment behaving strangely or warning lights appearing.

Sometimes there is very little warning at all.

The car starts perfectly well one day and the following morning there’s nothing more than a click.

That’s something most motorists have probably experienced at least once!

Choosing the Correct Replacement Battery

Battery replacement has become more complicated as vehicle technology has developed.

The correct battery depends upon the vehicle and the electrical demands placed upon it.

Cars equipped with start-stop systems may require AGM or EFB technology. Replacing one of these with an unsuitable conventional battery can lead to poor performance and premature battery failure.

Some modern vehicles may also require the replacement battery to be registered with the vehicle’s battery management system.

This is why professional advice is increasingly useful when replacing a modern car battery.

Battery Testing at Pellon Tyre & Autocentre

If you’re unsure about the condition of your battery, we can check it here at Pellon Tyre & Autocentre in Halifax.

Testing can give us an indication of the battery’s condition and whether it is still capable of doing its job properly.

We would always rather test a battery before simply replacing it.

That’s been our approach at Pellon for many years: we don’t replace something unless it needs replacing.

If the battery is still doing its job, we’ll tell you.

If it is failing, we can advise on a suitable replacement for the vehicle.

Batteries Have Come a Long Way

Having worked with batteries for decades, I find it interesting to look back at how much they have changed.

Older motorists may remember regularly checking battery water levels, cleaning terminals and occasionally finding corrosion around the battery tray.

Modern maintenance free batteries have removed much of that routine work.

However, the humble car battery has also become much more important.

Modern cars depend upon electricity for an extraordinary number of systems, and without a healthy battery even the most sophisticated vehicle isn’t going very far.

So although today’s batteries may be called maintenance free, they’re certainly not unimportant.

If your car is becoming slow to start or you are concerned about the condition of your battery, call into Pellon Tyre & Autocentre here in Halifax.

We’ll be happy to check it and make sure you’re fitted with the correct battery for your vehicle.