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July 3, 2022
Here's an interesting statistic for our in Grand Rapids, Michigan , drivers: Only 30 percent of car batteries make it to 48 months. And the life expectancy varies by where you live. It ranges from 51 months in extremely cold areas to just 30 months in extremely hot climates.
Why is that? It turns out that it's our modern cars with all their electric accessories that are to blame. Things like, GPS, DVDs and entertainment computers are keeping vehicle batteries from maintaining a full charge. The longer a battery goes with a low charge, the sooner it'll die.
It's clear that you Grand Rapids drivers need to recharge your batteries. This is the job of the alternator. The problem comes when the car's demand for electricity is high and we are driving in stop and go conditions or short trips around Grand Rapids. The alternator just can't keep up.
The result is shortened battery life. So what can we do to improve our battery's health?
We need to keep the battery as close to a full charge as possible. That can be hard because sitting for just 24 hours in hot weather between charges can be too long. When the weather's cold in Grand Rapids, sitting for several days will cause discharge.
So some highway driving around Michigan will help keep a full charge if the battery has not been deeply depleted. Car batteries are not designed to be run down really low, or deep cycled, as it's called. So using your headlights or other power accessories when the car is off can deeply deplete your battery. Using the alternator to recharge from a deeply depleted state is also very dangerous to your battery because it charges too fast. In fact, on average, your battery would only last for ten recharges like that.
If you do find yourself with a dead battery or very low battery, use a good quality battery charger to slowly bring the battery up to full charge. Follow the instructions on the charger or talk to your friendly and knowledgeable service advisor at Tuffy Grand Rapids .
Tuffy Grand Rapids
610 28th St. SE
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49548
616.452.4425
March 9, 2025
The internal combustion engine in your vehicle counts on two things that mix together to be burned in the engine for power: fuel and air. Both are important, of course. If you run out of fuel, your engine wont run at all. Since theres plenty of air around, you wont run out of air, but you coul... More
March 2, 2025
In warm weather, you want to be in a cool vehicle. When we're talking cool, we don't mean stylish or trendy, but cool as in not sweltering inside. And if your vehicle's air conditioner stops working correctly, it seems to always break at the worst timeduring a heat wave. Automotive air conditio... More
February 23, 2025
It's bad enough in cold weather when ice and snow block your visibility. Add to that fog on the inside of your windows and you could be driving blind. So here are a few tips on how to keep your windows from fogging up when there's a chill in the air. You probably know fog is really condensation... More
