Aussies drained by car batteries

The importance of a healthy car battery cannot be underestimated.

That's the conclusion drawn by a new survey that found Australians spent eight million hours wasted -- either stranded on the roadside or trying to replace a flat car battery -- in the last 12 months.

Car batteries are not only required to start your engine but balance the electrical demands of the system and power accessories like lights, air-conditioning, infotainment and on-board computer systems until your motor is running and the alternator takes over.

But when more current is drained from the battery than the alternator can provide, the battery won’t have enough power to charge the starter motor.

And such are the electrical demands of many vehicles that batteries rarely gets recharged above 80 per cent of capacity and when the battery is drained, fuel consumption and emissions are increased.

Features like Bluetooth connectivity, climate control and beefy sound systems tax your battery more quickly when the engine isn’t running.

Newer models with engine idle-stop systems put more strain on batteries, especially in bumper-to-bumper traffic where they may need to start your engine several times in a matter of minutes, while keeping the vehicle's electronics powered.

And as cars become more advanced, even when they’re switched off, parked and locked, high-tech anti-theft sensors inside — and even out — also cause battery drain.

Global market research company YouGov was commissioned by battery charger group CTEK to survey 1065 Aussies, extrapolated the data and projected that more than four million Aussies have been beset by flat batteries and stranded on the road side at some stage in the past year.

The fallout from a flat car battery, which often requires a call to roadside assistance or finding someone with jumper leads, results in time away from family and work. According to the survey, car battery failures have led to one in three Australians being late for work.

The YouGov survey found that more than 80 per cent of Australian motorists will experience a flat battery in their lifetime and that more than three quarters of a billion dollars — $761 million — are spent on new car batteries this year, at an average cost of $190 each.

Queenslanders and those living in the northern reaches of Australia are more likely to have been plagued by a flat battery, despite logic suggesting that colder climates will drain batteries faster.

"It's all down to water loss and heat distortion, which means hotter climates damage batteries faster than in cooler locations," said Robert Briggs, a CTEK spokesperson.

"Motorists should keep this in mind for those summer months, especially if leaving their vehicle stationary for an extended period," he added.

Naturally, CTEK says a solution to many of these battery woes is a trickle charger, several types of which are sold by the company, including the new CT5.

CTEK says there a few things that can help extend the life of your car battery.

Routine charging of your car's battery can prolong its life by two to three times, saving you money by reducing the frequency of having to buy a new battery. CTEK says using a trickle charger just once a month can keep a car’s battery in good health.

Hotter weather will see more drivers maxing out their air-conditioning to keep themselves comfortable and their vehicle’s cooling system working overtime to keep its engines from overheating. Extreme cold can expose a battery’s weakness, but heat is the number one car battery killer as water loss and heat distortion will shorten a battery’s life far quicker than a few freezing nights.

According to the survey two out of three Aussies will bypass a flat battery by jump starting their car with another vehicle and then leaving it idling or going for a drive. The understanding is that the alternator will slowly recharge the battery, but CTEK says it's unlikely to fully recharge a car battery. Best practice: use a battery charger to get a full charge.