How to stop your car battery going flat during COVID-19 lockdown

There are a couple of ways to stop your car battery from going flat. The first is simple: try starting your car and leaving it running for a while each day. This will need to be more than just a few minutes; remember that frequent short journeys don't allow the battery to recharge properly, and this is the same for frequent short busts of running.

If you know you have a journey to make, and haven't used your car in a while, try starting it a couple of days beforehand to check it's working so you can get help before your journey.

Your second option is to buy a car battery charger. This also comes with some risks, as overcharging or incorrectly charging, can cause damage to the battery and stop it from charging completely. 

This brings us nicely onto our next point.

If you can get hold of a good quality car battery charger and you use it correctly, then why not? Charging your car battery at home should definitely be done with caution. If you want to charge your battery at home, we would recommend a slower charge (around 2-3 amps), to reduce the risk of overcharging. You must also check the battery charger's compatability with your car; it's not one size fits all.

You should also be wary of charging your car battery overnight. Sometimes, this could be too long, even if you are using a slower charge. This will cause damage.

If you don't take precautions while charging your car battery at home, then you run the risk of needing to replace it anyway, so please do your research fully before you charge your car at home. 

We don't sell battery chargers, but a quick google search will show you plenty of other places that do.

Unfortunately, it sound like it is. If you have good quality jump leads and a second car or a helpful neighbour (while maintaining correct social distancing of course), then you could first try jump starting the car. If you're going to do this, make sure you do it correctly so you don't cause more damage or injury to anyone.

Be warned, not all car batteries will start again once they've gone flat. It completely depends on a combination of the make, model, age, history of battery care to name just a few. If your car does not start after a couple of attempts with jump leads, then you will need a new battery.

Properly and very carefully! Follow these steps:

1. Make sure both vehicles are in park/neutral and switch off the engine
2. Attatch one of the RED clips to the POSITIVE terminal of the flat battery
3. Attach the other RED clip ti the POSITIVE terminal of the other battery
4. Attach one of the BLACK clips to the NEGATIVE terminal of the other car
5. Attach the last BLACK clip to an unpainted metal surface (like the metal strut that keeps your bonnet open)
6. Start the working vehicle and leave running for a few minutes
7. Try starting the car with the flat battery

You should leave your car running for an absolute minimum of 15 minutes after it has been jump started. The longer you can run it, the better.

If you are not confident, then always seek help before trying. Your breakdown cover should be able to send someone to assist. Jump starting a car could be dangerous, please don't attempt it unless you are fully confident in the process.

It looks like you'll need a new battery. If you have breakdown cover with a home call out, you could arrange with them to come and visit. If they can't fix it, you can arrange to be towed to somewhere you can get it fixed.

Once we reopen, we will happily help you get back on the road, so please contact our team on info@cmcmail.co.uk to arrange getting your vehicle recovered to us.

Alternatively, you can buy a car battery from our parts store. Just email us with your car make, model and registration number to info@cmcmail.co.uk and we'll be in touch to arrange the rest.