How to Pick a Battery for Your Vehicle

All of us know the feeling of being late because our car won’t start because the battery died usually before important occasions like being late for work, or right before a big test in school and etc. It’s almost as if the battery knew we are running late and decided to stop working, and now we are stuck on the side of the road waiting for a kind hearted person with jump start cables.

A battery is one of the most important components in a vehicle, because choosing the right one can affect the vehicles performance. In the past few years the battery became even more significant because more electric depending systems has been added to our modern vehicles like: electric windows, multimedia systems, navigational systems and more, all of those depend on functioning of the battery. This dependence of those systems in the battery can cause each battery failure to result in a total shutdown of the vehicle and for us to start looking for the closest place where we can replace our battery for a reasonable price.

Before you take your car to the closet garage, you should open the hood of your car and check

How Can I Know If The Battery Died?

In some cases the battery isn’t the source of the problem that our car won’t start. Before you decide to replace the battery it’s important to locate the source of the problem. As a driver it’s important to make sure the reason the car won’t start isn’t related to something we’ve done wrong: making sure our vehicle is on P while starting the engine, typing the right alarm code and more.

Sometimes the reason the car won’t start isn’t related to the battery but to the alternator which charges it, it’s possible that an old alternator band was ripped or maybe there is a problem with the vehicle’s immobilizer, regardless of the reason it’s always best to consult with a trustworthy professional like a mechanic or a vehicle electrician. If you aren’t familiar with any, you are more than welcomed to contact our client service in Israel where you could get help in finding the problem and be directed to the closest distributor to you.

A battery that’s about to malfunction usually gives warning signs like: taking a longer time than usual to start the engine, blinking lights in the dashboard. Another mark to look out for is the battery service life ( 2-3.5 years for gasoline cars and 1.5-3 years for diesel cars) it’s important to look on the top side of the battery where you could find its production date, if it’s over 3 years you definitely have grounds to believe the battery has died.

Which battery is best suited for my vehicle?

If it was confirmed that the battery has died, we must choose the best way for us to change our battery and replace it effetely. You may choose to purchase a battery and replace it independently which is not recommended because this process requires caution and experience, the recommended way is to purchase a battery from a certified car electrician or a manufacturer licensed garage.

When you go to a trustworthy professional you should make sure the length of the warranty and who provides it, the importer or the business itself. For example VOLTA provides the warranty for all of the batteries we sell in Israel nationwide

After we arrived to the trustworthy business, how can we know which battery is the right one for us?

It's important to consider a few criteria's:

A battery that fits your engine type

In this day and age there is a large selection of batteries for different applications and devices like: car batteries, batteries for scooters, trucks, electric scooters, golf carts, marine batteries, auxiliary batteries and more. That’s why it's important to make sure that the battery fits to the application and engine type. The battery type also affects the physical measurements of the battery, so it is important to make sure that the battery can fit in to its designated location before purchasing.

The size and volume of your vehicle

Affects the necessary battery capacity for your vehicle. While scooters require small capacity batteries like 12Ah batteries, vehicles require bigger batteries starting at 45Ah all the way up to about 95Ah. For most trucks well need to use batteries over 100 Ah and sometimes even more than 200Ah. It's always recommended to check which battery is required by the vehicle's manufacturer.

The Price of the Battery

The Price of the Battery Varies between a few hundred ILS for private vehicles and motorcycles to a few thousand for trucks and industrial use. You to consider how much you are willing to spend on your battery which probably determine the batteries longevity.

The Warranty Period

Another element which affects the price of the battery is the warranty period that is being offered to the end consumer.

The battery's cycle life

Is affected mainly by its quality and other parameters like how often you drive your vehicle, the various electrical systems of your vehicle, of which the battery will need to support, the weather and more. The hot Israeli climate can severely damage a battery which is not made to function in warm countries. While replacing a battery in an approved garage, you should check if there are other malfunctions in the vehicles electrical systems, which can potentially shorten the battery's cycle life. It doesn't matter whether you purchase your battery from an official manufacturer garage or from a service vehicle that came for the rescue- those are the things to look out for while choosing a battery.

Because the battery has a high effect on the engine’s function it’s recommended to not settle for nether of the criterias, but in the end of the day what matters is purchasing the battery that is right for your vehicle and obviously for you.