Many car owners either completely give up their personal transportation in winter or use it much less frequently. There are several reasons for this, the main one being snow on the roads. However, not all drivers take care of their car batteries during the winter, leaving them connected to the terminals in the usual way for weeks or months. Such negligence can lead to a complete discharge of the battery or its failure due to a short circuit in one of the cells. To prevent this from happening, you should take care of how to store your car battery in winter.
There is an opinion that car batteries should be removed in winter to preserve their maximum charge. This statement is true, but not always; in some cases, less radical solutions can be used. In conditions of a “warm winter” (when the air temperature where the car is stored does not fall below -10 degrees Celsius), to preserve the maximum charge of the battery and not burden yourself with carrying the battery, it is recommended to disconnect one of the terminals from the power source. We recommend removing the negative terminal to avoid the risk of the “plus” contacting the ground and short-circuiting the electrical system. By removing one of the terminals from the car battery, you can significantly reduce the discharge process of the power source.
If the temperature where the car is parked drops significantly below -10 degrees Celsius, you should consider moving the battery to a warmer place. However, do not forget that when the battery is completely disconnected from the car’s electrical system, the settings of the electronic systems are reset.
How to store your car battery in winter?
The main thing to remember when storing a battery in winter is its position in space. Never store the battery vertically or on its side. The power source, whether dry-charged or filled with electrolyte, should always stand horizontally.
Where to store the battery in winter?
To store a battery in winter, you need to choose the right place based on the following criteria:
- Direct sunlight should not fall on the battery case. That’s why, if you have a choice between storing the battery in a pantry or on a balcony, it’s better to choose a pantry or any other “dark” room where sunlight does not penetrate. The danger of sunlight hitting the battery during storage is that it can cause the case to deform, which will lead to malfunctions in the power source after connecting it to the car.
- The temperature in the battery storage area should be above -5 degrees Celsius. You can leave the power source to winter in a cellar or basement, where the temperature, if it drops below zero, is not very low.
- The room should be well ventilated and have no high humidity. This is because during self-discharge, the battery releases a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen, which is explosive. With prolonged storage, self-discharge is inevitable, and its magnitude depends on the air temperature – the higher it is, the greater it is. Storing a battery with electrolyte requires not only the correct choice of room but also its preparation for “wintering”. Many forums write that the electrolyte should be drained from the battery for better storage in winter – this is not true. Moreover, before storing, you need to check the electrolyte level in the battery. If it is found to be low, top up the battery with distilled water and then charge it to the maximum.
