Are we going to take the car after a hard day at work, or are we going to take the car to spend a peaceful Sunday day with our friends and .... Oops! The car won't start !!

The first thing we think of is that the battery is damaged or has reached the end of its useful life and needs to be replaced. However, this is not the case in all cases. There are several reasons why a battery won't start. And, be careful because on many occasions we can recover the battery.

In this article we are going to see the main reasons why a battery does not start, how to distinguish them and, most importantly, how to prevent a battery from damaging.

A battery or accumulator is basically "an electromagnetic device capable of accumulating electrical energy and supplying it". However, that energy is not infinite and neither is the ability to supply it repeatedly. If we transfer this idea to car batteries, we could consider, simplifying a lot, that a battery is an electromagnetic device capable of giving a certain number of starts.

The number of starts or cycles that it can give will depend on many factors: intensity of each start, state of charge at each moment, depth of discharge, etc ... But be that as it may, a battery can give an X number of starts. If the battery is of quality, in normal use, that number of starts is enough to be using it for 4 or 5 years. However, if we subject the battery to intensive use in terms of number of starts or do not properly maintain the battery, it will last less.

First idea: The number of times a vehicle can start a battery is limited.

Another important issue is that maintaining a discharged battery reduces its performance and, for that reason, no battery manufacturer considers that a battery damaged by remaining discharged is a manufacturing defect. And therefore, it is not covered by the warranty.

Second idea: If a battery is discharged, it must be charged as soon as possible. Otherwise the damage may be irreversible and is not covered by the warranty.

Taking into account the above, we are going to list the possible causes why a battery, being in perfect condition, can stop working:

1) The battery has reached the end of its useful life

The main reason why a battery stops working is because it has reached the end of its useful life. In normal use and assuming that the vehicle's electrical system is in perfect condition, a top-quality battery, like the ones we sell, should last at least 4 or 5 years.

However, there are cases where a battery stops working before this time, even below two years, simply because it has been depleted. This can happen on those occasions where the number of starts made by the car is much higher than normal, as is the case with taxis or delivery vehicles.

Important: If we make intensive use of the battery, we have to be aware that it will last us less.

2) A lower battery than the one recommended by the manufacturer has been installed.

Each vehicle needs a specific battery in terms of technology (lead / acid, agm, efb ...), capacity (Ah) and starting force (A). It is always recommended to install at least one battery with the same characteristics as the one that came from the factory. And in most cases, it is also convenient to install a higher one -as long as we have space to install it-. For that reason, manufacturers often leave room to install a larger battery.

Another important issue is to install a suitable battery for the use that we are going to give it. For example, if we have a vehicle that incorporates a device that is always in operation, even when we are stopped, as can happen with taxis that carry a station constantly operating, perhaps we should install a special agm battery in our vehicle, even when the normal version of our vehicle does not need it.

If we do not install a suitable battery, of course it will last us less.

Taking it to an extreme so that everyone understands us, if we install a 45Ah battery in a car that has a 95Ah battery, it is very likely that the battery will stop working in a short time, since our vehicle requires much higher performance to which the battery that we have installed can provide us.

At baterias.com we are specialists in batteries and, in addition, we advise you free of charge in choosing the best battery for your car. If you have questions, contact us without obligation.

Important: Seek professional advice to buy the most suitable battery, not only for your vehicle, but also for the use that you are going to give it.

3) The vehicle has been stationary for a long time

Contrary to what many people think, for a battery it is good that the car is running. When the battery is stopped it discharges little by little while generating a sulfate that reduces the performance of the battery. This causes the battery life to be gradually shortened, until there comes a point when the battery can no longer function. This effect will be greater the greater the discharge and the longer the battery is kept in that state.

For this reason, all battery manufacturers recommend not keeping a battery below 12V and do not cover all failures derived from a discharged battery under warranty.

If there is no other option and the vehicle is going to be idle for some time (for example, more than 3 weeks), it would be advisable to disconnect the vehicle's battery, if possible, install a battery maintainer or charge the battery from time to time.

Important: If the vehicle is going to be stopped for a long time, disconnect a terminal, if possible, install a disconnector or charge the battery from time to time.

4) Leave the car lights on

If we leave the car lights on or any other device, the battery will discharge and as already indicated, if the battery is kept discharged and it does not charge quickly, we run the risk of the battery breaking down.

Therefore, if this situation has happened to us, we recommend charging the battery as soon as possible to avoid irreversible damage. Keep in mind that if the battery has been deeply discharged, a conventional household charger may not charge it. In that case, a professional charger should be used.

Important: If we leave the lights on, the battery must be charged as soon as possible.

5) Latent consumptions

Any vehicle has a normal latent consumption. This latent consumption is small and, for that reason, the battery takes days or even weeks to discharge. However, with the passage of time, the vehicle's components no longer work as well and that consumption increases. It can also happen that one good day a component of the hundreds that the vehicle carries begins to fail and generate a higher consumption than normal.

This will have the effect of draining the battery quickly. And until we solve the problem, we put the battery that we put in it, it will discharge. Therefore, in this case, we will have a double task: on the one hand to charge the battery and on the other to solve the consumption.

Even more complicated are the specific consumptions. They are consumptions that only appear from time to time. For example, many vehicles incorporate a rain sensor. It could happen that the sensor when detecting rain comes into operation, for example, activating the windshield wipers -so far everything normal-, however, when the rain ends due to an error in the sensor, it continues to perform some internal operation and generate consumption. In this case, consumption would only appear when it rains. If we take the car to the workshop, everything would be normal.

These cases are very difficult to solve, even by experts in the field. Fortunately they are not very common cases.

Important: If we have a consumption in the vehicle, we have to charge the battery as soon as possible and, in addition, solve the consumption so that it does not happen again.