These days, there are very few things that you can truthfully say are free. In an instant, you can think of two. Air and Sun. It’s a good thing sun is still free or solar power will not even be possible at all. Well, generating solar power isn’t totally free but it’s the next best thing. You will need a solar car battery charger to get access to solar power.

As environmental problems generate more and more concerns, interest in using electricity and solar energy to power cars gains wider ground. In order to understand solar car battery charger, you need to understand first how a car battery works. A car battery stores energy and supplies a direct current (DC) to conductive parts in an automobile circuit. A standard battery has six cells that 2.1 volts each. Take note that when a small amount of voltage is lost it makes a tremendous difference. If your car battery drops from 12.6 V to 12V, you lose 75% of the charge.

For you to understand how a solar car battery charger works, you also have to know how solar powered cars function. Think of solar powered cars as electric cars that are powered by solar energy rather than plug-in technology. The car exploits energy through solar panels attached to the surface of the car. Solar cells capture the sun’s energy and convert it into electricity. The problem is solar powered cars cannot be utilized for mainstream transportation because they cannot convert and store enough electrical power to travel far when they are not exposed to direct sunlight.

It may still take some time before solar powered cars make more headway into the consumer market and until that time, the solar car battery charger may be the next best thing. A solar battery charger can extend the life of your car battery because it can charge without the usual wear and tear it undergoes as you drive. If your car is not in use, you can keep your battery from dying by using the solar car battery charger, without having to drive. Simply hook up the battery with the solar charger and presto! Your battery is kept alive. Of course, this would mean, you cannot park your car in the garage while charging because the solar car battery charger has to be exposed to direct sunlight to harness solar power.

Just like solar powered cars, the solar car battery charger has just began to invade the mainstream car industry and can only be found in a limited number of stores. Your best option will be to find it online where you can do research on particular solar car battery chargers you may have in mind. As well, you can look for the best (competitive) prices that will fit in with your budget.

Every so often, a driver gets that,”Oh no, not now!” feeling at one point or another, when their reliable car refuses to start. Car batteries take the brunt of all the demands from all the impressive technology of modern cars. A lot of the advances, accessories, aftermarket car parts and high tech car stereos made by the car manufacturers use large amounts of electricity which strains the battery. Even the best maintained car batteries will become depleted over time and eventually lead to hard starting.  Moreover, car batteries are designed with a specific life span and their performance will decline at their end days, which may require refurbishing or total replacement.

Besides this obvious reason, car battery performance can also deteriorate if not properly maintained. There are ways you can extend the life of your battery and avoid frequent car battery replacement.

1. Wash the terminals often to minimize corrosion; use pressurized water, a hose perhaps and a wire brush for best results. You may also want to buy foam battery cleaner to help loosen stuck-on dirt.
2. It is essential to cover the battery cells at all times by topping them up with distilled water. There is usually a mark to guide you with the level required.

If your battery gives you a hard time and nothing seems to work, you can do the last resort tactic of putting it on charge for 24 hours and try again to get it going. Home chargers can be purchased at a reasonable price. This will mean you have to take the battery from its housing and into a safe place for electricity flow. Kind of inconvenient, but it’s a good back up move and a way of checking if your battery is still functional or is indeed dead.

If all else fails; or if your battery worked for a bit after charging but intermittently goes quiet on you, it may be a good idea to start thinking of a car battery replacement. There are different models on the market and it shouldn’t be difficult to find one that is compatible with your car. If you don’t know the battery type your car requires, you can check the “group size” number printed on the old battery to help you identify the replacement you need. If this doesn’t work, ask assistance from car parts shops to help you find a suitable car battery replacement. They should have a manual where you can look up the correct battery type for your car by vehicle make and model. It will certainly help if you carry your specs log book along. If you need assistance with the installation of the new car battery replacement, you can ask an expert from the store to help you with this. They may charge a certain amount, though so be sure to ask prior to the installation.

Replacing your car battery may not be the piece of cake it seems, but with some help from people who know what they’re doing, you should be ready to get going with your car battery replacement in a jiffy.

Are you looking to get through another year or two, or maybe just get through the winter with your old car? It will probably hold but there’s the car battery issue. It will, of course be impractical to buy a new car battery if you’re already thinking of discarding the old car soon. Instead of paying a hundred bucks or more for a new one, why not buy used car batteries instead? There are numerous automotive shops that you can go to for this purpose and they’d be very helpful in assisting you and providing a car battery that can get you by until you are ready for a new one. You can even search online for such shops without any difficulty at all.

So let’s say you’re not in need of a new car, just a new battery and you’ve already decided that you are indeed going to buy a new one. The old battery has served its purpose; the question now is what will you do with that used battery? I bet you guessed right. Recycling is always a good idea. And in many places, it is the law.

In the U.S., about 97% of lead from used car batteries is reclaimed for recycling. Many cities offer battery recycling services for lead-acid batteries. In several U/S. states and Canadian provinces, purchasers of new lead-acid batteries are charged a small deposit fee and refunded when the replaced battery is returned. This encourages recycling of old batteries instead of abandoning or disposal with household wastes. Businesses which sell new car batteries may also collect used batteries (and may even be required by law to do so) for recycling. Some businesses will accept old batteries on a “walk-in” basis (not in exchange for a new battery). Most battery shops and recycling centers will pay for used batteries. This can be a lucrative business, especially enticing to risk-takers because of the wild fluctuations in the value of scrap lead that can occur literally overnight. When lead prices go up, used batteries can become targets for thieves.

When thinking of recycling, be sure you take extra precaution to protect yourself and others from the harmful contents of used batteries. Always put on protective gloves and glasses before handling used battery. Place the battery in an upright container which will not tip over in your car. Be careful when handling the used car battery as it contains sulfuric acid, which is cangerous to human body. If you’re concerned about leaking fluids, talk to an auto professional before moving the battery.

Why do you need a car battery tester? The electric charge that your battery carries won’t last a lifetime. It can only carry so much electric charge for a specified amount of time and sooner or later it will go south on you. In most cases, it is quite difficult to tell how much electric charge you have left.

The 21^st century cars are sophisticated machines fully loaded with high technology gadgets such as GPS navigation, LCD screens, DVD players and iPods. Name it and in all likelihood a high end car has it. It’s funny how all these technological wonders are still at the mercy of the car battery and the installed car electrical system. You may have all these top of the line automobile extras but if your battery is dead, so are they.

Car batteries have seen much improvement over the years but the technology underneath is basically the same. Not until we are stranded in some God-forsaken place because we can’t start the car do we even think of our car battery. A modern car battery voltage tester can warn of impending battery failure and may even diagnose alternator problems; thus evaluate and determine the course of action that needs to be taken.

Car battery tester uses the BCI adjustable load test as gauge to decide whether your battery is still usable or need to be discarded ad replaced. These testers measure the voltage drop when an applied load that is half the battery’s CCA rating is used. And how does it work? The load is applied for about 15 seconds and the voltage drop is measured. Make sure that when you do this test the ambient temperature is not below 70⁰F. If the drop reading does not fall below 9.6 volts, then your battery is ideally conditioned, and is therefore, considered good. To illustrate this, let’s take an example: You have a battery of Cold Cranking Amp (CCA) rating of 600; if you apply a 300 amps load for 15 seconds and the measured voltage does not fall below 9.6 volts then the battery is good. It is also possible to use a car battery tester in opposing temperature conditions, but only if you compensate for the difference in calculations.

So is there a specific car battery tester for a particular car type?

Testers that plug into the cigarette lighter socket are the easiest to use. There are zero installations required and no separate battery is needed. They are mostly “self-powered”, running off the car battery’s power. They can be analog or digital. The downside is many testers of this type are cheap and flimsy. They often get accidentally knocked off and broken, if left plugged in because they stick out from the dashboard.

Other car battery testers are clamped directly to the battery terminals. There’s an amount of inconvenience here because this type of tester requires the car to be stationary with the hood up; although some can be left permanently clamped to the battery with the display inside the engine compartment. Some clap-on testers are designed so that you can use them as stand-alone batteries. You have to remove the battery from the car, however. These testers have their own load tester, capable of absorbing 100 or more amperes to measure cranking voltage.

The most convenient type of car battery tester is the voltmeter that you can permanently fix into the car dashboard. It allows easy daily monitoring of the voltage. There is some installation work required in this type of tester, though; plus it can’t be shared with another car.
A car battery tester should ideally measure no-load, cranking and charging voltages; but if you don’t have this type available, a car battery tester that can measure no-load and charging is apparently better than nothing. The mounting type, be it cigarette lighter, dashboard, engine compartment; and whether it is digital or analog, is insignificant and is just a matter of personal preference.