Do car batteries need to be charged

“You either get a jump-start from someone else’s car and drive or idle for at least 20 minutes to charge up the battery or use a battery charger.”

Table of Contents Show

1. Your car struggles to start
2. There’s a loss of power to your car’s electrics
3. The battery warning light on your dashboard comes on
4. Your car’s start-stop function stops working
5. Your battery’s more than five years old
CTEK chargers

To jump-start your car, you will need two things: jumper cables and a car whose battery is not dead.
Find someone with a car whose battery is not dead. Ask if they have jumper cables. If they don’t, find someone with jumper cables.
Park a functional car with the booster battery next to the car with the dead battery, making sure that the two vehicles are NOT in contact.
Ensure the booster battery is 12-volt and has its negative terminal grounded.
Turn off all unnecessary electrical loads.
Open the engine hood and remove the service cover on the front passenger seat side in the engine compartment.
*Accessibility of your battery depends on the make and model of your car. Some may even be in the boot or under the seats.
Remove the fuse box cover. Open the positive terminal cap inside the engine room fuse box and the negative terminal cap close to the vehicle body.
Connect one end of a jumper cable (red, positive clamp) to the positive end of the discharged battery.
Connect the other end (red, positive clamp) to the positive end of the booster battery.
Connect one end of the other jumper cable (black, negative clamp) to the negative end of the booster battery, then the other end (partnering black, negative clamp) to a solid, stationary, metallic point away from the battery.
Start the engine on the functional car to begin charging the dead car battery through the jumper cables, and let it do so for a few seconds.
Once the dead car comes alive, disconnect the jumper cables in the reverse order (first the black, negative clamps followed by the red, positive clamps) while making sure that the clamps do not touch each other.
Go on a quick drive or let it idle for at least 20 minutes to build up the charge.

Follow the basic instructions below to charge your battery:

Ensure the battery charger is off.
Connect positive and negative cables on the charger to the respective ends on the battery.
Keeping the charger at its slowest charge rate, turn it on and set the timer. Depending on the battery voltage and its cold cranking amps (CCA), it should take about 6-12 hours to fully charge.
Once done, turn off the battery charger main switch.
Disconnect the negative first then the positive clamps from the respective battery terminals.

Our car batteries are working harder than ever before. In fact, modern vehicles have over 200 electronic control units and all of these place increasing demands on your battery, even when you’re parked.

Our driving habits have also changed. It’s quicker to drive than to walk to the local shop and every time we use our vehicles for short journeys like this, we’re taking more charge from the battery than we’re putting back in.

When you add in the fact that extreme temperatures can play havoc with your battery, a lack of battery maintenance can lead to a shorter lifespan and batteries will automatically lose some charge over time anyway, it’s no surprise that battery failures are widely acknowledged as the number one cause of breakdowns in the UK.

So, what can you do to avoid the inconvenient and potentially costly scenario of a flat battery, particularly as the colder and darker nights draw in? Well, we’ve partnered up with CTEK to put together a list of five key signs that it’s time to hook your battery up to a charger – or replace it altogether.

1. Your car struggles to start

That sinking feeling you get when you try to start your car and it splutters and groans at you in return is something we’ve all probably experienced at one time or another. If your car doesn’t start with one simple turn of the key (or push of a button), then that’s a sure sign your battery needs charging up.

While you could keep trying to get the engine going and then – if you’re successful – head out on a journey of at least 30 minutes to give your battery enough time to charge, there’s a much easier way to resolve the situation: invest in a battery charge, like those in the new CTEK range (more on that below).

2. There’s a loss of power to your car’s electrics

If your windows, lights, heater and other electric systems are slow to respond or experience a complete loss of power then it’s probably time to charge your battery.

This kind of problem tends to be more noticeable in the colder months when your battery has to work particularly hard to keep everything ticking over and you’re more likely to be using a greater number of your car’s electrical systems like the lights and heater.

Again, this is a situation where a battery charger could really come in handy.

3. The battery warning light on your dashboard comes on

When that pesky battery symbol lights up on your dashboard then it suggests there’s a fault in your alternator, battery or electrical system. All of which means your car won’t be charging itself properly while you’re driving and there’s probably going to be a flat battery at some point in your future.

Because the symbol can appear for different reasons, we’d recommend booking in for a Free Battery Health Check so that one of our experienced technicians can help you get to the bottom of exactly what the problem is.

4. Your car’s start-stop function stops working

Start-stop systems can monitor your battery and detect how much current is being drawn from it. So if the system senses that your battery is struggling, it may disable the start-stop function to avoid the battery being drained so much that your car won’t actually start.

Again, this is something that can be more of an issue in the winter when there are more demands on your battery like your heaters, lights and wipers. And again, it’s a problem that can be overcome with the help of a battery charger. Just make sure you choose a type that’s compatible with start-stop batteries, such as a smart charger (see below).

5. Your battery’s more than five years old

Most car batteries are designed to last between five and seven years, so a struggling battery could simply be a sign that yours is approaching the end of its life. You can check the age of your battery by finding the date that it was manufactured, which is stamped on the battery itself.

If your battery needs replacing, then our online vehicle registration checker will help you to find the perfect fit for your vehicle. We also offer various fitting options for a small fee, including our Halfords Mobile Experts who’ll fit it directly on your drive or at your workplace.

CTEK chargers

If you’re looking for a battery charger then you can’t do much better than the CTEK smart charger range. The company is a global leader in maximising battery performance and all smart chargers on the market today contain CTEK-based technology.

The company’s award-winning products include:

Maintenance chargers like the XS 0.8, which is ideal for maintaining the battery charge in cars that aren’t being used and for charging the smaller batteries in devices like motorbikes and lawnmowers.
Conventional smart chargers like the MSX 5.0, which is the world’s best-selling battery charger and winner of multiple international awards.
Specialist chargers, like the MXS 10.0, which offer state-of-the-art technology and is designed for workshops, caravans, RVs and more.

Whatever option you choose, you’ll be receiving a clever and cutting-edge product that will help to keep your battery healthy and, most importantly, charged.

To learn more about the company behind the chargers, check out our recent blog Introducing CTEK battery chargers.

Keeping your battery healthy can also save you money on repairs or replacements. With the uncertainty of the energy price cap and cost of living crisis, we know that you’ll be keen to save as and when you can. Here at Halfords, we’re committed to driving down prices and offering you the best value possible to keep you safe, happy, and secure. We’ve pledged to never be beaten on price on 1000s of motoring essentials – read more here.