Parasitic draw causing the battery to drain is probably the worst kind of battery drain and a problem that most people will not know about until they notice it. You might think you just have a bad battery, but if you see your battery is becoming very low on charge or battery is shutting down intermittently or it just simply does not want to hold a charge you need to take a look at the battery. This is where GM Gauge Repair comes in.
You probably have heard of the Automobile Tester. This is a small box that looks like a cigarette lighter or it can be disguised as an extension cord. It works just like any other tester you may have had and with a simple push of a button you can detect if there is a problem with your battery.
If you do not have one of these devices already, you will need to find one that you can purchase or rent and put to use for the specific purpose of being able to test batteries. When using the Tester, make sure you are plugged into a power source and not a wall outlet or you risk tripping over it.
Once you are there, the first obvious place to plugin would be the outlet on the wall. Your other outlets may vary from different homes, so it is a good idea to check yours and have it marked on your tool kit.
Using the button to turn on, turn the battery off, and read the battery indicator LED to determine if it is charging. If you see something there that says Low, this is something that you will need to look at closely to determine what is causing the battery to become shorted out.
One thing you will probably notice as you read the LED indicator is that it appears to be turning green, then it will jump to red and then show as still being green, then you will notice that the LED will start to flash rapidly and eventually appear red and then turn green again. This will give you a general idea of how much juice is left in the battery.
If you start to get a green light and no flashing, then there is a good chance that the battery needs to be charged up. It is also a good idea to check the battery’s warranty period to ensure that you have enough time to get the battery working again.
If you get a blue light, then you should have a battery that is just starting to go down and needs to be charged up. Try using the same procedure above on the battery to determine what is going on with the battery and what you can do to fix it.
As you begin to change the battery, make sure that you keep the charger that you use with the battery. The battery life should get better, and you will be able to charge it up much faster, but if you are doing the repairing of the battery then you will probably need to replace the batteries and be able to use it for longer.
Batteries don’t like moisture and if they get wet they will start to lose a lot of their charge. Take care to dry off the battery before you begin using it so that you won’t have to repair the battery after you get it working again.
Batteries do have moving parts that can wear out and if you are not careful when taking care of your batteries then you could cause yourself some problems as well. Never ever, ever let your batteries get near the fire, do not try to charge your batteries up in an oven, never try to plug the batteries into a computer, or even to any extension cords, do not try to use them in a car or on a boat.
These things could cause the batteries to short out and could cause the battery to die because the battery voltage becomes so low that it will not hold a charge. Therefore, using the right tools to identify if your batteries are failing is essential and you will always know if your batteries are going to be able to hold a charge.