Interstate Battery
Interstate Car Batteries
There are a lot of factors that will affect how long your Interstate battery will last. Of course, Interstate car batteries are among the best that money can buy, and that gives you a decided advantage right from the start. The other factor to consider is the maintenance given the battery over its lifetime of service.
However, to boil it down, most of the batteries in the Interstate auto battery line should give you somewhere between 3 to 5 years of dependable service. And frankly it’s not easy to tell exactly when your battery will need to be replaced — after all, most cars’ gauge on the dashboard simply tells you if the battery is being charged — not if it’s nearing the end of its life.Unfortunately, the best sign that an Interstate battery is possibly at the end of its lifetime is that it turns the engine over slower than normal. Other than that, it often comes down to the frustrating, embarrassing and often downright maddening fact that your car won’t start!
Most any reputable car repair shop will be able to perform a “load test” which will let you know how well your Interstate auto battery is currently holding a charge.
Since all quality batteries come with a warranty, be sure to mark your calendar when you are nearing the end of the warranty. Sometimes that’s 36 months, sometimes 48 months, and sometimes 60 months. Depending on how long your warranty is, you might consider buying a new Interstate battery prior to the warranty expiration. For around $100 or less, you can buy a lot of peace of mind and you won’t have to worry and wonder whether your car will start.
Most batteries seem to fail in the winter. The colder weather demands more from the battery and therefore is harder on the battery’s ability to start the car. As your Interstate battery ages be sure to check it in the fall prior to the winter weather catching you off guard.
Some people even swear by an electric car battery charger. As the Interstate battery comes to the end of its life, hooking it up to the charger can extend its life a little longer. That might get you through until the next payday!
Two common battery terms: RC & CCA
The battery industry has issued a rating for car batteries. RC simply stands for reserve capacity. RC is a measurement of how long your battery can power your car without the alternator or the fan belt being operational. When you compare reserve capacity between an Interstate battery and other batteries, the higher you can go the better. In short, it’s a way to understand how long the car can run if you lose your fan belt or if the alternator dies.CCA is an abbreviation that stands for “cold cranking amps”. It’s a measurement that shows how well the battery will perform when the temperature drops. If it’s common for you to encounter temperatures that fall below freezing, CCA is something you want take very seriously. As you compare an Interstate battery with other batteries, the ones with a higher CCA rating will serve your needs better in the winter months.
Tips on how to jumpstart a car battery:
There are only 2 kinds of people in the world: those who have had to jump a battery, and those who will have to jump a battery! Even if you’ve never had to jump your own battery, it pays to be prepared to help someone else jump their battery. It’s a good idea to always have a pair of jumper cables in your trunk. You never know when they’ll come in handy. If you have a set of jumper cables, jumping a car is pretty easy to do.The first thing to do is to position the cars close to each other, but not touching. Make sure both cars’ ignitions are off. The next thing to do is to place the positive cable clamp (which is marked red) on the positive terminal (which is marked with a plus sign) of the battery that won’t start. Next, place the other positive cable clamp on the good battery’s positive terminal. Then place the negative cable clamp (which is marked black) on the good batteries negative terminal (which is marked with a negative or minus sign). Finally place the other negative cable clamp on something metal (for example, the engine block).
At this point stop to make sure all of the clamps are securely in place. Once you’ve determined that, start the car with the good battery and wait a few minutes before attempting to start the car with the dead battery. If it doesn’t start, you’ll have to check for further issues like a poor connection or badly corroded terminals. Sometimes if you find corrosion (off-white, chalky buildup) and clean it off with a wire brush, the car will take the jump once you’ve reattached the battery cables and started the car with a good battery again.
If it still won’t start, that’s a sure sign you need a new battery, and you should make tracks to your local Interstate car battery dealer!