Short trips and an undercharged battery
Driving mainly in town over short distances slowly drains the battery. Find out why it happens and how to counter it.
Short trips and an undercharged battery
4 min readShort city trips are one of the worst scenarios for a battery. Every start loads it heavily, and a few minutes’ drive isn’t enough for the alternator to replace what was drawn.
Why short driving doesn’t recharge
A start is the biggest single current draw. On a short stretch, with the lights, heating and blower on, the alternator doesn’t manage to give the battery back as much as the start took. With each further start the deficit deepens.
Winter makes it worse
On cold days there are numerous loads and a harder start, and frost lowers the battery’s capacity. That’s why an undercharged battery most often dies in winter.
How to counter it
- From time to time cover a longer route to recharge the battery
- Limit unnecessary loads on short stretches
- Occasionally recharge the battery with a charger
- React to the first signs of a weakening battery
Periodic charging with a charger can significantly extend the battery’s life with this driving style.
The city kills batteries quietly — not with one frost, but with hundreds of short trips that never recharge it.
If the battery has given up anyway, we’ll select and replace it with call-out to your address.
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