My truck battery has had a hard time holding a charge when it sits and i dont drive it for a day or 2. I was wondering how often the water needed to be checked on a battery.
2007-12-18 14:17:59 · 7 answers · asked by Skip 3 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
If the battery has two individual caps that can be pried upward it's a good policy to check for distilled water twice per yr. Much depends on the charge-back rate of the alternator concerning how thirst the battery is. If you have an alternator that's constantly charging above 14.0 volts the poor old battery is going to boil off water.
If you haven't replaced your battery within the bast 4-5 yrs. Have a load test done on it or check the state of charge with a hydrometer.
2007-12-18 16:36:18 · answer #1 · answered by Country Boy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it's a maintenance free battery, then never. Otherwise very rarely. Batteries dont really consume much water. Sounds like you may have a small drain or a bad cell. You might want to have an auto parts store load test your battery and see if your alternator is charging. Most will do this for free. If you feel the absolute need to add water, use only distilled water..
2007-12-18 22:21:59 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should check it periodically. Every few months. Most people don't do it at all though. If it is low, do not add acid. Go to your local supermarket and purchase some distilled water. You will not find it at a parts store. I don't know why but I have worked at a lot of them since 1997. They just don't sell it.
How old is the battery? Most only last 4-5 years on average. It may be overdue for a new one anyway.
2007-12-18 22:34:02 · answer #3 · answered by cat lady 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Water should only be replaced once or twice a year and ONLY with distilled water. The best thing to use is electrolytic fluid that can be had at the auto parts store. Your problem seems to be bad connections on your battery cables or your battery is slowly dying and needs to be replaced. If you are constantly losing fluid you might have a hole in the battery case.
2007-12-18 22:31:12 · answer #4 · answered by Hoss 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have seen some maintenace free batteries lose some water. I agree with the other answers that you should have the battery checked with a load test to verify that the battery is good.
2007-12-18 22:31:01 · answer #5 · answered by Fordman 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the water shouldn't need to be checked but every three or four months, if that, you probably have something that is running it down, my buick did the same thing till i started to start it every other day, the clock radio and the alarm system drained it pretty good because i didn't start it for a couple weeks.
2007-12-18 22:23:15 · answer #6 · answered by jpflkeys 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well it should b checked at ur 5000km /10000km service's
it is a good thing to maintain a normal water height
2007-12-18 22:24:10 · answer #7 · answered by brik 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋