Does using heating or wipers drain your battery? | The Sun
RAINY days and cold temperatures will urge you to turn on your heating while driving and use your wipers to have better visibility of the road.
However, does using these two features drain your car battery?
Does using heating drain your car battery?
In the cold temperatures of winter, you might be urged to turn on your car heater while driving.
However, you must be wary of how this can affect your car battery.
The heater itself does not drain the battery because the heat is made up of the energy emitted by the motor.
However, for the heat to circulate around the car, there are fans installed which do drain up your car battery.
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The fans get their power through the connection made to the ignition switch, and if the car is off, then there is no power going through to them.
That is why the fans should not be turned on without the engine running because they can drain your car battery.
Does using window wipers drain your car battery?
Using your window wipers does not drain your battery either.
If you leave them on by mistake, worry not, because they will not drain the battery this way either.
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If the car is off, then the wipers don't work.
While driving, the window wipers don't take up too much energy from your battery that it will drain it.
What causes a car battery to drain?
There are several factors that will cause your car battery to drain and then you'll have to give it a good push to get it up and running again.
An old battery
An old battery may not be strong enough to hold a full charge anymore.
The average life of a car battery is four to five years, so at least, try to get an opinion on it when such time passes.
If a mechanic indicated that your engine is still good to use, then make sure to keep up with it every year so that you'll avoid any future trouble.
Defective diodes
In a car, you'll find an alternator which will convert the mechnical energy into an electric one.
It will use alternating current to do so and it is converted through diodes.
However, if one of the diodes is defective, it might cause you battery to drain.
Leaving electronics on
If you leave anything that uses electricity on, such as lights, then they will such the energy out of your battery.
This is normally called a parasitic drain and a very popular occurrence.
A defective charging system
Your car includes a charging system that gives out at least up to 14.5 volts that leaves you car battery charged.
If this is defective, then your battery will drain even while it's running.
Extreme hot or cold weather
Extreme cold or hot, not that we much of it in the UK, can damage your car battery.
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The chemicals released from the cold or hold temperatures will cause a reaction that causes sulfate in the car battery.
The sulfate will accumulate and damage your car battery leading to a shorter lifespan.
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