8 Common Dead Car Battery Signs & How To Prevent

Dead car battery signs can be overlooked for driver ignorance and several other reasons.

Knowing the most common signs of a dead car battery is equally important to knowing what drains your car battery.

The benefit of diagnosing a dead car battery is that you can take proper steps before your car battery goes completely dead when you cannot do anything but replacement.

As we know, car battery replacement is an expensive and time-consuming process that you can avoid by just noticing signs of a bad car battery.

So, here we will show you some common signs of a dead car battery that you should be aware of and how to prevent a dead car battery, and how to make a dead car battery last longer.

Signs Of A Dead Car Battery

Car’s headlights dim, excessive corrosion on the battery, Swollen battery, and slower crank are the most common signs of a dead car battery.

Here are some dead car battery signs:

1. Car Starts Then Dies
2. Need Frequent Jump Starts
3. Car Slow To Crank
4. Check Engine Light Flashing
5. Headlights Dim
6. Odd Smell From Battery
7. Car Battery Swollen
8. Corrosion On Battery 

1. Car Starts Then Dies

Among many difficulties in starting the car, a vehicle starts then dies is the most common when the car battery is dead.

A dead car battery does not reserve a sufficient amount of chemical energy, which is also known as a charge.

So, when you start your car, the dead battery converts chemical energy to electrical energy to start the engine. Still, the car dies immediately for the battery’s lack of electrical power.

For other reasons, your car starts then dies, but when you notice your car starts then dies often, that is what tells your car battery is dead.

Proper testing of your car battery is the first thing to do when your car battery dies, so check your car for dead battery symptoms when your car starts and then dies frequently.

Related: Why New Car Battery Dead

2. Need Frequent Jump Starts

To start a car with a dead and weak battery jump-start is a common practice for car owners.

Your car needs a jump start depending on the weather and battery capacity.

But, frequent jump starts is a dead car battery sign that you should notice every time you jump start your car.

Although You can put your car in neutral with a dead battery, you must eventually prevent the dead car battery to avoid further bad driver situations.

If your car battery needs to jump-start often, you should test your car battery with a professional who can tell you if your car battery is dead.

3. Car Slow To Crank

Sometimes cars are slower to crank for various reasons such as cold temperature, new battery, poor battery connection, and more.

Suddenly noticing your car’s slower crank or dragging start is a dead car battery symptom.

Test your car battery when your car takes a long time to crank than usual as soon as possible.

Knowing how slower to crank your car is going to help you to keep your car battery from dying.

See Also: What Can Drain A Car Battery When The Car Is Off

4. Check Engine Light Flashing

Check Engine Light is only turned or blinks when something is bad on your car; that problem needs immediate attention by the owner.

As you know, a car battery is a necessary and crucial part of a vehicle that should be reserved and provide electricity to the car components.

So, Check Engine Light can detect that the battery is not holding the charge or providing sufficient power to the car, making Check Engine Light flash or blink.

Keep in mind that the Check Engine Light is not only on for battery issues; it’s on for any major issue that needs immediate attention.

When your car’s Check Engine Light is on, you should also test your car battery to look for dead battery signs.

5. Headlights Dim

By proper attention to your car headlight, you can tell if your car battery is dead or not.

When a car’s headlights dim or flicker but the engine doesn’t start, that is the sign of a bad or weak car battery.

Another symptom of a dead car battery is when both car and headlights are not turned on after several attempts.

A car battery does not need to provide huge amperage to turn on the headlights on the car, so if you observe your car headlights dim, that is a common sign your car battery is dead.

With your car headlights dim, you might notice dome lights are also dim when you have a dead battery on the car.

6. Odd Smell From Battery

A Car battery can smell differently because that is what happens when a car battery dies.

Depending on the consequence of your car battery, the smell varies. Often car owners smell rotten eggs from their car battery.

Typically, a car battery does not have any smells that you can notice, but if you have a dead battery on your car, you can get an odd or bad smell from the battery.

Check your car battery immediately after getting a bad smell from the battery.

Often, if a car battery smells odd because of a battery leaking sulfuric acid that can harm other components of a car, that’s why battery replacements become compulsory.

Related: Car Keeps Dying, Battery And Alternator Are Good

7. Car Battery Swollen

A car battery is full of chemical energy, which leads to electrical energy to crank the car.

For various reasons, an automobile battery chemical can be performed wrongly, making the battery swell. Usually, overcharging a car battery causes it to swell gradually.

A swollen car battery won’t be able to hold the charge and also provide power to the car.

If you see your car battery is swollen, that is another common sign of a dead car battery.

In most cases, a swollen car battery needs to be replaced as soon as possible because a swollen car battery can explode.

8. Corrosion On Battery

Battery corrosion often means a dead battery on a car. When your car battery acid reacts with your battery metal terminals, corrosion occurs on the battery.

Car batteries gradually lose their capacity to provide and preserve a sufficient charge.

If your car battery is dead, you are going to see huge fluffy blue corrosion on your battery’s positive terminal.

Although there is a little bit of corrosion on the battery, not always a sign of a dead car battery, that’s why you must clean the battery corrosion as soon as possible.

After cleaning up corrosion from your car battery, test the car battery to look for dead battery signs.

Learn Also About: Top Dead Car Battery Tricks

How To Prevent Dead Car Battery

Every car owner wants to prevent a dead car battery in their car at any cost because it’s more hustling.

Avoiding a dead car battery in your car requires some practice on a regular basis.

Tips to prevent dead car battery:

• Increase driving time: Your car battery needs to be charged while you drive the car. But, a short drive does not allow time to charge your car battery. So, ensure you drive your car battery for at least 15 to 25 minutes.

• Keep the battery clean: An automobile battery gets dirty often. When you clean your car battery, corrosion or acid leak does not occur on your battery that is going to prevent dead car battery in your car.

• Avoid parking car for longer: Car battery loses its charge by sitting for a long time. When you park your car for a week or longer, it consistently loses charge but does not recharge.

• Car in normal temperature: For a car battery that is extremely cold or hot is not suitable because the battery’s electrolyte solution can boil, which makes your battery dead. So, keep your car in the garage. This simple tip is going to prevent your dead car battery of yours.

How To Make A Dead Car Battery Last Longer

Detecting a dead battery on a car should be easy for you after you read some most common signs of a dead car battery.

If you experience a dead battery in your car, that means sooner or later; you must replace that battery. But, following some tips, you can hold on to the dead car battery for a short period.

Now we are going to tell you how to make your dead car battery last longer. 

So, let’s find out here:

Avoid Parasitic Draw

In our auto repair garage, we see most of the car battery dies from car parasitic drain or draw.

When your car battery is going to die, and you also have a parasitic drain on the battery, that is going to make your car battery faster.

Turn off all electronic components when you leave your vehicle, which will make your dead car battery last longer.

Test Car Battery Frequently

For every car owner, testing their car battery is essential to avoid any unexpected issues with the battery.

Test your car battery often to ensure your car battery is holding sufficient charge.

Ensure Proper Battery Connection

We often ignore to ensure proper battery connection in our car, but that is not a good practice for car battery lifespan.

Your car battery cable connection should be clean and tight enough, especially when you want to make your dead car battery last longer.

Final Thoughts – Signs Of A Dead Car Battery

Dead battery on a car is always going to make the driving experience initiating and exhausting for a car driver.

Therefore, knowing some common dead car battery signs can help you to prevent a dead car battery by detecting it earlier.

In Particular, experiencing car headlights dim is the easiest way to tell if a car battery is dead.

Another most common sign of a dead car battery is a suddenly slow crank, so make sure the car starts fine every time.

We always suggest you test your car battery regularly to find other issues rather than only a dead car battery.

Check Out More About Dead Car Battery:

• How To Move A Car With A Dead Battery
• Who To Call When The Car Battery Dies
• Car Battery Dead Will It Recharge By Itself?