Gig Harbor Auto Repair

Hello Gig Harbor drivers, let's talk about batteries. Car batteries are just like any rechargeable battery. They will eventually wear out and die. If you are shopping for a new battery in Gig Harbor, here's some auto advice to help you. There are two measurements to consider when purchasing a new battery: cold cranking amps and reserve capacity. The power required to start a cold engine is measured in cold cranking amps. The number you need is determined by what kind of vehicle you drive and where you live. In general, higher-cylinder engines require more cold cranking amps than lower-cylinder engines. In other words, an eight-cylinder engine needs more cold cranking amps than a six-cylinder one. Also, diesel engines require more cold cranking amps than gasoline engines. The Gig Harbor weather also determines the number of cold cranking amps you need. The colder the car, truck, SUV en ... read more

Hello, welcome to Mackert Automotive. Today's focus is batteries. It seems like everything in Gig Harbor runs on batteries. Of course, the batteries we're most concerned with here at Mackert Automotive are those in our customer's vehicles. Just like the batteries in our smoke detectors or TV remote, car batterieswear out and need to be replaced. There are a couple of things Gig Harbor drivers should know when looking for a new battery. Look for two measurements that come into play: cold cranking amps and reserve capacity. Let's start with cold cranking amps. This can be thought of as the power output used to start a cold car, truck, SUV engine. The number of cold cranking amps you need depends on your vehicle and where you live in Washington, specifically how cold it is. (Many Washington auto owners have first-hand experience trying to start their car on a cold winter morning.) The two factors ... read more

It's important for car owners to know battery basics. First, let's talk about which is harder on a battery - hot or cold weather. Most car owners think it's cold weather because that's when we call on our batteries to have enough power to start a cold engine. However, heat does more damage to a battery than cold. Truth is, our batteries start to die a little from day one. Keeping a full charge slows the process, which is hard with short trips because the alternator doesn't have time to fully recharge the battery from starting the engine. car owners can top off the charge with a computer controlled battery charger - say, once a month in the summer and every three months during the winter. As far as how long a battery will last, statistics show that 70% have given up the ghost within four years. By that time, they aren't capable of taking a full charge like they used to, and your alternator has to work o ... read more

Here's an interesting statistic for our friends in : Only thirty percent of car batteries make it to forty-eight months. And the life expectancy varies by where you live. It ranges from fifty-one months in extremely cold areas to just thirty months in extremely hot climates. Why is that? It turns out that it's our modern cars with all their electric accessories that are to blame. Things like, GPS, DVDs, and entertainment computers are keeping car batteries from maintaining a full charge. The longer a battery goes with a low charge, the sooner it'll die. So you must recharge your battery. This is the job of the alternator. The problem comes when the car's demand for electricity is high and we are driving in stop and go conditions or short trips around or . The alternator just can't keep up. The result is shortened battery life. So what can we do to improve our battery's health? We need to keep the battery as close to a full charge as possible. That can be hard be ... read more

Today's report from Mackert Automotive is on car batteries, why they die and what we can do to lengthen their life. Most of us have had a dead battery at one time or another. In fact, it would be very unusual if you hadn't. You may be surprised to learn that only 30 percent of vehicle batteries last for 48 months. Now that's an average. How long a battery lasts depends on many factors. You may not know that one of the biggest factors is the temperature where you live and drive around . You might suppose that cold weather was harder on batteries because it takes more power to crank a cold engine, but the opposite is actually true. Batteries in very cold climates have a life expectancy of 51 months as opposed to 30 months in very warm climates. The reason is simple: batteries are chemically more active when they're hot than when they're cold. A car battery will actually start to discharge on its own within 24 hours in hot weather. It takes severa ... read more