Battery woes are common in winter, but what the people in the battery business know is that summer weakens a battery. Heat is what really damages your battery, with the increased demand of cold-weather cranking finishing the job. What can you do about it?
Here are six helpful battery tips from Kenworth:
1. Check for and remove corrosion on the terminals. Ensure that all cable connections are tight, including interconnecting battery cables, battery and mag switch cables to the starter, alternator cables, and beyond.
Inspect the drive belt on your alternator — is it tight and in good condition?
Repeat these checks frequently in bad weather — the chemicals used to de-ice roads can be highly corrosive.
2. Load-testing and more. These checks require equipment and experience. Mechanically-inclined owner/-operators or fleet service technicians may be able to do them; your Kenworth PremierCare Parts & Service dealer can certainly run them.
3. Check your batteries with a load tester.
Test the cranking, solenoid control and charging circuits for excessive voltage drop.
4. Drawing on the battery cab for comfort devices?
The advice here is to buy an inverter specifically designed for your truck – your best source to guarantee this is the dealership, not a truck stop, where they may be selling RV or marine inverters. Kenworth PremierCare dealers offer a line of Delco Remy inverters for sleeper/truck applications with low voltage protection to ensure that trucks will start when drivers are ready to go again.
5. Need a battery, check ratings. The cold cranking amps (CCA) number is how much power a battery can deliver at 0 degrees F (-18 degrees C). The number can range from the 500s to over 900 and is measured in amperes.
The cranking amps (CA) number is the power delivered at 32 degrees F, or 0 degrees C. A battery’s ability to supply power is halved by every 10 degree drop in the temperature.
Reserve capacity (RC) is the third reference number, and while it may not be on the battery, it’s important — especially for fleet drivers who run stereos, VCRs, refrigerators and other accessories. The RC is the number of minutes that a fully charged battery at 80 degrees F can be continually discharged at a 25 ampere load (a substantial load) and still maintain a voltage of 10.5.
6. Battery maintenance savvy. Fleets should use TMC Recommended Practice procedure RP129 for maximum allowable voltage drop when testing charge/start circuits. Your dealer can help you get these guides.
Preventive maintenance is not an indulgence, it’s a great way to keep trucks in excellent running condition year-round.