It’s natural to think of the car engine as the center of life in a vehicle. After all, the engine provides the energy needed to keep your car running over its entire lifespan.

But there are many parts surrounding the engine that help keep it alive. One of those is the battery. Without a well functioning battery, you risk putting additional strain on the major systems in your car.

Take a look at these 5 weak car battery symptoms to make sure your car is getting the power it needs to thrive.

1. Age

Car batteries don’t always give you loud, clear warning signs to let you know its time for a replacement. Most batteries die slowly in the absence of a major malfunction.

This means your car is slowly degrading in performance without you even realizing it. It’s important to track the age of your battery to stay on top of replacement.

Not seeing a problem could actually be your biggest barrier to taking action when you really need it. Instead of relying only on your car to tell you when it needs help, schedule a battery replacement automatically once your unit reaches a certain age. 

Most car batteries only last a few years. Go ahead and swap yours out if you’ve gone beyond 24 months.

2. Headlights Dim

One of the subtle changes you’ll notice when your battery is nearing the end of its life cycle is dim headlights. This is a very subtle change for many car owners because their headlights might not be overpowering to start with.

But if you’re viewing your car from the front and notice the brightness seems off, it’s a sign your battery is slowly beginning to fade. Test out your lights in a dark place to be sure you aren’t experiencing light pollution.

In bright places, the light from the environment can make your headlights appear dimmer than they really are. Checking your lights in a garage or dark parking area both have the advantage of your headlights being the only source of light around.

3. Strange Sounds

Weak car battery symptoms also include clicking noises. This sound comes from the ignition when you attempt to turn over the key to start your vehicle.

Clicking noises come from the battery as it tries to send power to the starter. The failure or strain on the battery results in a clicking noise.

If you’ve ever had a battery die in your car, you may have noticed this sound during the final moments of the battery’s life. Make sure you test your battery before replacing it.

Sometimes the clicking sound is a result of other issues and a simple recharge gets your battery back to full power without a problem. If your battery is not the culprit, it’ll continue to stall even after it reached a full charge. 

Most experts recommend driving the car for at least 30 minutes to allow the battery to recharge once you’ve gotten a jump start. This should correct the problem temporarily while you await a replacement.

4. Backfire

One of the weak car battery symptoms you can’t miss is backfiring. Backfiring happens when you notice intermittent sparks when driving your car.

These sparks come from the failing battery and fuel that gets built up in the cylinders. As the two collide, the car violently backfires creating scary sounds while you’re on the road. 

Because fuel is being ignited while you drive, it’s important to pull over and get the situation resolved right away. Backfiring doesn’t just happen when the battery fails.

There can be much larger problems with your car’s engine in play. Either way, it’s best not to drive the car until you have a solve in place to safely repair the car for the long term. 

Consider deep cycle car battery before moving on with a replacement.

5. Battery Light

It’s very common to see a battery light come on when starting your car. This has nothing to do with the strength of your battery or it’s overall lifespan.

The thing to look out for is a battery light while the car is in motion. Battery lights should go off once you’ve successfully cranked up your vehicle.

If the light remains on, it’s one of the weak car battery symptoms you can’t ignore. Your car’s battery gets the car going, but the alternator keeps the power flowing throughout your systems. 

A bad alternator renders the battery obsolete if it malfunctions. For this reason, it’s important to also know how to diagnose a bad alternator.

If you keep recharging a new battery just to have trouble starting your car again day after day, it’s probably time to look at getting your alternator replaced. The bad news is that you might have to replace even a new battery once the alternator goes out.

Alternators are notorious for putting added strain on a car battery. It’s much easier to simply replace the battery than guess how much life it has left in it. 

Finding Weak Car Battery Symptoms

Weak car battery symptoms are easy to spot in most cars. It’s your car battery’s job to get your car going each day.

Any stalls with this process is a clear sign of your battery’s strength. Once the car is started, your alternator should do it’s part to keep power flowing.

Get both units checked when you notice problems to determine where the problem lies. Replacing one, but not the other could still leave you with major malfunctions in the vehicle. For more information and tips, visit our blog for updates.