Summer battery failures explained and why now’s time to offer battery checks to all customers

High temperatures lead to battery discharge but it only becomes a problem in winter when more energy is needed

Summer battery failures explained and why now’s time to offer battery checks to all customers

It is an experience that most drivers have had: They get into their car, turn the key and nothing happens thanks to a flat battery.

But contrary to popular belief, it is not the cold that stopped the battery from working, it was the hot summer temperatures over the previous years according to VARTA.

A VARTA spokesperson said: “An outside temperature of +20 °C is optimal for a car battery.

“But in the summer, the temperature frequently climbs to above +30 °C.

“High temperatures lead to self-discharge of the battery, which causes the battery to age faster.

“This process goes unnoticed in summer and autumn, but when the engine needs more energy to start in winter, difficulties often occur.

“As a rule of thumb, the chemical reactivity doubles for every 10 °C of temperature increase.

“This causes an exponential rise in chemical reactivity and therefore more damaging factors such as grid corrosion.”

Just like rust in body panels, grid corrosion also leads to decomposition of the lead alloy inside the battery.

As the grid facilitates current conduction within the electrode and forms the mechanical skeleton for the active mass, these two tasks of the grid are performed increasingly poorly which is why high temperatures in summer accelerate ageing and damage the battery.

The spokesperson said: “If temperatures drop below 20 °C, the chemistry inside the battery slows down.

“Taking 20 °C as optimum, the chemical reaction at 10 °C drops to 50 per cent and at freezing point it is as low as 25 per cent.

“This means that the performance of the battery can be perfect in the summer at 20 °C, while in the winter nothing happens at 0 °C and the battery needs to be replaced.”

VARTA is encouraging garages to check the battery of every vehicle that enter workshops.

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