Have you checked your battery lately?

Today’s cars and trucks require so little maintenance that most motorists simply fill up the tank with gas and occasionally check the air pressure in the tires. Among the many components that are no longer part of a vehicle’s regular maintenance is the battery.

Granted, a modern day automotive battery is a part that rarely lets its owner down without first giving some serious warning. However, if most motorists think that winter is the only season when a battery might disappoint them, they should think again. Summer heat combined with an extended period of disuse can take the power out of any battery.

Then again, some car owners might not even know where the battery is. In some special cases, auto manufacturers have put the battery in the trunk of the car where the build up of deposit at the poles is much less likely to happen; these same poles may nevertheless require cleaning.

Sometimes, car owners replace their battery with a model that does not fit precisely into the battery holder, and because it is impossible to use the original battery cover, they discard it. That cover, how­ever, had good reason to be there: It protected the battery from being contaminated by nearby components. When changing a battery, it is always preferable to use the correct replacement.

Even today’s batteries need some form of maintenance.