Aftermarket October 2022

B ob Wiffen, Workshop Solutions Director at LKQ Euro Car Parts observed: “When you think of a car that won’t start, a frosty winter’s morning often springs to mind. Over the winter months, drivers tend to use more energy- consuming features such as lights, heaters and windscreen wipers, which are known to drain car batteries. A lot of the issues that manifest themselves during the winter can actually be traced back to warmer summer climes. “Hot temperatures can damage a battery’s cells, while causing the chemical reaction that takes place inside the battery to accelerate, leaving it at greater risk of running flat. The UK has experienced record temperatures this summer, so technicians should prepare for an uptick in battery failures in the autumn and winter months. “The key thing for garages to be aware of is that a flat battery warning could actually be a consequence of an electrical fault, and the same is true in reverse. Get it wrong, and you could risk sending customers away with a battery that’s still susceptible to running flat, or likely to experience repeat faults within just a few weeks.” Bob added: “Our advice is to test batteries as standard whenever any vehicle is brought in for servicing and repair. Doing so typically takes less than a minute, and can help technicians ensure they are providing the most accurate diagnosis, as well as driving additional revenue.” Henry Bisson, marketing director at Ring, said: “Technicians should pre-empt winter battery failure following hot summers by utilising new battery analysis tech to stay on top of vehicle maintenance. The chemistry within a vehicle battery is far more active in hotter weather, which speeds up the aging process. Chemical 42 AFTERMARKET OCTOBER 2022 BATTERIES AND CHARGERS www.aftermarketonline.net JUMP- START After a long hot summer, many car batteries will be on their way out, which could give your business a jump-start as winter beckons reactions within the battery can double for every extra 10° of heat, so when winter comes around and more power is required to start the vehicle, there’s nothing left in the battery to deliver as the cells have dried out – leading to untimely failure. Ring has developed a range of battery chargers and analysers helping technicians stay on top of battery maintenance and diagnose faults. “Ring’s SmartCharge RSCP5024 and RSCP60T products deliver 50 and 60A continuous charging respectively, to deal with the demand of 12V and 24V battery recharging during diagnostic or data upload work. Also available in the graphical battery analyser range is Ring’s RBAG750, which can provide a complete health check of the battery and electrical systems of a 12V and 24V vehicle. RBAG750 will detect battery charging problems by checking that alternator voltages fall within normal operating ranges, and checks for potential starting problems by measuring battery voltage drop during engine cranking.” Like-for-like VARTA are reminding garages that like-for-like battery replacement is vital, as VARTA Technical Trainer Andy Cook noted: “As the colder, winter months draw nearer and the cost-of-living crisis in the UK continues due to soaring energy costs and rising inflation, VARTA advise workshops not to cut corners when it comes to battery replacements. There is a temptation for some technicians to take the easy route and install a cheaper, standard flooded battery in their customer’s Stop/Start vehicles. It seems like an easier message to deliver to the driver, but it’s absolutely not the right approach. It will end up costing them more in the long-run. It is vital, that if a vehicle has Stop/Start functionality, either an Enhanced Flooded Battery (EFB) or Ring’s SmartCharge RSCP5024