New Orleans Auto Repair

Yes, the heat can absolutely affect your car’s battery! Just like you and I get cranky and sluggish when New Orleans feels like the surface of the sun, so does your battery! The chemical reaction inside of your battery is stressed in extreme hot and cold conditions.     Batteries are most often placed under your hood in the hot engine bay and they are exposed to engine operating temperatures. During the summer they are also baking under the hood of the vehicle even when not in use. All batteries are stressed in the heat, a battery that is marginal can be stressed to the point of failure.  Consider trying to parking in the shade or in a carport / garage. It can help protect your vehicle from the heat of direct sunlight. The mechanic's at Tim's will check the capacity and cold-cranking amps of your battery at every visit. We can determine if a battery is weak before it fails. All batteries installed at Tim's come with a 3-year full replacement wa ... read more

    The two main factors of battery life are frequency of use and conditions the battery is used in.  Batteries in vehicles that sit for weeks at a time and are infrequently used will often have a shortened life. Batteries used in extreme hot or cold temperatures will typically have a shortened life. We see many batteries fail when the seasons change and we have temperature swings from hot to cold and from cold to hot.      Tim’s feels that there are 3 reasons you should replace your battery before it dies: 1) Safety and Reliability.  Replacing a battery before your vehicle lets you down and does not start, can be safer than waiting for the battery to totally fail. 2) It is better for the vehicle.  Your car depends on the battery to power up the electrical systems and to have the power to start your engine. A low amperage or poorly performing ba ... read more

Does your car battery keep draining? A drained battery, especially if it happens more than once, is often a sign of a problem. A jump start may get you driving for that day, but more often than not there is something that needs attention.  A vehicle with a battery that is frequently drained is likely:  1) A failed battery  2) Having a problem in the starting and charging system 3) Experiencing a parasitic draw Failed Battery The easiest and most likely cause of your battery draining is that your battery’s internal chemical reaction is getting weaker. A result of the weak reaction is it can not store the energy needed to start your vehicle after it is sitting unused for a few hours.  An un intrusive battery load test is the best way to determine the strength of your battery. We can measure the strength of your battery and compare it to what the battery should have.  Starting and Charging System Problem A ... read more

Have you noticed your vehicle needs to be jump started after sitting overnight? The chemical reaction inside of your battery that makes it able to hold a charge can weaken over time, causing it to not be able to start your vehicle. Extreme cold and hot can also cause an internal failure in your battery. Battery failures may not be caused solely by the battery. A faulty starter, alternator or a parasitic draw can be some other causes of a failed battery. All batteries should be tested before being replaced. We also highly recommend a full starting and charging system check to ensure that another lingering problem is not present. Batteries are wear items, the national average life for 12 volt car batteries is 30 months. All batteries at Tim’s come with a 36 month full replacement warranty with unlimited mileage. Let the mechanics at Tim’s help check your battery, starting and charging system and get your vehicle back to being reliable

Many newer vehicles have smart charging systems. The vehicle takes into account the age and degradation of the battery and alters the charging system accordingly. In order to properly install a new battery in many later model vehicles a factory level scan tool is needed. After installation a technician needs to register the battery to the vehicle. We need to “tell the car” it has a new battery. Not registering a battery to a vehicle will cause the vehicle to charge and maintain the new battery in the same way it was charging the degraded old battery. Many times this causes the new battery to gas and overheat from being overcharged. The abuse of the charging system will significantly shorten the life of a battery. Following manufacturers’ procedures while servicing and repairing vehicles is very important … even when it comes to replacing batteries. Not all vehicles require battery registering. At Tim’s we not only check every battery on every vehicle tha ... read more