Recreational vehicles, such as ATVs are fun to own. However, the maintenance of such vehicles can be expensive and stressful. Especially during cold weather, atv batteries start losing their durability. The cold weather accompanied by idle vehicles often results in a dead battery. Men know how expensive new batteries can be.
Here we present you with some useful tips to help make you maintain your ATV batteries and increase their life.
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Storage Tips
The first rule to prevent battery damage is to disconnect it from the vehicle when you plan to store your ATV for a long time. During long winters and snowy blizzards, when you plan to keep your vehicle indoors, make sure that you disconnect the battery.
When the battery remains attached to the vehicle, it may lose its durability and life with time. An unused vehicle almost always results in a dead battery.
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Provide Maintenance Charge Regularly
Providing maintenance charge to your battery, especially when it is put in storage for a long time is very important. Make sure you charge an unused battery at least after every three months. Invest in an automatic battery charger to save yourself from discomfort. Automatic chargers will know when to stop providing power, protecting the battery from being overcharged.
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Keep Battery Clean
Keeping your battery clean is very important. Any accumulation of dust and dirt will result in decreased efficiency. Make sure the wires do not corrode with time. Corroded plugs will cause damage to your vehicle as well. Corroded terminals can reduce the charge distribution between the vehicle and the battery. Therefore, make sure that you keep your battery clean and dry.
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Keep It Hot
Cold batteries fail to start and may cost you money and time. When storing your ATV battery for a long winter season, make sure that you keep it in a place that is dry and has a high temperature. Not everyone can afford a heated garage. Therefore, try other methods to heat your battery before starting the vehicle. A cold battery has a low charge therefore it can reduce the efficiency of the engine as well.
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Keep It Active
When you are planning to store your ATV for a long time, make sure that you run your battery after a few weeks. The best way is to keep your battery running for 15 to 20 minutes after every two weeks. This will make sure that your battery remains in working condition.
An entirely abandoned battery has more chances of losing efficiency than the one that has been in use for a few minutes every other week.
Conclusion
ATV batteries are expensive. Therefore, you must take care of your batteries to increase their life. Keeping batteries at a higher temperature will make sure that engines run smoothly. Prevent batteries from corrosion, getting dirty, and staying discharged or unattended for a long time. Invest in automatic chargers to make your work easy.
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