Why your car battery drains in Cartagena's heat

Heat, not cold, is the enemy

The common belief is that batteries die in winter. In reality the damage is done in the heat and shows up in the cold. A lead-acid battery is a chemical reaction, and chemical reactions speed up with temperature: in the heat, the battery self-discharges faster, the electrolyte evaporates, and the plates corrode sooner. In Cartagena there's no winter to hide it: the heat is constant and the battery ages all year round.

That's why two identical cars, one in Bogotá and one in Cartagena, don't replace their battery at the same rate. The one on the coast does it sooner.

What happens inside

Three things at once. First, the electrolyte loses water through evaporation, and the plates left exposed stop working. Second, positive grid corrosion speeds up with temperature, and the battery loses capacity even when it's "charged." Third, on the outside, the battery terminals sulfate: the humidity and the salt in the air, as we explain in the salt-air guide, form that white or greenish crust that gets in the way of the current.

Add the hot engine right next to it, long idling in traffic with the A/C and the lights on, and an alternator that sometimes can't replenish the charge on short trips.

How to spot it before you're stranded

It almost never dies overnight. It gives warning: the start gets sluggish, as if the engine were heavy; the lights dim when you start it; the dashboard flickers or the radio resets; crust shows up on the battery terminals; or the battery case looks swollen. If the car sat parked for a week and won't start, the heat did its part.

If it happens once and you fix it with a jump start, it's not fixed. A battery that has been deeply discharged once is weaker than before.

Another clue is age. The label has the manufacturing date; if you don't remember it and the car has been with you for years with the same battery, in Cartagena it's already in the risk zone. In a car that sits parked for several weeks (a second car, or one belonging to someone who travels), the heat drains it on its own without anyone using it: it's worth starting it and driving it around now and then.

What to check and how often

What can be done without a lift: clean and tighten the battery terminals, check that the battery is properly secured (a battery that vibrates fails sooner), look at the manufacturing date on the label, and measure the voltage at rest and while cranking. This is part of our mobile preventive maintenance and we do it on the same visit as the oil change.

When to replace it: when the reading says it no longer holds a charge, when the symptoms above keep coming back, or when the case is deformed. Don't wait for the day it won't start: it's almost always a Monday at 7 in the morning.

Replacement at your location

We bring the battery with the right spec to wherever the car is, in Marbella, Bocagrande, Manga, or Zona Norte, install it, check the alternator's charging, and take the old one away, which goes to an authorized recycler. Message us with the car's make and model and we'll confirm the part and price before we head out.