Do you find that your battery doesn’t seem to work the way it used to? Has your battery died on you in the past couple weeks? Albany has been cold as anything, but just because it’s freezing doesn’t mean your battery shouldn’t work. Here are some reasons your battery might be wimping out on you.

You could be leaving lights on, either your headlights or your interior lights (like your dome light or map lights). It’s either forgetfulness or you have a problem. Make sure you check all your lights when you get out of the car – even your trunk light – and make sure they are all turned off or that they have turned off by themselves. If not, you could have an issue with those switches.

Your battery could just be old. If you can’t remember the last time you replaced your battery, it’s probably time for a new one. When your battery is too old, it won’t hold a charge anymore the way it’s supposed to and it’ll die on you.

Your battery connections could be loose or corroded, which means that the charging system in your vehicle is prevented from keeping your battery charged while you are driving. Take a minute to check your connections and make sure they are clean and tight.

The cold is a factor in that temperature fluctuations can cause older batteries to die. This means, though, that you should get a new battery anyway.

Your charging system itself could be at fault if your battery dies while you are actively driving. This means it could be anything from your wiring to belts in the engine, so after you get your car jumped bring it directly to us.