September 2021

A s the UK prepared for all COVID-19 restrictions to ease during the summer, the battery experts at VARTA were highlighting that it is vital that garages test the battery of every car coming into the workshop. Many car owners will not have used their vehicle as regularly or even at all during the recent lockdown periods, as many office workers continued to work from home and families shopped local. In addition where some households might have two or more cars, the likelihood is they will have just been using one of these to do essential journeys or the school run, leaving the other cars standing unused. This is set to change as the UK workforce begins to get back-to-normal, starts to do the commute to workplace more regularly and with all shops opening and leisure activities open again for use in recreational time. Those cars that have been barely used in the last 14 months will start getting back on the road. As well as there is a predicted boom in UK based summer holidays, as many of the usual holiday locations abroad are not on the government’s green list or amber list for the double-jabbed, therefore many people will take vacations within the country. Trips to the coast or to visit family in other locations within the UK were expected to be popular during the summer months, and thus many of these cars that have been sat unused for much of 2020 and early 2021, would now be relied upon as the main mode of transport during the holiday season. Challenging time However, are Britain’s cars and in particular the battery that powers them ready for the daily commute or longer holiday trips? With roadside assistance callouts recently reporting record numbers of callouts due to battery-related breakdowns, the figures suggest not. One leading roadside assistance company has said 55% of all home callouts in the last year have been due to battery problems. The lack of car usage coupled with a cold winter and spring has double down on the issue. April was the frostiest for 60 years according to the MET Office, with 13 days of frosts across the UK and 3.5°C lower than the average April. The cold weather results in the battery having to work harder to start the engine, and with batteries already in a weak state, it has been a challenging time for battery performance. Andy Cook, Technical Representative at VARTA, explained: “Lots of cars have been stood still for much of the year, therefore the alternator has not had chance to re- charge the battery. This along with the cold start to 2021, 26 AFTERMARKET SEPTEMBER 2021 TOP TECHNICIAN AND TOP GARAGE www.aftermarketonline.net VARTA: TEST EVERY BATTERY VARTA are urging all UK garages to test the battery on every car that comes through the door with lockdown eased has led to many batteries failing and leaving people stranded, or unable to even begin their journey.” Attention VARTA are therefore advising that technicians should use a battery tester to determine if the battery is in a good state of health, or needs attention. With over a third of vehicles now having a Stop/Start system, it’s vital that a workshop has an up-to-date tester, that can also accurately test Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) and Enhanced Flooded Batteries (EFB). If it’s an older tester that doesn’t have the capabilities to test AGM or EFB batteries, then it’s worth upgrading the tester, otherwise the test results will likely be inaccurate. Andy continued: “It shouldn’t take long to complete a