Battery help & FAQs

Not necessarily. When the battery light comes on, it’s usually due to the electrical system in the car. An RAA Patrol can inspect your battery and diagnose the issue. You can request a call-out on 13 11 11 or the RAA app. Or, you can visit a Battery Service Centre. 

Modern vehicle systems aren’t designed to recharge a flat battery – they’ll only replenish the charge that was lost when the vehicle was started. This is to save on fuel and reduce exhaust emissions and wear on engines. If you use accessories like lights and phone chargers without the engine running, those accessories will use charge. A fully charged battery will go flat in 4 or 5 hours if the headlights are left on overnight.

A drained battery only has a small amount of charge in reserve and will discharge quickly. Boost starting and running the engine for short periods won’t replenish charge in the battery. There’ll always be a small percentage of vehicles in which the battery will discharge for no apparent reason.

This can be caused by: 

• The amount of power from the alternator that’s diverted to the battery 
• How long the alternator power is available 
• The size and depth of discharge of a battery 
• An electrical fault discharging the battery 
• Functions that keep running when the engine is turned off, like your clock, radio pre-sets or security alarm 
• The car being used infrequently 
• The ambient temperature 
• Keys being left in the ignition overnight, stopping the vehicle from going into sleep mode 

Keep the battery case clean and dry

Regularly clean the case with battery terminal cleaner (follow the manufacturer’s directions) and dry well. Take care while doing this, as this procedure could permanently stain concrete and other hard surfaces if they’re not protected. Over time you might notice white powdery build-up around your battery. This happens due to the corrosion of metals. You can make sure your battery terminals are cleaned regularly to remedy this.

Check the charge rate

Both under and overcharging will reduce battery life. Avoid over discharging your battery and make sure it's properly recharged as necessary. Our lithium battery monitor app can monitor your lithium battery’s status, capacity, voltage and overall health. It’ll even tell you when the battery should be replaced. The app is compatible with RAA Deep Cycle Lithium 7734, 7735, 7736 and 7738 batteries.

Take precautions

Before working on or near the battery, turn off any switches, remove ignition keys and take off any metal jewellery like rings and watches. Batteries give off explosive gases, so avoid sparks, flames and burning cigarettes. Seek advice before disconnecting batteries.

Lithium batteries are compact, lightweight, durable and reliable. They offer unparalleled power and a lower lifetime cost. Lithium batteries have up to 10 times more cycle life than lead acid and offer rapid charging, without compromising performance.

RAA lithium batteries have a smart integrated battery management system (BMS) to protect from overcharge, discharge, over-temperature and short circuit. And some of our deep cycle lithium batteries also have Bluetooth monitoring technology, for use with our lithium battery monitor app. The app will monitor your lithium battery’s status, capacity, voltage and overall health. It’ll even tell you when the battery should be replaced.