Maintaining Your Electric Vehicle Battery: Essential Tips for Longevity

Ensure your electric vehicle’s battery stays in top condition with these essential maintenance tips. From keeping the battery clean and dry to monitoring the electrolyte level and knowing when to replace it, follow these guidelines to maximize your EV battery’s lifespan and avoid unexpected issues on the road.

1. The battery’s surface, connecting wires, and bolts should be kept clean and dry. If there is electrolyte, it should be wiped off with cotton and then rinsed with clean water and dried (note: during the cleaning process, it is strictly forbidden for tap water to enter the battery) to avoid leakage and increased self-discharge, which may lead to random vehicle malfunctions.
2. Battery connections must be kept in good condition. Regularly check if the nuts securing the battery cables are loose to prevent sparking or damage to the terminals.
3. Do not place metal conductive items on the battery cover to avoid short circuits and battery damage.
4. After discharging the battery (regardless of the vehicle’s driving time and distance), it must be charged on the same day. Charging the battery on the next day or exceeding 24 hours is not allowed, as it will affect the battery’s lifespan.
5. During use, the battery’s electrolyte may experience an increase in density and a decrease in liquid level due to the electrolysis and evaporation of water in the electrolyte (especially in summer). Therefore, it should be checked regularly, and distilled water should be added (water shortage will significantly affect the battery’s lifespan). The liquid level of the battery’s electrolyte should be at the “max” line. Note: Adding water should be done at the end of charging, and charging should continue for 0.5-1 hour after adding water to ensure uniformity.
6. No impurities are allowed to fall into the battery. The tools used for adding water should be kept clean to prevent impurities from entering the battery.
7. While driving, the driver should constantly observe the battery indicator on the instrument panel (when the voltmeter pointer on the dashboard drops to 40V, the vehicle must be stopped and charged promptly) and estimate the driving range of the electric vehicle to avoid the vehicle not being able to return for charging in a timely manner, causing excessive battery discharge and shortening its lifespan.
8. If the vehicle is not used for a long time, the battery should be fully charged and stored. Every 15 days, it should be balanced charged once. After fully charging, tightly close the liquid filling cap (check if the vent hole is blocked, and if so, clear it).
9. The service life of lead-acid batteries is 1-1.5 years. At that time, the battery’s capacity will drop sharply. At this point, new batteries must be replaced, and the replacement batteries should be of the same brand, capacity, and similar condition (the difference in the highest voltage after full charge should not exceed 0.1V) as a battery group.