With cold months coming, cars often suffer, the most common case is to have troubles starting your Dodge Caliber early in the day with very low temperatures. Generally this is associated with problems recharging the battery of your Dodge Caliber . There are some causes that can show you why your battery does not recharge effectively anymore, and today we will try to help you to fix this issue that can prevent you from using your motor vehicle. To achieve this, first we will show you how recharging your car battery works, then the different problems of recharging a Dodge Caliber, and finally how to recharge an empty car battery.
How does recharging the battery of a Dodge Caliber work?
Before we summarize the different complications of recharging the battery on a Dodge Caliber , we will show you to you how its recharging system works so that you can understand the complications you are struggling with. A motor vehicle battery works like a phone battery, it will store energy to start your Dodge Caliber , turn on your headlights, listen to music, lower your power windows… However all these actions will consume energy and it may deplete the energy reserve that your battery can store. To handle this issue, the engineers have produced a component called the alternator , this component will use the energy generated by the engine unit of your Dodge Caliber to generate energy thanks to a copper coil and a magnet. This energy will recharge the battery of your motor vehicle . However, bear in mind that this process can only work when your car is running, using electrical components of your motor vehicle when it is stopped will drain the energy reserve of your motor vehicle. It is considered that a battery of a xxx has a life span of 3 to 5 years.
Problems recharging a Dodge Caliber’s battery
We will now describe the different battery charging complications on a Dodge Caliber you might be victim of. If your battery is not recharging because there is necessarily a issue in your electrical set up, we will now see the different cases.
Battery charging problem on Dodge Caliber: My battery is discharging even if I am recharging it with a specific charger
In this first case, it is quite possible that your alternator is dead , in fact, if you control to recharge your battery with a charger and your Dodge Caliber to start, the problem certainly comes from your alternator which should not be able to generate any more current.
Battery charging issue on Dodge Caliber: My motor vehicle shuts off and does not start even if I have charged the battery
If you have recharged your battery and you have been able to start your Dodge Caliber but it switches off while you are driving and then does not start, the trouble with recharging the battery of your Dodge Caliber is that your battery no longer holds the charge .
Battery charging issue on Dodge Caliber: My battery is discharged although it is new
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If you’ve just bought a battery and it discharges while you’re driving, the issue most probably comes from your alternator. It cannot result from your battery, which is new and therefore holds the charge. The second opportunity is that you have a ground somewhere in your electrical system.
How to fix the issue of battery charging on Dodge Caliber?
We will now give you the solutions according to the issue you are struggling with. Here are the different complications and their solutions:
- Defective alternator: You can try with simple mechanics to verify it with a pressure gauge to find out if it’s producing power. If it doesn’t, changing it is the best solution, depending on your motor you will pay a few hundred euros. This fix is feasible in the event your alternator is accessible.
- Battery that no longer holds the charge: In such a case, the purchase of a new battery is the only realistic solution. Obviously, if you have already recharged it but it is still empty because it is good to be replaced, count between 60 and 100 euros depending on your engine.
- Ground in the electrical circuit: If you cannot start your Dodge Caliber but your alternator and battery are in good condition, it is possible that you have a ground on your wiring harness and that you lose energy, a verify by a motor vehicle electrician is in such a case necessary.
How to recharge an empty battery of a Dodge Caliber
At last, to recharge the empty battery of a Dodge Caliber there are only few solutions, using a battery charger is the most efficient solution, you can discover some for 50 to 100 euros at vendors like Oscaro. In any other case you can use cables that will only provide the energy needed to start.
If you wish more guides on the Dodge Caliber, go to our Dodge Caliber category.
