A car’s battery, like all batteries, stores electrically-charged energy in the form of chemicals. Car batteries use lead-acid technology and are designed to last for many years - but they’re not like mobile phone batteries and don’t like to be repeatedly drained and charged. So if you run it down by leaving the lights on or have a ‘mystery drain’ somewhere else in the car, it’s likely that your battery won’t be in the best of health.

It’ll be obvious when your battery is flat; the central locking may not work and the engine won’t turn over. However, it’s not always easy to know when the battery needs to be replaced. Once the car has been started (via jump leads/jumper cables, bump started or battery trickle-charged), take the car for at least a 20-minute drive to charge the battery. Turn off the engine and restart it the next morning. If it’s flat again, head directly for United Tyres on Walkinstown Avenue - we’ll test your battery with stress-test technology, which combined with our professional help and advice, will quickly get you back on your way.