Why Do My Car Breakdown All The Time? A study conducted by the leading providers of roadside assistance showed that the most common cause of our breakdowns in the last 5 years was as follows:
Why Do My Car Breakdown All The Time? –
#1 Weak or dead batteries
Over time, batteries become less efficient as they get older. Typically a standard battery will last 5 years. But Extreme weather such as cold and heat speed up deterioration and repeated recharging and letting your battery run down.
- Check the terminals and your battery regularly, make sure they’re free from corrosion and tightened correctly. Most auto parts dealers will stock what they call a terminal protection spray, some petroleum jelly will work too.
- They should keep the top of your battery dry and clean at all times
- If your tendency to only drive on brief trips take your car for a long journey occasionally and this will help your alternator keep the battery fully charged
- Maintaining your electrical equipment in your car and making sure it’s turned off before you start your engine will help maintain the battery for longer
- They should keep your alternator belt at the correct tension and get it checked occasionally
- One of the earliest signs of battery failure is dimming headlights is an inability to start on the first turn of the key. If this is happening, you should get your battery checked immediately.
Why Do My Car Breakdown All The Time?
#2 Faulty Alternators
Are another common cause of car breakdowns. The job of your alternator is to ensure that your battery is receiving a consistent charge unless it’s working correctly wireless you can quickly lead to your battery running down here are some of the earliest signs of your voltage regulator are your alternator failing.
- Every time you read the engine all you’re switching to accessories that need a higher energy load, your alternator is squeaking, which could be a sign that it’s spelled as sleeping
- If your orange warning light is on when your engine is idle but when you read the engine, it goes out, this could be a sign of a faulty alternator and a common cause of car breakdowns
- If the charging light regularly comes on when you’re driving, it means your system is no longer generating energy are sending enough charge for the battery
#3 Dirty Spark plugs
While not as common the cause of car breakdowns as the two issues listed above, if you have a modern car with high mileage or an older car that hasn’t been maintained, its spark plugs can become dirty or fouled and not fire correctly.
As an engine gets older, its valve stems can become worn, and its rings condition, meaning it oil leaks from the combustion chamber. This can stick to spark plugs. To avoid this most common manufacturers show you should change your spark plugs every 50,000 miles.
Signs of spark plug issues.
- On what day you find it more difficult to start the car
- When it’s idling the engine is taking over roughly but this smooth out when the engine warms up
- you can clearly hear the ancient misfiring when you’re driving uphill or speeding up
#4 Coil packs or ignition wires need replacing
They fit older model cars with a thick wire that carries high voltage electricity from your distributor cap or coil to the spark plugs.
In a modern vehicle most of these coils are directly above the spark plug but with heat and age that can become worn, resulting in strange sounds and leaking electricity that can affect your engine’s efficiency and cause car breakdowns.
- On what day you find it more difficult to start the car
- When it’s idling the engine is taking over roughly but this smooth out when the engine warms up
- you can clearly hear the ancient misfiring when you’re driving uphill or speeding up
#5 Your head gasket is leaking
Another common cause of car breakdowns is a leaking head gasket. This will involve some major rebuilding of your engine in order to fix it. But it’s not as troublesome as a cracked block or cylinder head.
Unfortunately, the only way to avoid this is to ensure your engine’s cooling system is operating correctly. Keeping the coolant level topped up and ensuring that your radiator front is free of any bugs or debris.
- Your oil looks like a frothy milkshake meaning that it’s contaminated with coolant
- Your coolant are oil levels are constantly dipping and need to be refilled
- Your engine is losing power