Understanding Your Auto Electrics

Your car's electrical system sources its power from your car battery and powers your headlights, hazard lights, rear lights, indoor lights, dashboard lights, stereo and navigation system, alarm system, cameras, etc.

Your battery also helps in the process of starting your car, and that is why your car can't start when the battery is drained. Once your car starts and is running, your car's electrical system stops getting its power from the car battery and starts sourcing power from the engine.

Once your engine is off, the electrical components are powered by the battery again. You might have heard a mechanic, car electric specialist, a friend or relative inform you that you should not let your car stay parked for long (weeks) without starting your engine and driving about. The main reason for this is to prevent the electrical components from draining your battery.

As your engine runs, it recharges your battery and makes sure it does not drain. The battery can also get quickly drained when you play your LCD screen stereo for long periods with your engine not running. You might find yourself looking for someone to help jumpstart your car.

Maintenance

Your auto electrics should be maintained or rather inspected when you go to the mechanic for oil and filter changes. You should also visit an auto electric specialist if you find that one of your vehicle lights is dim, is blinking rapidly or does not turn on. You might need to replace a bulb.

Factory reset

Sometimes, your car's electrical system might behave abnormally—for example, your hazard lights might turn on randomly or the internal and dashboard lights might flicker or turn on and off randomly. If this is the case, there could be a problem with the electrical system, and it needs to be turned off completely, discharged and then turned on (a kind of factory reset, just like you would restart your phone).

This process involves you accessing your car's battery and unscrewing the terminals (both positive and negative). Since the terminal cables have a lengthy wire, pull them away from the battery separately and attach them using a cable (this removes any residual power from the auto electrical system).

It is important to note that, when doing this, you should not have connected any cable to your battery. This is why this activity should be done by an experienced auto electric specialist or mechanic.

Most of the time, this process restores your electrical system to its normal behaviour. If it does not, the auto electric specialist can check for other causes.

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