Bosch is urging garages to offer winter battery checks as a great way to reduce the risk of customer vehicle breakdowns and increase their battery business.  

According to statistics from breakdown service provider Auto Club Europe, problems with the battery have once again proved to be the most common cause of car breakdowns. The extensive equipment of modern vehicles with many electrical consumers, has enormously increased the drain on modern batteries. The consumption of air conditioning, seat heating, rear window heating, start / stop system, driver assistance systems, plus servo assistance of steering and brakes is nowadays far above what the alternator can deliver. In this situation the car battery compensates for the lack of energy. In addition, the battery is by repeatedly charging and discharging, for example on short distances, and can be stressed through these persistent cycles.

Bosch says workshops should therefore check the battery during every workshop visit. If necessary, the battery can then quickly be charged or replaced.

This is especially important coming in to winter. In cold and humid conditions batteries come under more pressure. Not only does lower temperatures reduce their capacity, winter also means increasing power consumption with, rear window and seat heating, lighting system and fan often running simultaneously and at the highest level.

Bosch says when choosing a new battery it is important to consider its performance and service life. With the S3, S4, S5, S4 E and S5 A the Bosch battery programme for workshops contains a wide range of high quality batteries including EFB and AGM units. In addition, using the universal battery charger BAT 645, the workshops can reliably charge and test all types of lead-acid battery.