How High Temperatures Affect Your Fleet Vehicle’s Batteries

Fleet vehicles go through many extremes over the course of a year. Depending on your location and the routes your drivers take, you could be experiencing opposite ends of temperature extremes in the course of a few days. While cold weather certainly takes a toll on vehicle batteries, so does extreme heat.

You’ve probably heard by now, more than once, that cold weather can slow down your batteries making fleet vehicles slow to start during winter weather. What isn’t quite so common knowledge among the general public is how heat affects vehicle batteries and what you can do to prevent some of the worst damage.

How does Extreme Heat Impact Fleet Vehicle Batteries?

Hot weather can be equally, if not more damaging, to fleet vehicles as freezing weather can. Where wintry weather slows everything down, excessive heat does the opposite by speeding everything up. This causes battery fluid to evaporate, which can result in extensive, irreversible damage to the structure of the battery.

How Can You Extend the Life of Fleet Vehicle Batteries?

Because all costs add up when working with fleets, large or small, extending the life of your fleet vehicle batteries is an excellent plan. There are a few things you can do that will help your battery last longer – even when temperatures are topping what most people consider reasonable, like those listed below.

• Clean corrosion from battery terminals and corrections. This is a clever idea in summer and winter months and a great habit to get your drivers into. Cleaning off the corrosion helps slow the evaporation process in summer, effectively extending battery life.
• Routinely check battery life of any batteries in fleet vehicles that are older than three years. Batteries diminish in capacity over time. It’s the nature of the beast. Routine testing can help you gauge how much life is left in your batteries and when it might be time to invest in a new battery.
• Consider investing GPS fleet tracking software that offers a low vehicle battery alert as one of the options. GPS fleet tracking with maintenance alerts will notify you instantly when vehicle batteries are not operating up to the expected standards, so you can act accordingly.

You don’t want to have to rescue stranded fleet drivers, or their cargo, when temperatures are hovering well above 100 degrees F. Avoid doing so for battery issues by following the advice above and preventing extreme heat from putting your vehicles and drivers under the fire of a blistering summer afternoon.

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