DIY - Clean Your Car's Battery

Your car's battery provides the initial spark to get your car up and running. Timely cleaning of the battery not only ensures its longer life but also saves you from out of the blue battery troubles.

This post will quickly explain how to go about a battery clean up operation.

Here's all that you'll need:

• Rubber gloves and safety glasses
• A wrench to remove the battery
• Baking soda as the cleaning agent
• A brush with stiff bristles
• And water resistant grease
  

The clean up

1. Wear the safety gear, in this case the gloves and glasses. This is important because batteries have acid in them. The gloves and glasses will protect your hands and eyes just in case it spills over.

2. Remove the battery from the mount by loosening the cable clamps. At times the battery is less dirty so doesn't need to be taken out, at other times however, that's necessary. When you remove it, you can conduct the cleaning operation thoroughly.

3. Now brush the battery and clamps and remove all the dirt from the battery and the accumulated gunk at and around the clamps, terminals, battery posts, and brackets.

4. Once you're through with removing the dirt and residue, you need to make use of baking soda solution to clean up further. Make the solution by adding a half cup of baking soda to a cup and a half of water. Stir well till it dissolves. Pour it all over the battery, wait for 5-7 minuets before rinsing it with clean water.

5. Now wipe off the battery with a cloth/rag and let it dry. The cleanup operation is now almost complete.

6. Next, you need to mount the battery back in its place, make the connections and also apply waterproof grease to cover them.

That's about all. Lastly, don't forget to congratulate yourself for restoring the car's battery back to health.

It's not just through the batteries, but there are several simple yet effective ways you can keep you car in good health. See: Top 5 Tips - DIY Car Maintenance

Top 7 Disadvantages Of Electric Cars!

Soaring gas prices and environmental concerns, electric cars are becoming popular as an answer to some of the problems of the auto industry. However, do electric cars have a spotless reputation?

The following are their disadvantages of EVs voiced for some time now.

1. Charging Woes: Electric powered vehicles require charging stations, and for people to travel long distances there needs to be a network of such stations located strategically. Also recharging of batteries often takes about 3 hours, which nowhere matches efficiency of a gas refuel. And of course there's the charging equipment you need to carry along.

2. Traveling distance (Range): The cars can travel only about a 100 miles on an average, and on a single charge. The technology of Chrysler's proposed EVs is supposed to have the cars run longer, though.

3. Lack of power: In general electric cars are still behind gas powered vehicles in their ability to to accelerate and climb quickly.

4. Overloaded batteries: At the heart of electric automobiles are the car's batteries. At the same time, as all other accessories viz. radios, car air conditioners, etc. use up electric power from batteries, they'd drain quickly. And recharging them takes time!

5. They are expensive: Batteries that power these cars are a costly affair. Consider this: The promising and long-lasting lithium-ion batteries cost about US$10,000 each, which for the most part make these cars expensive. And if the batteries last only about 4 years, they could add to the maintenance costs.

6. They cause pollution: Yes, the 'clean & green' electric cars cause pollution too, albeit indirectly. While themselves being clean, there are toxic elements within batteries and which could spew toxic fumes. Further, the cars are powered by electricity, and all of which isn't generated from renewable energy sources. Which means electric power production per se entails pollution.

7. They're Heavy: Batteries are what makes these vehicles heavy. A battery pack of an average electric car can weigh up to a 1,000 pounds or 450 kg (approx.) This a disadvantage because weight puts pressure on batteries and they drain out faster.

While the prospect of electric vehicles seems promising, electric vehicles don't appear to be a panacea and have their own share of shortcomings. Hybrids don't seem to be flawless either, see: 11 Exclusive Disadvantages Of Hybrid Cars!. Consequently, a purchase decision in favor of EVs or hybrids might not be all that simple.

Chrysler To Launch Electric Autos by 2010!

Chrysler's announcement of new production-intent, advanced electric-drive technology vehicles – one for each of its brands, Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge, was quite a surprise for the auto industry.

The company will select one electric-drive model to be produced in 2010 for consumers in North American markets, and European markets after 2010. And the company expects about a hundred Chrysler electric vehicles to populate the road as a part of government, business, utility and Chrysler development fleets in 2009.

The automaker also intends to apply electric-drive technology to its front-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-drive and body-on-frame four-wheel-drive platforms in the next several years.

The Electric Vehicle Technology

The technology has three primary components: An electric motor to drive the wheels, an advanced lithium-ion battery system to power the electric-drive motor, and a controller that manages energy flow.

The Range-extended Electric Vehicle, as its known as, combines the electric-drive components of the Electric Vehicle with a small gasoline engine and integrated electric generator to produce additional energy to power the electric-drive system when needed. This set up combines the positives of an Electric Vehicle with the driving range equivalent to today’s gasoline-powered vehicles without compromises in performance.

Dodge EV

The Dodge EV development Electric Vehicle is a two-passenger rear-wheel-drive sports car that marries high performance with zero tailpipe emissions. It has a 200 kW electric-drive motor generates 650 N*m (480 lb.-ft.) of torque. Accelerates 0 to 60 mph in less than five seconds, and a top speed of over 120 mph.

Jeep EV

The Jeep EV Range-extended Electric Vehicle uses an electric motor, an advanced lithium-ion battery system, and a small gasoline engine with an integrated electric generator to produce additional energy to power the electric-drive system when needed. It has a 200 kW (268 horsepower) electric motor generates 400 N*m (295 lb.-ft.) of torque. About eight gallons of gasoline has a range of 400 miles, including 40 miles of zero fuel-consumption, zero-emissions, all-electric operation.

Chrysler EV

The Chrysler EV uses a 190 kW (255 horsepower) motor, producing 350 N*m (258 lb.-ft.) of torque, providing 0 to 60 mph acceleration in approximately nine seconds. The Chrysler EV Range-extended Electric Vehicle can drive 40 miles on all-electric power, and boasts a range of 400 miles on approximately eight gallons of gasoline.

Adapted from original press release

Nucleon - Ford's Atomic Bombshell

High gas prices, environmental concerns and the wobbly auto industry asking for loans to build batteries, is the solution anywhere in sight? But Ford's engineers had an insight about 50 years ago in the form of the Nucleon concept, a car to be driven by nuclear power.

The concept car designed by Ford in 1958 was very different. Instead of an internal-combustion automobile engine, a tiny nuclear reactor was to be installed towards the rear of the vehicle. Further, a power capsule was to be placed between twin booms at the rear containing radioactive core for power. And when it ran out of fuel it could simply be replaced to recharge the car. On an average the car could travel 8000 km (5,000 miles) or even more depending on the size of the core.

The car would be steam driven, with one turbine to power the motion and the other to drive an electrical generator. The used up steam would be cooled and recirculated into the system. And the powertrain and transmission would be integral to the power module, while the electronic torque converters would be installed in the place of the drive-train in use at the time.

Such a nuclear powered car could outlast any conventional battery. And being run on steam, there won't be problems of emission too. No noise pollution or anything. A great automobile for a concept for sure. However, it never became a reality because the nuclear reactors of those times were a great deal bulkier to be fitted into a car.