Imagine being stranded with a dead car battery on a roadside. Worse, you are alone. Phone signals might be weak in the area, thus making it not possible to get help from family and friends. What will you do in such a situation? We say, in such a situation, having basic knowledge about cars would be helpful!
Examples are such as knowing how to jump-start a car, checking the engine oil, tyre replacement, and such. Then you could have handled the situation yourself.
In this article, we will share basic car maintenance that you can use in case of emergencies, especially for women!
Basic knowledge about cars that ladies must know
Tyre
Tyres are among the crucial car components that require the utmost maintenance.
Lack of maintenance can put your safe and other road users on the road in jeopardy. Therefore, you must perform a regular check on the tyre from time to time.
Please ensure the tyre pressure is in accordance with regulated specifications set by the factory. An overinflated or under-inflated pressure tyre can either lead to explosions or cracks. Other than that, the surface of the tyre will also wear out.
Perform a tyre check-up once a week. Measure the level of wear on your tyres from the mark in the centre of the tire tread. Make sure the tyre tread is no less than the mark.
If it exceeds the mark, that means the tyre is no longer safe to use. You will need to change the tyre immediately.
Battery
To your knowledge, there are two types of batteries. There are dry batteries and wet batteries. You can tell the differences by the surface of the batteries. If it is a wet battery, it has a lid to fill with distilled water, and the dry cell is the opposite.
It usually can last from 18 months up to 2 years. However, it depends on the frequency of use. It may wear out earlier than the estimated date.
So ladies, if you have a problem turning off your engine, it may be due to the battery.
Engine oil
Engine oil ensures to keep your car is smooth and trouble-free.
For your information, you need to change the engine oil according to the period of use or the total distance traveled by car.
- Semi-synthetic engine oil can last up to 5,000km, equivalent to 3 months.
- Full synthetic-type engine oil can last up to 10,000km, equivalent to 6 months.
Don’t leave the engine oil in the car engine beyond the specified limit – it can cause sludge that will thicken on the inside of the engine. This problem can further cause engine problems later.
You can use a dipstick to measure the oil viscosity. You are also recommended to change the oil filter peruse.
Air filter
Make sure to change the air filter every 20,000km to allow the filtration of the intake of outside air into the injection.
Learn how to ‘jump start’ car batteries
Oh? Your car engine may not be able to turn on.
In such a situation above, you may need to jump-start the engine. Make sure you keep a cable jumper in the trunk for emergencies.
The followings are the steps to jump-start a car:
1. Make sure both cars’ engines are turned off
2. Park both cars near each other so that the car batteries are within easy reach
3. Use the red jump lead to connect the working battery’s positive (+) terminal to the flat battery’s positive (+) terminal
4. Take the black jump lead and attach it to the working battery’s negative (-) terminal
5. Turn on both cars’ engines
6. Keep both engines on and wait for 5-10 minutes
7. Take off the jumper cable
8. Test drive the car for about 30 minutes to recharge the battery
Arm yourself with basic knowledge about cars
We hope you find this article helpful, especially the ladies! Such basic knowledge may be able to reduce the risk of damage.
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