Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Seven o two the Car Feature.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Fann for the Car Feature on seven oh two afternoons
at nineteen minutes to three o'clock. And as we continue,
keep sending in your messages.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
We'll read them before the end of the show.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Or you're in a better place than where you were
this time a year ago, share with us, no matter
how small the progress feels, even if you're still you
feel like you're in the same place. Maybe psychologically you're
in a better place. Oh seven to seven oh two
one seven oh two for that continued conversation. But joining
us in studio for our car feature Curtis Young, THEO
(00:38):
and head of strategy and product development at Fixer, and
we are chatting about how modern car features impact your
car battery life span. Curtis, Welcome to the show. How
are you doing. Hold on, let's try that again. Your
mic wasn't on. How are you doing.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
I'm doing fantastic, Thank you very much. Definitely in a
better place this year than last year. Thing as I'm yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Love it for you. I'm so glad we are the
better in the place. I love that look.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
I feel like sometimes when we you know, because I
also test drive quite a few cars and one of
the things that we don't think about is the you know,
what these features are doing to your car's battery, because
you're just so excited that, oh my gosh, the you know,
my seat is warming me up, and then it's massaging me,
and then you're excited that at any given moment there
(01:30):
is some AI that can help make your experienceable comfortable.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
I don't feel like reversing.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
The car is gonna reverse for me and all these
wonderful things, and I'm gonna be honest, the car battery
does not cross my mind. We always will ask though
about fuel consumption and how long it takes to charge
the battery if it's a hybrid or an e vehicle,
but sham, the poor battery is at the bottom or
unless it's.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Just me, it's not just you. I think it's one
of those forgotten compos and it's one of those ones
where it will be the first one to make you
stress because that's when you wake up in the morning,
you go to your car, you turn the key, and
you just say click, click click click, Yes, that's your battery, right, yes.
So I think firstly, maybe three key numbers that you
(02:16):
need to think about when you think of a battery,
because not all batteries are the same. It's not just
the size of the battery, it's not just whether their
support stops, start your senses, et cetera, et cetera. Three numbers. Firstly,
the size, so six, five, two, sixty five, eight, et cetera,
et cetera. That's a really important number. Then the second
thing I think that's really important about your battery is
(02:38):
what's called cca cold cranking amps. That number is what
is how much power your battery draws every time it
needs to start the car. And then the last one
is your reserve capacity, So how much time does your
battery have before it's flat before you need to recharge it.
So think of it like your cell phone. Right, So
you need to actually know these three numbers because all
(03:00):
those things that you mentioned, your you know, seat that's
massaging you, your parking sensors, et cetera, et cetera, they
all typically drain from the battery without you knowing it,
whether the cars driving stopped or not. A simple example,
a lot of the modern vehicles will have the keyless coin. Yes,
that keyless technology draws from your battery, whether the cars
(03:23):
on or not. It's drawing twenty four to seven. It
draws a very low amount, but it's drawing energy from
your battery all the time.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Oh you know what it reminds me of, almost like
when your laptop does the wheel of death. Those of
you that use a mag book, you'll know what a
wheel of death is. Basically, it's when things are freezing.
Because there's a lot going on and you should be
able to click on the battery icon. There's certain things
that are constantly happening in the background. So in essence,
what you're describing is those things that are just constantly
(03:53):
happening in the background.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
All the time, whether your cars on or not. And
then your senses, your heated's, your entertainment system, those will
draw from your vehicle when it's on. If your car's idling,
your battery is actually not getting charged. Typically when the
car's idling, your battery will start getting charged when the
cars driving via the alternator. So when you're just sitting there,
(04:15):
acs on full crank, you're blasting the seven oh two
on the radio, that's drawing from your battery the whole time.
The more technology you have, the higher that usage is
going to be. But what a lot of modern vehicles
have done to counter this is they've implemented a lot
of smart tech around how to effectively charge your battery,
so you don't want to overcharge it, you don't want
to undercharge it. You have a lot of systems in
(04:37):
place that make sure that your battery's staying at that
nice you know, twelve point four to twelve point seven
vaults to kind of keep you in a space where
if the car stops, you can restart it again.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
I want to just ask a question around how the
approach needs to be to your car's battery life, if
it is a hybrid or an E vehicle. I think
the E vehicle is probably the more unique case, which
we're still not really fully there as a country, but
(05:10):
I think it's still an important thing for one to note.
I would assume that in an E vehicle you are
changing the battery more often they're not, but I could
be wrong.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Actually, So I think on the vehicle you actually have
two batteries. You've got your normal twelve vault battery that
sits in the vehicle that still serves the same function,
but to a lesser degree because it doesn't year as
much power, so it still helps start the vehicle. That's
a normal twelve vault, you know, the willard the X sides, yes,
like that's still in an EV vehicle. And then your
(05:44):
bigger battery is what in essence in your EV vehicle
is the battery, like, it's your engine, that's the big one.
That one. They will have a lifespan between eight to
fifteen years before you need to start replacing it or
it starts giving you certain issues. EV manufacturers typically offer
a warranty on that, so it maintains a certain lifespan
(06:04):
on that vehicle. But the big EV battery, you must
equate that to your cause engine on a petrol or
a diesel.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
H gotcha.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
The small little battery that's in your normal diesel petrol vehicle,
it's the same type of battery that's in an EV vehicle.
It serves a similar function. It still needs to charge,
It still helps run your entertainment system, keyless entry, et cetera,
et cetera. It still does the same thing.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
All right, We're going to take a break.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
When we come back, we continue to get your questions
in on the features that impact your car battery lifespan
the most. And I hope that some of you are
like me listening to this conversation and are going to
be learning quite a bit. And I guess because replacing
a car battery is not something that happens regularly.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
It's actually more of a long term thing.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Hence it might not be top of mind, but it
must be maybe when you are purchasing a vehicle. So
one three H seven oh two the Whatsap line oh
seven two seven O two one seven.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
O two seven o two the Car Feature.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Nine minutes two three o'clock. As we continue with our
car feature, talking about how modern car features impact your
car battery lifespan, together with Curtis Young, CEO and head
of strategy and product development for Fixer your calls on
oudible one double A three H seven O two in
the Whatsap line O siven two seven oh two one
seven oh two.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
So Curtis, you were just sharing.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Earlier we touched on your electric vehicles and actually the
fact that there are different batteries in the cars right.
So now when we are looking at some of these
modern features, I want to ask about behaviors that we
do as drivers that could be also affecting the battery negatively.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Sure, So that's actually a really good question. So I
think the first and foremost thing that most people don't
actually think about it all is where you park your car.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Extreme heat, stream cold.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Extreme heat, extreme cold degrade your batteries life cycle. So
it'll make that same battery if you pocket in the
sun outside versus pocketing the garage, that it'll impact the
life cycle of your battery. Most people don't think about that.
You just park your car and you're like, I'm good.
The second thing is driving behavior. So if you are
going to be on short commutes the whole time, that
(08:24):
drains your battery without giving it sufficient chance to recharge
to a healthy level each time. So it's one of
those things where try and at least once a week
drive this thing on the highway for a little bit,
drive a little bit further, or plan your errands where
you're driving all your errands at once to give sufficient
time to charge the vehicle. And another one, and this
(08:45):
is I guess is a South African thing with all
the potholes and the likes, is if you're driving over
rough terrain that can also cause issues with your battery
because if it's jriggling around a lot causes damage to
the battery, and it again also degrades the life cycle.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
So those are what you're saying rough terrain when we're
referring to literally.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Like gren begen sent.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Okay, I get you, I get you, and I think
these are things maybe we didn't think about. There's a
question on the WhatsApp line when when the car is idling,
isn't the engine When the car is idling, isn't the engine,
Thus the alternator running and not drawing from the battery.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
That's from fye.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Yes, So what innocence happens is your battery is what
starts your car. Okay, once your car is running, the
engine and the alternator is what keeps that car moving.
But you're alternated. Now does the reverse where your alternators
starts charging your battery as the vehicle's running. So your
battery is the first thing that starts the vehicle. Once
the vehicle started, the roles are reversed and the alternator
(09:46):
starts charging the battery.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
If you were to name the top three features in
modern cars, we're not necessarily talking rolls Royce like no,
if your door lifts up.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Like a plane.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
But you know modern cars that many South Africans are
driving or that we'd see around in the area. What
would you say the top three that you'd say, use
this feature on a must or need to use basis
unless you are rolling in the dough.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
Sure, so, I think the features that drain the vehicle
the most from a battery perspective, air con fulsom. I'm
saying it like it is.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
And there are people who like ACN food temperature AIRCN
even if yeah, so they don't do the room temp
of just the normal.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
I get you, and that's not going to be like
even the heated seeds with the extra just normal aircorn
or drain your battery a lot. If you are a
person who likes extra speakers, extra sound, adding the TVs
to the back seats of your vehicle, et cetera, every
piece of electronic that you add to the vehicle will
add strain on your battery.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
I feel like you're talking to men.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
I don't know many women who have had I don't
know any woman who's added extra sound to her car.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
I know plenty of guards about it. So, and then
I think the last one is the more senses you
have on the vehicle. Your parking assists, your lane, assis,
break assists, et cetera. Those are also features that typically
would drain your drain your battery, But most car manufacturers
would fit an initial battery that is set up to
(11:26):
kind of cater for those core things that are with
the car. But when you now need to replace your battery,
you then need to replace it with the same battery,
same size, same cca, same reserve capacity, or more cheapest. Yes,
just because it's the same size. And then you go cheap,
you're buying a battery that doesn't actually have the same capacity,
(11:46):
and it will wear out quicker than the battery that
you actually got to the vehicle.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
All right, we've got a quick question from Vusi in
BERNONI go ahead.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
WUSSI good, good, go.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
Ahead, Just a quick one. Okay, my bed brother, I
can't get pucked half the time in the garage, but
whenever I started, it gives you that low battery you
know sign signal you know, or that did the case
in my with my cards. Well, because of the battery,
I don't drive it more often.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Yeah, So if you aren't driving a vehicle often and
you're consistently getting that low battery like error on the dash,
it's likely an indication where the battery like voltage and
the likes are just low, so you need to drive
it for an extended amount of time, or you can
buy the smart charging meters from Goldwagen, AutoZone, et cetera
(12:36):
and charge it overnight. If the battery still drains quickly though,
even after charging it fully, then you likely need to
consider replacing that battery because all batteries have a life cycle.
Like in the old days, it would have been like
two years is kind of recommended number, but in today's vehicles,
a battery can last anywhere from two to five years,
(12:58):
depending on the card, depending on the battery. If it's
giving you that low battery error, try and charge it up,
go for an extended drive, or get a smart charger.
If it still drains quickly and that light keeps coming on,
then it's time to consider replacing it.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Arthur Goldstuck, CEO of Worldwide Works and Editing Chief of Gadget. Sorry,
my apologies, look at me reading at the incorrect one.
This young CEO head of Strategy and product development for
fix Usbut if I double x R and that's where
you can get all of that information.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Thank you for joining us, cool, Thank you for having
me