Winter Maintenance (Part 3)

Over the past few weeks we have been discussing the importance of taking care of your vehicle with the coming of winter. The upper midwest is particularly brutal when it comes to receiving cold weather, and when those temperatures dip into the sub-zero range, your car needs to be ready. The key to being prepared is using quality parts, and the best parts you can buy are genuine, OEM Acura parts from Acura Express Parts.com. Finding authentic OEM parts for your Acura can be a hassle, particularly when you are looking for the part that is guaranteed to fit. We do not sell generic parts and are equally committed to finding the right part for your vehicle. All of our Acura parts feature the factory 12-month, 12,000-mile warranty and that is hard to come by from the other auto parts stores. We offer everything you need to winterize or repair your Acura, fluids, belts, hoses and even electrical components, which can fail in the winter.

Electrical

It is taken for granted that your Acura’s electrical system is simply a battery, a few wires and some relays. This could not be further from the truth. Your electrical system is an extremely complex series of wires, components and sensors. The heart of your electrical system is your battery and your alternator. These two key components power everything in the vehicle and both can be affected by cold. Replace your battery if it has been longer than four years. Now that may seem frivolous if you are still having good luck with your battery, but batteries, by nature, are providing charge due to the breakdown of the materials inside. You will thank yourself when you walk outside on that sub-zero morning and your car starts. A fresh battery that is under four years old is also much easier on your alternator, as it doesn't make it work so hard.

Your vehicle and electrical system is regulated by (almost) a million different sensors and if one of those sensors is not reading correctly, the results could be frustrating. If your check engine light is on, or keeps coming on, it is time to investigate one of these sensors. Another complex electrical component has made it fairly easy to find the offending sensor. That’s right, the onboard computer is equipped with a diagnostic feature that allows storage of trouble codes and vehicle performance data. Unfortunately, checking up on your computer is not something easy to do, but fortunately, they do not fail regularly.

In order to do a check on your electrical system the best thing you can do is visually look at your wiring. Generally, electrical problems are not visible without testing equipment and this has frustrated mechanics and vehicle owners alike for many years. Changing your battery at four-year intervals and keeping the engine compartment clean is the best thing you can do to to extend the life of your electrical system. At Acura Express Parts.com we offer a variety of electrical components specifically engineered for your vehicle.