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Is my car out of gas or dead battery? A weak or dead battery would cause hard starting, or even worse, your car won’t start at all.
When your car’s battery is weak, it causes so many unusual activities, and these activities are similar to what you may experience when your car runs out of gas. But, there are ways to detect if it is your car battery that’s bad or you’ve got no fuel in your tank.
So, what exactly is causing your car to exhibit different unusual signs? Below, we talk about what happens when there’s no gas in a car and the different signs of a weak or dead car battery. These factors explained below clarifies all you should know about faulty car batteries.
What Happens When There’s No Gas In a Car?
If you were driving when the fuel finished, the car would exhibit different signs, and then finally comes to a stop. The signs it may exhibit include engine sputtering, misfiring, and significant loss of power.
In contrast, if you drove home without getting any sign that your car is out of gas – but the fuel indicator is the “E” mark, now you’re trying to start the car and it’s not starting, probably, your fuel is finished.
Signs Of A Weak Or Dead Car Battery
1. Your Engine Doesn’t Crank, Or It Cranks But Doesn’t Start
This is the commonest sign to tell you that your car battery is in bad shape. Normally, it is the battery that powers a car to start after a stop. The battery itself charges as you drive.
So, when you stop and find it difficult to start up your car, it could be that the battery didn’t charge all the while you were driving, thus, it doesn’t have enough electricity to start your engine.
2. You Always Jumpstart Your Car
It’s okay to jumpstart your car, but when you find yourself doing more frequently, that’s a clear sign that your car’s battery is weak, and you really need to change it as soon as you can.
3. Electrical Components Shut Off Intermittently
If you notice that your car’s electrical components do shut off intermittently, that could be a sign of a dying battery. All electrical components of a vehicle – including aftermarket add-ons like mini refrigerators draw power from the battery.
So, if these components or accessories periodically shut off while you’re still driving – and the engine is on – that’s because the battery is weak and cannot carry all of them.
4. Weak Lights
Another sign of a dying car battery is weak lights. If your car lights no longer shine as bright as they used to, and they also dim when you accelerate, that’s a sign that your battery needs to be checked.
Is My Car Out Of Gas Or Dead Battery?
With the explanations made above, it is quite easy to detect what is the cause of the problem with your car. If the engine cranks but does not start, that could be the battery, and if it doesn’t crank at all, that could be fuel-related.
However, if you were driving when the problem occurred, you should first check your fuel gauge and then proceed to test-run your battery.
Well, if you’re finding it difficult to detect what exactly caused the problem, engage a mechanic to troubleshoot your car.
Conclusion
The symptoms of running out of gas are not too similar to that of a dead battery. But, both issues can cause your car not to start up at all.
Running out of gas is the worse case here because it could cause damage to some components in the fuel system. Whenever your car starts acting up, you should act proactively to fix the fault.