BY MIKE HAGERTY / ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 24, 2020 / NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE PARTS ASSOCIATION / You already know that your car’s battery is essential — you’re&hellip;{"id":11671,"date":"2020-02-05T11:39:58","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T19:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/?p=11671"},"modified":"2020-02-05T11:39:58","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T19:39:58","slug":"have-you-checked-your-battery-hold-down-lately","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/2020\/02\/05\/have-you-checked-your-battery-hold-down-lately\/","title":{"rendered":"Have You Checked Your Battery Hold-Down Lately?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\">BY MIKE HAGERTY \/ ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 24, 2020 \/<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE PARTS ASSOCIATION<\/a>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\/<\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You already know that your car\u2019s battery is essential \u2014 you\u2019re not going anywhere without that power. So, you probably check the terminals to make sure they\u2019re staying free of corrosion and replace the battery when it\u2019s worn out. But when was the last time you checked your battery hold-down?<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What Is That?<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Maybe you have a different name for it \u2014 base clamp, brace, \u201cthat thing that keeps my battery secure.\u201d Whatever you call it, the<\/span>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/en\/p\/NDP7302401?cid=social_blog_122019_battery_base_clamp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>battery hold-down<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">keeps your battery from moving as your car goes up and down hills, around corners and through quick starts and panic stops.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">If you tightened your battery hold-down the last time you replaced the battery, that\u2019s a good start. But all those abrupt motions and vibrations from driving, the road and the engine loosen it over time.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What Can Happen If Your Battery Hold-Down Is Loose?<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Batteries are big, heavy things, so they seem snug when the car is parked and you try to move it around with your hands. But the forces are different while you\u2019re driving. There\u2019s a whole list of bad situations that can happen if the battery clamp gets too loose.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For example, if your battery is not secured properly, it puts added tension on the battery cables. This could lead to a short circuit, which could leave you stranded by the side of the road. Beyond that, a loose battery can injure the other components around it under the hood. You might also have to replace any parts that hold the battery if they sustain damage.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How Often Should You Check Your Battery Hold-Down?<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Check your battery braces as soon as possible. There\u2019s no sense in letting a problem you don\u2019t know you have get worse. Make this part of your seasonal checkup, about four times a year. That\u2019s also a great time to take a look at everything else under your hood, including possible battery cable terminal corrosion or loose hoses. While you\u2019re at it, check your<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/knowhow.napaonline.com\/how-to-install-a-battery-tray\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">battery tray<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">. Is it time to replace a corroded original?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Like all maintenance, checking your battery\u2019s base clamps often results in a more reliable car with less need for repairs in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Check out all the\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/en\/search\/batteries\/batteries-battery-holddowns\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>batteries and battery hold-downs<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">available on <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NAPA Online<\/a><\/strong> or trust one of their 17,000<\/span> <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.napaautocare.com\/store-finder.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NAPA AutoCare locations<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">for routine maintenance and repairs. For more information on car batteries, chat with a knowledgeable expert at your\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/en\/store-locator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>local NAPA AUTO PARTS store<\/strong><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Photo Credit:<\/span> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/photos\/car-engine-moto-auto-vehicle-1564300\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Car Engine Moto Auto<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">by<\/span> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/bruceemmerling-93533\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bruce Emmerling<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(<\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/service\/license\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pixabay<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">).<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This article has been reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder, National Automotive Parts Association. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Click here for more<\/span>\u00a0<\/em><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/category\/classic-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">automotive tips and stories<\/a><\/em><\/strong><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, or here for more information on<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/event-info\/car-show-hours-dates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the next Pomona Swap Meet &amp; Classic Car Show<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":11672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cos_headline_score":0,"cos_seo_score":0,"cos_headline_text":"","cos_headline_has_been_analyzed":false,"cos_last_analyzed_headline":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[805],"tags":[3056,7435,7439,4165,7436,4162,7440,7434,1134,7437,7441,7438,6590,3491,3037,3026],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Car-Battery-by-Bruce-Emmerling.jpg?fit=1920%2C1484&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9nnZN-32f","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11671"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11671"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11674,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11671\/revisions\/11674"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}