When you think of a dead car battery, you probably think about it being the dead of winter. One frigid morning and nothing happens, but it likely began to fail months earlier.
No battery lasts forever. When you buy one, the label usually tells you how long you can expect it to last. Five to 7 years is normal – as long as the battery is operated under normal conditions.
While true that battery failures can occur in cold weather but that’s not usually what has caused the problem. The drain on the battery most likely occurred during the summer’s hot weather.
Extremely hot weather and overcharging are the two main reasons for shortened battery life. If the car’s voltage regulator malfunctions, allowing too high a charging rate, your battery suffers a slow death.