Wheat Ridge Auto Repair

1) Leaving lights on is the most common cause of battery drain Leaving your headlights or parking lights on all night will completely drain your car battery by the next morning. A short drive is not long enough to fully recharge your battery. The best way to bring your battery back to full charge is with a real battery charger that has a reconditioning mode. The reconditioning mode will dissolve the sulfation crystals that formed when it discharged. 2) Computer parasitic battery drain is the second most common cause Computer modules draw power when they’re running. When you shut the vehicle down, the modules are programmed to enter sleep mode after a set period of time. At that point, all the modules in your car should draw less than 50-milliamps. With that small current draw, your car battery can maintain its starting power for around 4-6 weeks, depending on its condition. However, if your battery is old, that 50-millamp draw can drain it i ... read more

Imagine being late to a meeting or for class only to find out you’re doomed because your car won’t unlock with the key or fob. Here are seven potential causes why your key can’t open the door. The Lock Tailpiece Is Broken Several locking mechanisms use the same principles. Similar to the conventional door lock, most car locks also have a tailpiece that can get damaged over time. The lock tailpiece connects the key to the lock latch or bolt. This is usually found in locks that have a lazy cam. The tailpiece moves approximately 90 degrees around its attachment point to move the cam and linkage. It also brings the key back to the key-pull position without altering the latch settings. The Lock Cylinder Is Damaged After some time, dirt and corrosion could damage the parts of the door lock cylinder, which could explain why the manual key can’t unlock the door. After some time, dirt and corrosion could damage the parts of the ... read more