Working up a sweat is a great thing to do in a gym around St. Peter, but not in your car. When St. Peter motorists’ car’s AC System has a problem, they’ll often feel it right away. The question is, how long do you put up with it? You know, the old comfort versus cost dilemma. But a more comfortable drive around St. Peter has a lot of benefits, and keeping the AC System well maintained can help prevent expensive repairs.

A common cause for AC failure is water and air in the system. The system does not work as well with air in it. And water can cause rust that leads to damage of the A/C components. Also refrigerant, the stuff that makes the air cold, can leak out, reducing the efficiency of the system, making it work harder to try to cool the air. That is why periodically evacuating the air conditioning system and recharging it keeps the proper amount of clean refrigerant in the system for St. Peter motorists so it cools better and lasts longer.

St. Peter drivers should also run the air conditioner regularly, even in the winter, so that it lubricates itself and keeps the seals from drying out. The seals can crack and that leads to leaks. Your automobile manufacturer’s owner’s manual will have recommendations for how often to service your air conditioner. Some service centers also have this information as part of their computer databases. Your knowledgeable Autotronics of ST Peter tech can give you more information.

Autotronics of ST Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290

Of course, if your AC currently isn’t working right, then now is the time to get it checked. Many service centers in St. Peter such as Autotronics of ST Peter can inspect and test your air conditioning and offer evacuation and recharge services. This goes a long way to avoiding having to bring your air conditioner in for expensive repairs.

Recent environmental laws have stopped the manufacture of Freon, a refrigerant that was common in cars made before 1993. There is a very limited supply of Freon so the price is very expensive in MN. It may not be worth its weight in gold, but it probably is worth its weight in silver. If you have an older vehicle that uses Freon, you may want to consider having it retrofitted to use the new EPA-approved R134a refrigerant. It will pay for itself in the long run.

Hello, welcome to Autotronics of ST Peter. Today’s focus is batteries. It seems like everything in St. Peter runs on batteries. Of course, the batteries we’re most concerned with here at Autotronics of ST Peter are those in our customer’s vehicles. Just like the batteries in our smoke detectors or TV remote, car batteries wear out and need to be replaced. There are a couple of things St. Peter drivers should know when looking for a new battery.

Look for two measurements that come into play: cold cranking amps and reserve capacity.

Let’s start with cold cranking amps. This can be thought of as the power output used to start a cold minivan engine. The number of cold cranking amps you need depends on your vehicle and where you live in MN, specifically how cold it is. (Many MN auto owners have first-hand experience trying to start their car on a cold winter morning.) The two factors are that the colder your minivan’s engine is, the more power it takes to turn the engine over to get it started. It has all that cold, sluggish oil to contend with.

The other factor is that the chemical reaction in the battery that creates electrical energy is less efficient when the temperature dips. At Autotronics of ST Peter, we consult the table shown below. Let’s say it’s eighty degrees Fahrenheit in St. Peter. At that temperature, 100% of the battery’s power is available. At freezing, only 65% of battery power is available, but it requires 155% as much power to start the engine as it did at eighty degrees.

As you can see from the chart, the colder it gets, more power’s needed, but the available power drops.

Percent of Power Available	Celsius	Fahrenheit	Power Required
100	27	80	100
65	0	32	155
40	-22	0	210
25	-32	20	350

So if you live where it’s cold in MN, you need a battery with more cold cranking amps than you do where it’s moderate or hot. The battery that originally came with your minivan was based on averages. At Autotronics of ST Peter, we like to remind St. Peter car owners that they should always get at least as many cold cranking amps as their manufacturers recommend, but may want to upgrade if they live where it gets real cold.

And the type of engine you have will impact the battery you need: A six-cylinder engine requires more cold cranking amps than a four. An eight cylinder needs even more. And diesel minivans require more than a gasoline engine with the same number of cylinders.

Now on to reserve capacity: It’s a measurement of the number of minutes of reserve power the battery has at a given load. The number is more important to St. Peter car owners these days because of parasitic drain. Parasitic drain is the battery energy that’s used when the key is off in your minivan. So, the power drawn by the security system, the remote start system, even the power the computers require to maintain their memory.

Reserves are also needed when you make very short trips around St. Peter. You’re not driving long enough for the battery to recover the energy it used to start the engine. So go with the minimum recommended by your manufacturer or Autotronics of ST Peter and upgrade if you need more.

Talk with us at Autotronics of ST Peter about your options. If you need more from your battery, a larger, heavy-duty battery may be called for. At Autotronics of ST Peter in St. Peter, we remind our customers that it’s very important that the new battery fits your minivan: the terminals can’t be touching other parts.

Batteries are a big ticket item for most MN auto owners, so the warranty gives piece of mind. There’re two kinds of car battery warranties: pro-rated and free replacement. With the pro-rated, you get a credit for a portion of the battery if it fails during the warranty period. With a free replacement warranty, you get just that, a free replacement. Be sure to ask us at Autotronics of ST Peter about the warranty so you know what you’re getting.

When winter approaches in MN, St. Peter motorists break out the sweaters, coats, boots and mittens. We want to be ready for Cleveland area winter conditions. Your minivan needs to be ready for winter as well. The last thing St. Peter drivers want is to get stranded out in the cold. You need your minivan to be safe and reliable. It’s a good idea to get caught up on any neglected maintenance items anytime – but the stakes are higher in cold MN winters.

There are some specific things St. Peter drivers we need to do to have their vehicle ready for winter. The most obvious is having the antifreeze checked. If the antifreeze level is too low, it can’t properly protect your engine, radiator and hoses from freezing. If your car does not seem to be making enough heat to keep you warm, your antifreeze level may be low or you could have a thermostat problem. Get it checked out at Autotronics of ST Peter in St. Peter. If you are due for a cooling system service, now is a perfect time to have it done.

In the cold months around St. Peter we always worry about being able to stop in time when it’s slick out. The first thing to remember is to slow down and allow yourself plenty of room to stop. Of course, you want your brakes to be working properly. A thorough brake inspection will reveal if the pads or any other parts need replacing. Check with your knowledgeable Autotronics of ST Peter tech to see if it is time to replace your brake fluid. It accumulates water over time which really messes with your stopping power.

It is also a really good idea for St. Peter drivers to have their battery tested. A battery’s cranking power really drops with the temperature. If your battery is weak in the fall, it may not be up to a MN car owners. There is nothing like a dead battery in a snow storm.

Which leads us to an emergency kit. You should always have a blanket or something to keep you and your passengers warm if you get stranded on a remote MN road. If you will be venturing away from civilization, pack more items such as food and water to help you survive. Keeping at least half a tank of gas is important if you get stuck and need to run the car to keep warm and it will help keep your gas lines from freezing up.

Autotronics of ST Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290

Winter in St. Peter, MN always makes drivers think of their windshield wiper blades – usually during that first storm when they aren’t working right. That’s why it’s a really good idea to replace your blades in the fall before the MN winter storms. If you live where there’s a lot of snow and ice, you might want a special winter blade that resists freezing up. And be sure to have enough windshield washer fluid.

The final thing for St. Peter car owners to consider is their tires. Any tire can lose pressure over time – up to one pound every six or eight weeks. For every 10 degrees the temperature drops you lose another pound of pressure. So if it was 80 degrees outside when you checked your tire pressure two months ago and now it’s 40 degrees out, you could be down 5 pounds of pressure. That’s enough to be a real safety issue and it hurts fuel economy too. You may need special winter tires in St. Peter as well. Your knowledgeable Autotronics of ST Peter tire professional can help you find the right tire design for your expected road conditions.

If you’re getting winter tires, it is always best to put them on all four wheels. If you are only getting two, have them put on the rear – even if you have a front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive vehicle.

This is a an essential safety measure recommended by tire manufacturers. Sliding or fish-tailing on ice and snow on MN s is a matter of not having enough traction at the rear end. That is why your newest tires should always be on the rear.