{"id":13504,"date":"2026-04-05T21:57:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T21:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/?p=13504"},"modified":"2026-04-05T21:57:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T21:57:53","slug":"why-you-should-turn-on-your-cars-headlights-10-seconds-before-starting-the-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/?p=13504","title":{"rendered":"Why you should turn on your car\u2019s headlights 10 seconds before starting the car"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"166\">It sounds like the mechanic shared a simple but effective trick to help extend the life of your car&#8217;s battery and improve its overall performance. Here&#8217;s the rundown:<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"168\" data-end=\"492\">By <strong data-start=\"171\" data-end=\"243\">turning on your headlights for 10 seconds before starting the engine<\/strong>, you give the battery a chance to stabilize its voltage. This small act smooths out the electrical flow, reducing the shock of the first big power demand from the starter motor, especially after the car has been sitting for a while in cold weather.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"494\" data-end=\"511\">This habit helps:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"512\" data-end=\"620\">\n<li data-section-id=\"1insq9x\" data-start=\"512\" data-end=\"537\"><strong data-start=\"514\" data-end=\"537\">Extend battery life<\/strong><\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"uu906l\" data-start=\"538\" data-end=\"560\"><strong data-start=\"540\" data-end=\"560\">Ease cold starts<\/strong><\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1t4zn7v\" data-start=\"561\" data-end=\"620\"><strong data-start=\"563\" data-end=\"620\">Protect electronic systems from sudden voltage surges<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"622\" data-end=\"631\">To do it:<\/p>\n<ol data-start=\"632\" data-end=\"791\">\n<li data-section-id=\"rzj6t0\" data-start=\"632\" data-end=\"650\">Sit in the car.<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"3cropa\" data-start=\"651\" data-end=\"692\">Turn on the headlights for 10 seconds.<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1i3ptt9\" data-start=\"693\" data-end=\"722\">Start the engine as usual.<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"10f243e\" data-start=\"723\" data-end=\"791\">Avoid using the radio, AC, or heater until the engine is running.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p data-start=\"793\" data-end=\"949\">Pairing this habit with <strong data-start=\"817\" data-end=\"843\">regular battery checks<\/strong> and using <strong data-start=\"854\" data-end=\"884\">low-consumption LED lights<\/strong> will ensure your vehicle\u2019s electrical system stays in top shape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>It sounds like the mechanic shared a simple but effective trick to help extend the life of your car&#8217;s battery and improve its overall performance. <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/?p=13504\" title=\"Why you should turn on your car\u2019s headlights 10 seconds before starting the car\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13505,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13504"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13506,"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13504\/revisions\/13506"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}