Signs your car battery is dying.

1. Slow or labored cranking. The engine turns over like it's tired, especially on cold mornings — a sign the battery can't deliver the amps it used to.
2. A click, or rapid clicking, and no start. The classic dead-battery sound (a single click with bright dash lights can also be the starter — see battery or alternator?).
3. Headlights that flicker with the engine off. Interstate Batteries' garage test: after the car has sat a few hours, turn the headlights on — if they flicker within 60 seconds, you may need a battery (regular flooded batteries only).
4. Glitching electronics. A window that hesitates, a flickering cabin light, the radio forgetting its stations or your phone — the battery may have dropped too low to keep every module powered (Interstate).
5. A rough idle right after starting that smooths out after a minute or two, sometimes with a warning light, because a sensor didn't get enough power (Interstate).
6. It runs better after a long drive. That's a good alternator propping up a weak battery (Interstate).
7. It dies right after being recharged — the battery can't hold a charge anymore (Interstate).
8. Age. Interstate says a battery is at its best for about three years, and Oklahoma heat wears them faster — here's how long batteries last here.

Some signs are about safety, not just starting. Interstate Batteries says to look for corrosion, heat damage, bulging or warping, cracks and the smell of rotten eggs before jumping a battery — and to get a professional if you see them. Interstate's battery-testing video explains the rotten-egg smell comes from a battery that's overcharging. A swollen, cracked or smelly battery shouldn't be jumped or charged: have it replaced.

A battery test takes less than a minute and gives a plain answer — good, weak or replace now (Interstate Batteries). Interstate suggests one every six months, and O’Reilly stores test batteries at no charge. A voltage check at home helps too — the numbers are in our battery-or-alternator guide — but voltage only shows the charge, not the health.

If the signs are there and the car won't cooperate, we bring the right battery to it — at home, at work or in a parking lot across the OKC metro. See what it costs, look up your model on the vehicle pages, or book now; same-day jobs are usually reached in 30–60 minutes.