Opinion: Rotating Electric ‘off-seasons’ No Longer As Prominent
Autoelectro's Nick Hood talks seasonal sales for starter motors and alternators.
Summer is usually the season when the rotating electrics sector takes a breather, but, according to Autoelectro UK Sales Manager, Nick Hood, seasonality is not as prominent as it once was.
Without doubt, winter is our season; it stands to reason as more vehicle electronics are utilised during the winter months.
With shorter daylight hours and poorer weather conditions, motorists use their wiper blades, heater, heated seats, windscreen, rear window etc, all of which make the alternator work closer to its capacity and is, traditionally, when failures occur.
Over the years, though, the demands on the starter motor and alternator have increased and is maintained throughout the vehicle; for example, air conditioning or climate control is standard on a lot of vehicles these days.
In the 1980s and 90s, most drivers and passengers would roll down their window in the summer but not today.
The use of daytime running lights and infotainment systems put added strain on the alternator throughout the year.
In addition, emission control has come to the forefront in recent years, so not only is the alternator working harder but so is the starter motor; therefore, although seasonality does exist, the spikes we’re used to seeing in sales are more ‘blips’ these days.
Extreme heat can cause problems to a lot of components – not just starter motors and alternators – but, even in the summer we’re currently experiencing, I am not convinced that temperatures of 30-35 degrees centigrade will translate to many issues for modern units.
It is the related demand from the driver to maintain their and passenger comfort that causes the issues.