Battery Problem?
Discussion
Morning all,
Got to work this morning to a call from the missus saying no life in her car (2002 Astra). Battery dead. No reason why it should be dead all of a sudden. Been left for over a week recently without a problem. Her brother has told her the battery is probably knackered and she needs to buy a new one. Does this sound likely? She is sure nothing was left on to make the battery go flat.
Any advice would be useful. Am going to go home and jump start it in a bit but she isn't happy taking it anywhere uncase it dies when she comes back to it!
Cheers.
Got to work this morning to a call from the missus saying no life in her car (2002 Astra). Battery dead. No reason why it should be dead all of a sudden. Been left for over a week recently without a problem. Her brother has told her the battery is probably knackered and she needs to buy a new one. Does this sound likely? She is sure nothing was left on to make the battery go flat.
Any advice would be useful. Am going to go home and jump start it in a bit but she isn't happy taking it anywhere uncase it dies when she comes back to it!
Cheers.
aruck said:
Any brand name motor factors I can google for that isnt Halfords? They want £80. Is that reasonable?
No really!Use Yell and search for local motor factors in your area.
I always get my batteries from the local scrap yard. He only charges £5-10 for a perfectly usable, less than 3 year old battery.
Have been back and jump started it. Drove it round the block and abs light and traction control came on for a bit and power steering was a bit intermitent. Assume due to lack of power. Have left it running and asked missus to turn it off in 30 mins or so and then try it.
How do I check the alternator?
Cheers
How do I check the alternator?
Cheers
aruck said:
How do I check the alternator?
Cheers
Put a multimeter across the battery, set to DC Volts, and measure the charge going into it from the alternator, or if accessible, connect directly to the back of the alternator and measure the same. Cheers
You should be getting a reading of somewhere between 13.5-14.5V anything less and the alternator is not supplying sufficent charge to the battery, anything more and your battery is being slowly 'cooked'.
E30M3SE said:
Jump start it and test the alternator before you go buying another battery.
Agreed.ECP for a new battery imo.
At 8 years old, a flattening could be terminal, depends on the extent. The battery I had last year flattened to 3v!! After that it struggled to maintain charge. New one required.
With that age of Astra, there's a good chance the alarm siren backup battery is knackered, this would set the alarm off without the flashing lights (so you wouldn't know it was your car unless you stood right next to it) and this drains a fully charged main battery (to the point of being unable to start) in less than 12 hours.
Has an unknown alarm been pissing you off at night recently?
Now....If the main battery is 4+ years old, then defo get a new one!
It's really not worth the risk of a battery explosion from charging and then trying to start from a knackered battery.
Problem being that modern car batteries are sealed, you can't check the levels, the vents hide under a cover which doesn't allow them to breath too well, overcharging fills the void with hydrogen gas and if the levels are below the battery plates it'll over charge in just a few hours, starting it will cause an internal spark and the damn thing will explode, showering everything within 5 metre's in hot battery acid and shards of plastic.
So I think it's worth £50 - £80 just to avoid that.
Jump starting a very dead battery from another car can also be very dangerous. It's THE number one cause of battery explosions and obviously as your standing next to the damn thing, it's not going to be pretty.
Has an unknown alarm been pissing you off at night recently?
Now....If the main battery is 4+ years old, then defo get a new one!
It's really not worth the risk of a battery explosion from charging and then trying to start from a knackered battery.
Problem being that modern car batteries are sealed, you can't check the levels, the vents hide under a cover which doesn't allow them to breath too well, overcharging fills the void with hydrogen gas and if the levels are below the battery plates it'll over charge in just a few hours, starting it will cause an internal spark and the damn thing will explode, showering everything within 5 metre's in hot battery acid and shards of plastic.
So I think it's worth £50 - £80 just to avoid that.
Jump starting a very dead battery from another car can also be very dangerous. It's THE number one cause of battery explosions and obviously as your standing next to the damn thing, it's not going to be pretty.
Bugeyeandy said:
The lower right of the pic - the round thing is an indicator. It should be green, if it's black like yours it's normally a sign of low charge, ie dead.
Will be worth cleaning up the battery terminals when you fit the new one too, poor maintenance to leave them dirty.
The indicator is meaningless, it can't tell you the condition of the battery, only the level of charge. A battery in bad condition is like a swimming pool full of rocks, it's looks like there's enough water when you look at the edge of the pool, but you wouldn't want to swan dive into it Will be worth cleaning up the battery terminals when you fit the new one too, poor maintenance to leave them dirty.
Little tubes of battery terminal grease cost less than 50p, it'll keep em in good nick and help stop them sparking like a b*tch when you connect it up.
Oh and a new battery should really be charged fully before use.
Looks like an 065 type battery.
Edited by lyonspride on Thursday 16th June 12:08
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