Viper not starting
Discussion
Hello all,
I recently bought a battery conditioner for my gen 3 Viper. It’s a CTEK one, and it claimed the battery is fine after ‘conditioning’ for several days.
I managed to unlock the car today, key in, and the dashboard lit up as normal. Pressed the start button and a click of a relay and then nothing. The car is utterly without electrics - no flashing lights, electric windows, or power to anything. At all.
Wondering if the battery could have been a bit iffy and the conditioner sort of finished it off?
Any ideas would be welcome. I’ll be fitting a new battery anyway - it’s the cheapest bit to begin with, and I’ve got no idea how old it is!
I recently bought a battery conditioner for my gen 3 Viper. It’s a CTEK one, and it claimed the battery is fine after ‘conditioning’ for several days.
I managed to unlock the car today, key in, and the dashboard lit up as normal. Pressed the start button and a click of a relay and then nothing. The car is utterly without electrics - no flashing lights, electric windows, or power to anything. At all.
Wondering if the battery could have been a bit iffy and the conditioner sort of finished it off?
Any ideas would be welcome. I’ll be fitting a new battery anyway - it’s the cheapest bit to begin with, and I’ve got no idea how old it is!
Well, a few fun and games familiar to Viper owners - trying to find the correct type battery! The one fitted was a type 34 with 825CCA and was astonishingly heavy, but I couldn’t find anything like that for sale in the UK.
It also wasn’t easy finding out what spec an OEM battery was! (Turned out to be a type 34/78 supplying 600CCA). I believe that type 34 is essentially the same thing as a type 78, excusing a few mm in size which didn’t make a difference to fitting - at least not in the gen 3 convertible.
So, I bought a type 78 Exide battery with 540CCA from Euro Car Parts for £80. Fitted, it seems to work just fine. I’m hoping the slight reduction in cranking amps won’t be an issue unless I take it to Siberia on a winter road trip.
All weird behaviour of the electrics has ceased - time to reset the soft-close windows (again!) and go for a drive! Thanks for the comments.
Oh, and the old battery was only dated mid-2017, so must have either been mistreated or wasn’t a great one to begin with. Who knows!
It also wasn’t easy finding out what spec an OEM battery was! (Turned out to be a type 34/78 supplying 600CCA). I believe that type 34 is essentially the same thing as a type 78, excusing a few mm in size which didn’t make a difference to fitting - at least not in the gen 3 convertible.
So, I bought a type 78 Exide battery with 540CCA from Euro Car Parts for £80. Fitted, it seems to work just fine. I’m hoping the slight reduction in cranking amps won’t be an issue unless I take it to Siberia on a winter road trip.
All weird behaviour of the electrics has ceased - time to reset the soft-close windows (again!) and go for a drive! Thanks for the comments.
Oh, and the old battery was only dated mid-2017, so must have either been mistreated or wasn’t a great one to begin with. Who knows!
Edited by mrfunex on Tuesday 31st December 16:25
Just had a similar issue with my 1993 rt10.
Car would not even start with jump cables linked to a running car sat at 3500 rpm.
Removed battery.... only putting out 8v
Put on charge
Was only showing 11v after 24hrs
After 2 1/2 days on charge, battery showing 13-14 v
Car started first click
Battery is rated 650 cca .... not original
I think the original spec is 780cca
Also.... spoke to my local small garage... a family run village garage.... who advised that some modern batteries dont recharge once they have been run down very low.
Car would not even start with jump cables linked to a running car sat at 3500 rpm.
Removed battery.... only putting out 8v
Put on charge
Was only showing 11v after 24hrs
After 2 1/2 days on charge, battery showing 13-14 v
Car started first click
Battery is rated 650 cca .... not original
I think the original spec is 780cca
Also.... spoke to my local small garage... a family run village garage.... who advised that some modern batteries dont recharge once they have been run down very low.
https://advancedbatterysupplies.co.uk/product/adva...
Fitted a few of these now in Various Vipers
Price has gone up a bit in the last 6 months!
Do you guys keep your batteries on a good quality constant trickle charger in the garage?
If not, then that's your problem, there is always a slight drain on these batteries from the alarm and radio. So leaving the car without having it hooked up to a trickle charger will kill it in no time at all.
Fitted a few of these now in Various Vipers
Price has gone up a bit in the last 6 months!
Do you guys keep your batteries on a good quality constant trickle charger in the garage?
If not, then that's your problem, there is always a slight drain on these batteries from the alarm and radio. So leaving the car without having it hooked up to a trickle charger will kill it in no time at all.
Edited by fatboy18 on Friday 17th April 17:22
Gassing Station | Vipers | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff