Battery or Alternator?

[anonymous-user]

Guys,

I've got an issue on my E30

After the recent cold weather my battery was a bit slow to crank the car one morning, I took it on a long run to ensure it was juiced up, I then left it for a few days and nothing, car wouldn't even turn over

I borrowed a charger from the FiL and gave it about 6 hours, car started fine, had a medium journey, next day nothing again

I'm going to see if I can find the receipt as it may be under warranty, if not I will buy a new battery, I just wanted to check that it's most likely the battery being a couple of years old and the cold weather rather than my alternator gone, is there any way to check?

[Dr Doofenshmirtz]

Enough info here to let you know... http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

[anonymous-user]

Ah superb, another E30 too

Cheers

[Mr Will]

If it's fine when it's running and will turn off and on again after a run, but won't hold a charge overnight, it's your battery.

If you take it for a run, turn it off and it will not turn back on immediately afterwards, then it's (probably) alternator.

[kambites]

Or just start the engine and stick a volt meter across the battery. If it's showing around 14V then the alternator is fine, if it's showing more than 15V or less than 13V the alternator or voltage regulator is shot.

[98elise]

[quote=Mr Will]If it's fine when it's running and will turn off and on again after a run, but won't hold a charge overnight, it's your battery.
[quote]

Or the alternator/battery are fine, but there is a constant dischange on the battery.

[anonymous-user]

Mr Will said:

If it's fine when it's running and will turn off and on again after a run, but won't hold a charge overnight, it's your battery.

If you take it for a run, turn it off and it will not turn back on immediately afterwards, then it's (probably) alternator.

Cheers Mr Will, I'm going to give it an overnight charge tonight and have a play tomorrow, hoping it's just the battery

If it helps, I did create a short about 6 months ago whilst wiring the radio in (don't ask) which drained the battery and I had to charge it up again, I'm wondering if that didn't help and now with all the cold weather it's given up the ghost

[*Al*]

Cold ambients always but strain on any 'weak' batteries or cells. Wet cell batteries prefer to be fully charged at all times and just to be 'topped up'. Fluctuation in charge/ voltage doesn't do a wet cell battery any good if fluctuation is a constant problem.

[Mr Will]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Just call in at somewhere which sells batteries with your old one, they'll be able to test it in seconds and tell you exactly how it is performing.

[anonymous-user]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Handily the previous owner was very organised and kept the receipt from Halfrauds, the battery is still within its 4 year guarantee, so I am going to pop down tonight and grab a new one for free

[anonymous-user]

Going against the general grain here, but I just wanted to say what excellent service I recieved from Halfords last night

I went to my local store (Charlton) explained the situation and showed them my receipt, they had to come and test the battery and it showed it had 62% starting power, they said this wouldn't qualify for a replacement

I told them this was as I had to charge it to get there and within half an hour it would be dead, they then agreed to swap it out, they also asked if I wanted them to check my alternator at the same time to ensure that wouldn't cause any problems with my new battery. I was more than happy for them to do this and the alternator is fine

So thankyou Halfords for not being as crap as I was expecting

[Matt_N]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Blimey, someone with a bit of mechanical knowledge working at Halfords!

[cuprabob]

Matt_N said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Blimey, someone with a bit of mechanical knowledge working at Halfords!

He won't last long

[anonymous-user]

cuprabob said:

Matt_N said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Blimey, someone with a bit of mechanical knowledge working at Halfords!

He won't last long

Ha ha not really, the machine tests the battery, you then change mode, start the car and with it still connected to the battery it tests the alternator somehow

Someone who knows which buttons to push, which yes is more than I was expecting

Or are you shocked that he knew what an alternator was?

[Greenwich Ross]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

You're welcome!