Information from a car battery with multimeter?

[E65Ross]

Just want to get an idea of the condition of the battery in my car, it appears that it's 6 years old judging by the service history, but the car seems to start find and is in pretty much daily use and most of my trips are 30-40mins each.

I did a quick check of the charging voltage which was around 13.95V, but what's the best way to check it when it's off? I'm guessing it's best to wait after a drive to let all the electrics shut down etc, and some have said to turn the full beams on for 15secs and then wait a while....Would it be worthwhile checking the voltage after doing that, and then checking again the following morning to see if the voltage has dropped much?

I know it seems like a pointless exercise, but with winter coming up I don't really fancy my car not starting. Being 6 years old, it may be due for a change anyway....

Many thanks.

[E65Ross]

Thanks chaps. Phoned up my mate who runs a garage and they're going to check it later today for me

[E65Ross]

A decent battery is £75 for it (better than the £175 for my last car!)

[E65Ross]

They did a battery test and said it's fine and not to bother replacing it yet

Happy days. I did notice in the service history that it was replaced after 5 years and 25k miles.....5 years later it's on 85k miles, so mileage has really gone up, so the car is getting more use (likely longer trips) and therefore it should last longer.

Cheers for your help chaps.

Is there any point in hooking it up to a charger (I've got a CTEK MXS 5.0) once every month or so for 24 hours? Or, if the alternator is working fine, is that pointless?

Cheers

[E65Ross]

battered said:

E65Ross said:

They did a battery test and said it's fine and not to bother replacing it yet

Blimey, that's a surprise. Result.

E65Ross said:

Is there any point in hooking it up to a charger (I've got a CTEK MXS 5.0) once every month or so for 24 hours? Or, if the alternator is working fine, is that pointless?

Don't waste your time or your money. The battery gets hooked up to the best charger in the world twice a day in the week, so it doesn't need any more.

Chargers are pointless unless cars sit unused, are constantly abused on very short trips, or are antiques with dynamos.

I know, was quite surprised. I bought the car with the idea of not spending much on it....it will need a new battery in my ownership without a doubt, but I'd rather wait a bit first so I suspect, if all stays well, I'll get it changed at some point next year.

[E65Ross]

battered said:

Willy Nilly said:

You can normally tell when the battery is getting weak long before it fails.

Not IME. One minute they are fine, the next there's a groan when you hit the starter and that's the end of it.

The car seems to start absolutely fine. Upon turning the key the engine starts usually on the 5th "turn" if you know what I mean? It'll be more telling when the temperature drops though. I'll leave it a while and get it tested again when I get the service done, assuming it lasts that long....

Cue it not starting tomorrow morning

At least with batteries I can either order online and get next day delivery FOC, or my AA membership can tow me to my mates garage up the road and they can get it done there for me.

[E65Ross]

Had a look online and whilst Bosch do a battery for £75 it's rated at 610cca and 63Ah

http://carbatteries-online.co.uk/product/bosch-s50...

but there's another from a brand I haven't heard of who make one rated at 630cca and the same Ah

http://carbatteries-online.co.uk/product/027-type-...

and for £20 less! Why would I go for the Bosch!?

Have saved that link for the future. £55 for a decent battery is a revelation from replacing the 7 series' battery

They also do one for £45 which also has 63Ah but only 590cca....would that be sufficient?

http://carbatteries-online.co.uk/product/heavy-dut...

Mine is only a 1.6 litre and they also suggest the same batteries for the 1.8 makes me think the cheaper (£45) one would be fine for the 1.6....??

Edited by E65Ross on Monday 26th September 21:09

[E65Ross]

Hmmm, checked voltage this morning (unlocked car, opened bonnet, locked car to shut everything off) and then checked.....was only 12.48V. Would having opened/unlocked the car and locked it again caused a small drop? I'm beginning to think it may be worth just getting another one anyway, for the sake of £45....! I'll be keeping the car for at least 2-3 years I'm sure so it'll need changing at some point during my ownership anyway.

[E65Ross]

Well for the sake of £45 it makes sense when I consider I'll be having the car for a few years at least, and that the battery will almost certainly need changing in that time anyway....

[E65Ross]

SHutchinson said:

E65Ross said:

Well for the sake of £45 it makes sense when I consider I'll be having the car for a few years at least, and that the battery will almost certainly need changing in that time anyway....

Just change it, you clearly want to, despite everyone telling you that you don't need to. That way you can move on to fussing over something else that doesn't need changing, like erm, have you checked your diff oil? I bet it's all sludgey and brown. ;-)

Changed at the last service

[E65Ross]

carl_w said:

lostkiwi said:

Try looking here:
https://www.tayna.co.uk/027-Car-Batteries-G12.html

It's the cheap Powerline one that I bought. Even if it only lasts a year it'll be OK.

Had a look there and due to the £8 postage unfortunately they were more expensive than the other site for a similarly specced battery. Can't argue with £45 for a battery with almost identical specs as the Bosch one (which is £75!!) and also has a 4 year warranty. Due to the driving I do (20 miles each way to work) I'm sure it'll last longer than that!

[E65Ross]

Well, the new battery turned up today and so I'll get it fitted tomorrow or Friday. Any point shoving it on charge overnight to ensure it's fully charged before I use it?

[E65Ross]

Ozzie Osmond said:

E65Ross said:

Well, the new battery turned up today and so I'll get it fitted tomorrow or Friday. Any point shoving it on charge overnight to ensure it's fully charged before I use it?

Avoid.

Your alternator will charge the battery correctly every time and will deal with a new battery very quickly/efficiently. A battery charger may attempt to overcharge it, which is a bad thing.

I have a CTEK MXS 5.0 so shouldn't be an issue, but I shall, in that case, leave it be

Cheers