Flat battery..!

[waynester]

Really wanted/needed a blat yesterday afternoon, except on turning the key....flat battery

Turns over once then..click..click..click..BS

It's a pain in the ass removing the battery, but would prefer the idea of the car remaining alarmed. And i don't want to knacker the battery by repeatedly flattening it and re-charging.

Does this call for them trickle charger things? Does the car remain connected to the battery when you use them??

The battery is now fully charged and bubbling lovely, so a drive is on the cards later..

Any advice pls..?

It's used as a 2nd car, so is not a daily driver

[jmorgan]

How long since you last used it? Also how old is the battery and is there anything else dragging the battery down other than the alarm?

Mine lasts around 3 weeks standing before it will not start but 2 weeks and it still has a good charge, that is when it is in a good state of charge before hand. I don't use a trickle charger thingamy so cannot comment on them.

[waynester]

jmorgan said:

How long since you last used it? Also how old is the battery and is there anything else dragging the battery down other than the alarm? Mine lasts around 3 weeks standing before it will not start but 2 weeks and it still has a good charge, that is when it is in a good state of charge before hand. I don't use a trickle charger thingamy so cannot comment on them.

The car was last used 9 days ago, and it only just caught. I did take the car for a good run to replenish the charge.

No idea of the batterys age?

No, just alarm, immobilizer and little red flashing light

I've not had a problem before, can the cold/damp weather make a difference? If not maybe the battery is on it's way out.

Anyone comment on trickle chargers? pros/cons?

Thanks

[drifting]

Wayne

Have had a battery conditioner for about 2 years works great and never had a problem with a flat battery, got it from Air Flow for £39.99.

www.airflow.uk.com/battery-conditioner.htm

Cheers Drifting

[pwd95]

Got a top up charger from Halfords £29.99. I take the battery out though. I don't know if you can use it with the battery in the car, would there be a risk of fire or overflow??

[drifting]

Don't know about the top up charger but with the conditioner you can leave it on all the time with no problems.

Drifting

[seamus]

Have bought a few trickle charges over the years, both have performed well and never meant a flat battery - optimate/acumate and a banner charger - all around the £30 to £40 mark and can either be connected with the normal jaw clamps straight to the battery terminals with enough room to close the bonnet or there is a lead which can be left on the battery connected to the terminals and you then just plug the trickle charger in as and when.. these devices stop charging when it reaches a max and then kicks in again as it drops.. has definitely saved me a few batteries over the years..

[rus wood]

If you make sure that your cigarette lighter is always powered then you can put a lighter plug on your conditioner and charge through this (there shouldn't be any risk of blowing the fuse). In this way you don't need to pop the bonnet or anything to get it going and it is easy to disconnect once you are in the car.

Be careful though DavidY had a problem a few years ago when the mirror fell off his screen and turned on the cigarette lighter in his Taimar - could have caused a fire. It should be OK in a wedge because they are more vertical.

Russ

[york33]

Anyone had any luck with the solar trickle chargers that plug in your cigarette lighter and sit on your dashboard? Sceptical about if they're up to the job? Admittedly not much use for those cars that are spoilt and have a garage to live in

[seamus]

rus wood said:

If you make sure that your cigarette lighter is always powered then you can put a lighter plug on your conditioner and charge through this (there shouldn't be any risk of blowing the fuse). In this way you don't need to pop the bonnet or anything to get it going and it is easy to disconnect once you are in the car. Russ

Actually that's not a bad idea - but then I always check the oil and water before starting - any excuse to admire the V8 lump before any outings

[rev-erend]

Sounds like you battery could be nearing the end of it's life.

When you do get it started - I would take the car down to the local tyre centre or place that sells batteries and get them to check :

Battery
and the Alternator (does it charge the battery).

If you have a volt meter the battery should give (12.2 to 12.8 volts without the engine running) and give > 12.8 and < 14.4 volts when the engine is running !

But do get an expert opinion - it normally costs nothing.

A replacement is about £60~£80.

[redcar]

Fully agree with Rev's comments, I use a battery conditioner whenever the car is in the garage, so car is always ready for a blat. The excitment of a drive to have a flat battery is a real bummer.

[waynester]

redcar said:

The excitment of a drive to have a flat battery is a real bummer.

Tell me about it....



Thanks for the advice everyone....

[richa]

How long do you guys leave the things in the garage for that requires a battery conditioner?

Mine frequently has 4 to 6 weeks gap without starting, and it never fails to start when I want a blat! Battery is about 18 months old (new when the body off work was done).

Rich.

[drifting]

Rich

The reason for using the conditioner is not only to keep the battery charged up but so that it is being used (charged/discharged), if you leave the battery on its own then the sulphate is likely to drop to the bottom and short out cells when you least need it to.

Drifting

[firefox1712]

Intersesting -

I too have a flat battery at the moment. I can start it on a second battery (the booster pack doesn't seem to do the job as it is just flat - can't even open the boot!), and after running it seems I can almost watch it discharging by looking at the battery meter every few moments!

I am wondering if this might have something to do with the fact that the battery is sitting in a pool of water just now due to the collection of rain as a result of the camber in the road - maybe it is discharging across an atmosphere of water vapour? Apart from that, the battery could be knackered.

Spoke to my father some while ago when I had a similar problem with the Jag and he suggested it is best to slow charge a battery over 2-3 days - trickle charge I suppose. Fast chargers can only buckle the plates and/or leave deposits or something like that. He did go into quite a bit of battery thoery which was a bit above my sixth form physics!

I don't know if that helps, but he did strongly recommend a slow charge.

JJ

[jmorgan]

drifting said:

Rich The reason for using the conditioner is not only to keep the battery charged up but so that it is being used (charged/discharged), if you leave the battery on its own then the sulphate is likely to drop to the bottom and short out cells when you least need it to. Drifting

Didn't know that. Interesting.

[drifting]

jmorgan said:

Didn't know that. Interesting.

If you think about it how often do you have to change a battery on a car that is used every day, compared to one that is used rarely and does not have a conditioner connected to it!

Drifting