Faulty battery - warranty claim refused - advice?

[stevelorek]

Hi

Looking for some advice proving that a battery is faulty. I'm having an issue with Halfords honouring a replacement battery which is well within its warranty period.

It's this Yuasa battery which comes with a 5 year warranty. It started going faulty after 2 years.

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/batteries/car-ba...

It's for a Ford S-Max. The dashboard has started complaining of a low battery after a few seconds of the car being turned on (ignition off). It's definitely not the keyfob battery - that's a different warning. I returned from holiday the other day to find the battery drained and the car not starting. There's no devices plugged into it, no tracker or anything installed. Same thing happened to a cheaper Lion battery bought from Euro Car Parts before this. I managed to get a refund from them to buy this supposedly higher quality battery but the same thing has happened and Halfords won't budge.

I suspect it's because the car mostly does short journeys.

In both cases they tested the battery with their testing tool and found no fault. So on that basis they're refusing to budge. How can I demonstrate, other than the dashboard warnng, that the battery is faulty?

I'm happy to replace the battery and take this to court if necessary, but need to gather evidence. I already got an email from Halfords stating their refusal in writing, so I'm good on that front.

Thanks.

Steve

[996TT02]

"I returned from holiday the other day to find the battery drained "

"Same thing happened to a cheaper Lion battery bought from Euro Car Parts before this."

"In both cases they tested the battery with their testing tool and found no fault."

What sort of evidence do you need? Everything circumstantial points to your car being the issue. You almost certainly have a parasitic drain. Pity ECP for refunding a perfectly good battery.

[mmm-five]

My advice would be to buy a trickle charger / battery conditioner until you find the source of your power drain (could even just be a bad earth).

[stevelorek]

I don’t think it’s a drain. I think it’s due to lots of short journeys. The problems arise after a couple of years. Otherwise I’d expect it to start happening a lot sooner after purchase. I have a Ctek charger and have been topping it up with that.

[Skyrocket21]

The problem isn't the battery as you said, "the same thing happened with the Lion battery", the problem is with your car, I would hazard a guess you've fitted a Chinese made Android stereo and the wiring is draining your battery, that can be fixed, if it's not that then it must be something, unless you spend countless hours using everything inside without it running.

Edit: maybe your alternator is at fault, get someone to take a look to see if it's working correctly or see if they could work out if they're a draw from something when it's all off.

Edited by Skyrocket21 on Thursday 11th August 17:45

[stevelorek]

OK thanks guys, there’s nothing foreign connected to the car, standard fit stereo, no tracker. I guess there must be some wiring issue in the car but the labour cost to track that down will be more than a new battery.

[nismo48]

stevelorek said:

OK thanks guys, there’s nothing foreign connected to the car, standard fit stereo, no tracker. I guess there must be some wiring issue in the car but the labour cost to track that down will be more than a new battery.

I would get an electrical check to source the drain, it will cost money and likely more than the cost of a replacement battery. At least then hopefully you will be able to do your day to day running around without any worries.

[wpa1975]

It could be something daft like the glovebox or boot light staying on.

[996TT02]

stevelorek said:

I don’t think it’s a drain. I think it’s due to lots of short journeys. The problems arise after a couple of years. Otherwise I’d expect it to start happening a lot sooner after purchase. I have a Ctek charger and have been topping it up with that.

The fact that the battery went flat when you were away indicates otherwise. Besides a good alternator (another assumption) charges up a battery pretty rapidly. Here all journeys are pretty short, and batteries last 7 years or so typically.

[996TT02]

stevelorek said:

OK thanks guys, there’s nothing foreign connected to the car, standard fit stereo, no tracker. I guess there must be some wiring issue in the car but the labour cost to track that down will be more than a new battery.

A parasitic drain is easy to catch with an ammeter.

And fuse-pulling will narrow it down.

It's even totally DIY-able.

[996TT02]

Presume your car has an alarm of sorts, immobilizer, whatever. If so it likely has a backup battery so if battery disconnection is attempted with car locked the alarm still sounds.

These backup batteries within the alarm system eventually fail and constantly drain a charging current.

Just one thing to look into.

Also - do you garage your car? Do you lock it with the fob if so? Another possibility if you don't. Electrical systems don't go to sleep on some cars if the car is left unlocked.

In any case, previous procedure will get to the bottom of this.

The fact that you keep your car on a charger frequently seems to indicate that the problem is not minor. A totally disconnected battery will retain charge for many many long months.

[Durzel]

Dashcam fitted?

It sounds like the 5 year battery warranty wouldn't be applicable. That warranty would likely be against a catastrophic failure, rather than running the battery down to a point where its internal chemistry is damaged. Once that happens the battery is basically screwed and won't hold a charge for as long, if it holds a charge at all.

Definitely sounds like a parasitic drain. A friend of mine had an Audi A5 that kept draining OEM batteries, with nothing aftermarket fitted. It turned out there was some moisture that had damaged the amp, which was enough to introduce a drain.

[CraigyMc]

stevelorek said:

Hi

Looking for some advice proving that a battery is faulty. I'm having an issue with Halfords honouring a replacement battery which is well within its warranty period.

It's this Yuasa battery which comes with a 5 year warranty. It started going faulty after 2 years.

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/batteries/car-ba...

It's for a Ford S-Max. The dashboard has started complaining of a low battery after a few seconds of the car being turned on (ignition off). It's definitely not the keyfob battery - that's a different warning. I returned from holiday the other day to find the battery drained and the car not starting. There's no devices plugged into it, no tracker or anything installed. Same thing happened to a cheaper Lion battery bought from Euro Car Parts before this. I managed to get a refund from them to buy this supposedly higher quality battery but the same thing has happened and Halfords won't budge.

I suspect it's because the car mostly does short journeys.

In both cases they tested the battery with their testing tool and found no fault. So on that basis they're refusing to budge. How can I demonstrate, other than the dashboard warnng, that the battery is faulty?

I'm happy to replace the battery and take this to court if necessary, but need to gather evidence. I already got an email from Halfords stating their refusal in writing, so I'm good on that front.

Thanks.

Steve

It's going to be something draining the battery.

How much is the battery by the way? As we talking about £60 worth to cover the remaining 3 years of warranty from a £100 battery that has lasted 2 years?

[paradigital]

996TT02 said:

A parasitic drain is easy to catch with an ammeter.

And fuse-pulling will narrow it down.

It's even totally DIY-able.

This.

Place your multimeter in Amps mode in series between the positive terminal and the positive battery connector.

Pull fuses until the current draw drops.

[Monkeylegend]

I took a Lion battery back to ECP having lost the receipt and they changed it straight away, no question asked.

[Sir Bagalot]

You in the AA/RAC? I had a flat battery on a Mondeo years ago. Second time it happened the RAC bloke said I had a drain on it and started various testing bits. He narrowed it down to a bunch of relays and as I said the car was under warranty he said back to Ford it goes then.

Transpired it was a relay.

[Olivergt]

paradigital said:

996TT02 said:

A parasitic drain is easy to catch with an ammeter.

And fuse-pulling will narrow it down.

It's even totally DIY-able.

This.

Place your multimeter in Amps mode in series between the positive terminal and the positive battery connector.

Pull fuses until the current draw drops.

This again, there are plenty of YT videos on how to do it and what settings to use on your multi meter. You only need access to the battery and fuses, so totally DIYable.

I can also confirm it works after tracing a battery drain on my car.

[Snappy89]

Could be a stuck relay or other contactor.

Something if definitely drawing power at all times.

[stevemcs]

Did you reset the bms when fitting the battery ?

[rallycross]

Most smax will show the battery low warning message when you sit with it on and don’t start - they all do they sir and usually there is nothing wrong with the battery.

Ignore the warning light.