Battery going dead
Discussion
Hi guys
Tonight on starting my car at work I noticed that it took a little longer than normal to crank over. Once I got home I tried to start it again and it was even slower to crank. I tried 4 times in quick sucession and it started every time albiet slowly, on the last two times the dash actually went blank and came on about 2secs after the engine was running. When running the battery gauge shows 14V and the in dash lcd (when in diagnostic) shows 13.8V. When switched off the lcd display instantly drops to 11.8V and stays steady (tested for 5 mins), the gauge also shows the same. I believed it to be the battery so I took the car for a 20mile drive, it stayed on 14V the entire trip (no variation) with no accessories or all accessories on (ie no difference between). When arriving home I turned it off and the voltage went to 12.1 and stayed there, it started, but still very slowly.
Im quite sure its the battery on its way out, will this be covered by the warranty (one year left, full vauxhall sh)? Ive looked through the service booklet and it says nothing of excluding the battery (it names almost everything else consumable). Do Vauxhall have quick turnaround on these parts? If not covered by warranty does anyone have any recommendations (ie-brand and part numbers) or any idea of price.
Many thanks, John
Tonight on starting my car at work I noticed that it took a little longer than normal to crank over. Once I got home I tried to start it again and it was even slower to crank. I tried 4 times in quick sucession and it started every time albiet slowly, on the last two times the dash actually went blank and came on about 2secs after the engine was running. When running the battery gauge shows 14V and the in dash lcd (when in diagnostic) shows 13.8V. When switched off the lcd display instantly drops to 11.8V and stays steady (tested for 5 mins), the gauge also shows the same. I believed it to be the battery so I took the car for a 20mile drive, it stayed on 14V the entire trip (no variation) with no accessories or all accessories on (ie no difference between). When arriving home I turned it off and the voltage went to 12.1 and stayed there, it started, but still very slowly.
Im quite sure its the battery on its way out, will this be covered by the warranty (one year left, full vauxhall sh)? Ive looked through the service booklet and it says nothing of excluding the battery (it names almost everything else consumable). Do Vauxhall have quick turnaround on these parts? If not covered by warranty does anyone have any recommendations (ie-brand and part numbers) or any idea of price.
Many thanks, John
yes this does sound like the battery, providing all your measurements are consistently taken from battery terminals a residual voltage after 5mins of running below 12.2V indicates either a battery fault or a large constant current drain, doubt the latter but can also be checked with ampclamp how much current is the battery taking while engine is running, i suspect this is low and reflects the battery's condition.
Petrolzed
many thanks for your quick reply. Good to hear it should be under warranty, Ill call the local dealership on Monday to try to get it done quickly (usually go to picadors, but 120mile round trip for a battery is a bit extreme, but with Vauxhall it might be the quickest way). Just hope it starts tommorow morning as I dont fancy riding the bike to work on the coldest day of the year, but I dont think my neighbours will be happy for me trying to crank a v8 at 6am on a sunday morning over and over again. Hopefully it will start again tommorow, as it hasnt failed to start yet (but with the hesitation i dont think its far away). many thanks again mate, John
many thanks for your quick reply. Good to hear it should be under warranty, Ill call the local dealership on Monday to try to get it done quickly (usually go to picadors, but 120mile round trip for a battery is a bit extreme, but with Vauxhall it might be the quickest way). Just hope it starts tommorow morning as I dont fancy riding the bike to work on the coldest day of the year, but I dont think my neighbours will be happy for me trying to crank a v8 at 6am on a sunday morning over and over again. Hopefully it will start again tommorow, as it hasnt failed to start yet (but with the hesitation i dont think its far away). many thanks again mate, John
Essexvxr8, many thanks for your reply. Too damn cold to go and check now, will check at work tommorow and as a bonus we also have a dc clampmeter at work to check that. All readings were taken from in car gauge and lcd display on dash in diagnostic mode. Will definately try to get it through warranty as my mates STI battery was well over £100 and the monaros is almost half the size again, plus the hassle of getting it (explaining to the fifth motor factors that its not a diesel van). Many thanks again, John
Original fit battery (which is HD anyhow) is about £60 from vauxhall. Bought one from a local dealer who did not cover vxr's and then claimed the money back from the supplying dealer (Greens). Picadors would have replaced it but wanted me to get the car to them to check first... ddoooooo, the batteries dead and I cant drive it was my responce at the time! Was luck that I got the money back but for the agro I would have paid £60 alot sooner than I eventually did just to get the car back together.
All
Picadors sorted this out under warranty, along with paint peeling on door handles and under the boot spoiler, highly recommended, I only trust them and Rodger working on my car, after a bad experience with my local dealer.
Many Thanks for all of your replies
John
Picadors sorted this out under warranty, along with paint peeling on door handles and under the boot spoiler, highly recommended, I only trust them and Rodger working on my car, after a bad experience with my local dealer.
Many Thanks for all of your replies
John
Edited by bigmadjohn on Sunday 21st December 01:36
Oh yes, indeed I have... poor timing because it's been particularly scary of late with the weather we've been having. Also had some new rear tyres to go with it. All good fun 
The halfords part code is HC013 / HCB013
Found on this post
http://www.hsv.org.uk/topic.asp?h=27&t=476103&...
Dont know halfords price, but apparently main dealer price is about 60quid (didnt check as done under warranty).
Regards
John
Found on this post
http://www.hsv.org.uk/topic.asp?h=27&t=476103&...
Dont know halfords price, but apparently main dealer price is about 60quid (didnt check as done under warranty).
Regards
John
testing voltage is not a great way of diagnosing battery state. It's only really useful for seeing if the alternator is working correctly.
Many times I've seen a battery that appears to hold a charge and good voltage but go through the exact same symptoms as the OP. The most common cause is if a battery is allowed to discharge completely then the metal plates begin to crystalise. This reduces the capacity of the battery significantly. They key point is that it'll stillshow a good voltage when idle but try to crank the engine and the drain is far to high and it'll fail to turn over.
The best (and only) way is to put an amp meter inline with the battery and take a reading. More the crystal effect causes the battery to not hold enough amps for cranking and this shows in the reading.
The only way to restore a battery in this condition is to get a battery conditioner. They can either be combined into a charger unit or fit in the aux power socket. They work by changing the voltage causing a pulse effect that breaks down the crystals. Normal charging (including the alternator) will have zero effect.
Many times I've seen a battery that appears to hold a charge and good voltage but go through the exact same symptoms as the OP. The most common cause is if a battery is allowed to discharge completely then the metal plates begin to crystalise. This reduces the capacity of the battery significantly. They key point is that it'll stillshow a good voltage when idle but try to crank the engine and the drain is far to high and it'll fail to turn over.
The best (and only) way is to put an amp meter inline with the battery and take a reading. More the crystal effect causes the battery to not hold enough amps for cranking and this shows in the reading.
The only way to restore a battery in this condition is to get a battery conditioner. They can either be combined into a charger unit or fit in the aux power socket. They work by changing the voltage causing a pulse effect that breaks down the crystals. Normal charging (including the alternator) will have zero effect.
bigmadjohn said:
The halfords part code is HC013 / HCB013
Found on this post
www.hsv.org.uk/topic.asp?h=27&t=476103&r=6952323&hm=51035
Dont know halfords price, but apparently main dealer price is about 60quid (didnt check as done under warranty).
Regards
John
Found on this post
www.hsv.org.uk/topic.asp?h=27&t=476103&r=6952323&hm=51035
Dont know halfords price, but apparently main dealer price is about 60quid (didnt check as done under warranty).
Regards
John
Thank you... but too late
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