Now it's the battery :(
Discussion
I posted a problem with my Chimp not starting on Friday and now it appears that the battery has certainly drained. Which has now given me another couple of questions:
1. Would a dying battery prevent my Starter Motor from doing anying or do you think I have both a knackered starter motor and now a dead battery?
2. Do all Chimaeras have their batteries in the same place? I downloaded the Battery chapter PDF from Steve Heath's site and it told me that the battery was 9" off the floor in the passenger footwell. Mine's actually on the floor (1996 Chimaera 500), nor can I find the bolts he was referring to?!?
3. How regular is regular use when it come to the battery? I have been using it at least once a week since I bought it mid March (at least 40mins) and have driven some 1,200 miles in the last couple of months.
4. Could something be draining the battery which was affecting the starter motor too?
I have taken a couple of photos of my footwell (albeit not brilliant ones), so if they could help anyone they are at:
http://home.talkcity.com/MSNGamingZone/gingerjon/Chim500_Maintenance.html
Any help or tips gratefully received (but you are dealing with a novice!).
Thanks,
Jonathan
1. Would a dying battery prevent my Starter Motor from doing anying or do you think I have both a knackered starter motor and now a dead battery?
2. Do all Chimaeras have their batteries in the same place? I downloaded the Battery chapter PDF from Steve Heath's site and it told me that the battery was 9" off the floor in the passenger footwell. Mine's actually on the floor (1996 Chimaera 500), nor can I find the bolts he was referring to?!?
3. How regular is regular use when it come to the battery? I have been using it at least once a week since I bought it mid March (at least 40mins) and have driven some 1,200 miles in the last couple of months.
4. Could something be draining the battery which was affecting the starter motor too?
I have taken a couple of photos of my footwell (albeit not brilliant ones), so if they could help anyone they are at:
http://home.talkcity.com/MSNGamingZone/gingerjon/Chim500_Maintenance.html
Any help or tips gratefully received (but you are dealing with a novice!).
Thanks,
Jonathan
1. Would a dying battery prevent my Starter Motor from doing anying or do you think I have both a knackered starter motor and now a dead battery?
If you have a dying battery, the starter won't work. It isn't nuclear powered!
2. Do all Chimaeras have their batteries in the same place? I downloaded the Battery chapter PDF from Steve Heath's site and it told me that the battery was 9" off the floor in the passenger footwell. Mine's actually on the floor (1996 Chimaera 500), nor can I find the bolts he was referring to?!?
My battery is in the same place as yours
3. How regular is regular use when it come to the battery? I have been using it at least once a week since I bought it mid March (at least 40mins) and have driven some 1,200 miles in the last couple of months.
That should be fine, but batteries do have a limited life and do suddenly fail. Don't take it personally.
4. Could something be draining the battery which was affecting the starter motor too?
Yes, you may have a short, but they are notoriously difficult to find.
The best advice is to invest in a clever battery charger. I bought one from Leven Technologies (they advertise on here) which you can leave permanently on when the vehicle is in your garage. They charge when needed, and trickle charge when not needed. I would buy one of those.
Good luck
R
quote:I have a similar problem with my battery on a 3 year old car and bought an 'intelligent' charger from Halfords. The only problem is that the charger is so clever it doesn't recognise that it's connected to the battery if it's completely flat!!!! I had to connect a second spare battery to the first to put some charge in and then recharge fully. For some reason, my battery won't actually switch over to trickle charge and I'm not sure whether that is just because of the normal current drain from alarms etc.
The best advice is to invest in a clever battery charger. I bought one from Leven Technologies (they advertise on here) which you can leave permanently on when the vehicle is in your garage. They charge when needed, and trickle charge when not needed. I would buy one of those.

I've always worked on the basis that 3 years is a reasonably life to expect from a battery. That is not to say you'll get a lot more service from it if it's well looked after and kept topped up. But the performance will drop significantly if it goes through deep discharge/recharge cycling.

A lead/acid battery will end up with the lead plates coating with lead sulphate and reduce its effectiveness in producing a charge. There are products available that remove this scale but will only provide a short term solution.
Not all batteries are lead/acid and some use calcium chemistry. These are often found in heavy duty batteries and are less prone to problems associated with deep cycling. It's a case of biting the bullet and buying a new battery.

MC
The battery box has changed and they now use the Griffith style box. The bolts are/should be under the car. You can't see them from inside.
Follow the GRiff instructions and make sure you mark the position of the box, and seal the bolts when you put them back otherwise water will get in.
Steve
Follow the GRiff instructions and make sure you mark the position of the box, and seal the bolts when you put them back otherwise water will get in.
Steve
I've recently fixed a similar problem with my Griff. Starter motor sometimes extremely sluggish to turn over, combined with often finding car with a flat battery after a week of not being used.
Easy, I thought, it's a duff battery, and the starter motor is just a symptom. So I replaced the battery with a new 079 from Halfords, finding in the process that the old one was far too small and only had a cranking capacity of 390A, rather than 620A. Battery now survives being left for a week without being discharged.
Unfortunately, this appeared to work for a while, but then the car would exhibit the slow starter motor problem even with the new battery. It came to a head when blue acrid smoke poured out of the starter when trying to turn the car over. Buggered starter motor diagnosed, and new one fitted.
Car now turns over twice as fast as I've ever heard it, plus the battery isn't flat after leaving it for a weak. To top it off, the voltmeter reads 1V more than with the new battery/old starter combination, so it was probably a short in the starter which was deep-discharging my old battery, eventually killing it.
If there's a moral in here, it's that your problem is probably the battery, but it might be something else
Pete
Easy, I thought, it's a duff battery, and the starter motor is just a symptom. So I replaced the battery with a new 079 from Halfords, finding in the process that the old one was far too small and only had a cranking capacity of 390A, rather than 620A. Battery now survives being left for a week without being discharged.
Unfortunately, this appeared to work for a while, but then the car would exhibit the slow starter motor problem even with the new battery. It came to a head when blue acrid smoke poured out of the starter when trying to turn the car over. Buggered starter motor diagnosed, and new one fitted.
Car now turns over twice as fast as I've ever heard it, plus the battery isn't flat after leaving it for a weak. To top it off, the voltmeter reads 1V more than with the new battery/old starter combination, so it was probably a short in the starter which was deep-discharging my old battery, eventually killing it.
If there's a moral in here, it's that your problem is probably the battery, but it might be something else

Pete
The footwell thing still amazes me. My battery box is all but knackered as the damn thing has obviously been in and out a thousand times. Only two of the bolts really bite now. The box is tiny and there is no hope of getting an 072 or an 075 in there.
The heater hoses run right over the top of it, with two beautifully placed hose clips dangling right in the middle, strategically placed so that you knock them when putting the battery in or getting it out. And of course the ECU and associated gubbins are all stuffed in there as well, cleverly positioned for maximum expense when / if the heater hoses ever blow.
Why oh why oh why....
(Oh - and your battery box/location looks like a dream compared with mine!!!)
>> Edited by beljames on Tuesday 14th May 17:00
The heater hoses run right over the top of it, with two beautifully placed hose clips dangling right in the middle, strategically placed so that you knock them when putting the battery in or getting it out. And of course the ECU and associated gubbins are all stuffed in there as well, cleverly positioned for maximum expense when / if the heater hoses ever blow.
Why oh why oh why....
(Oh - and your battery box/location looks like a dream compared with mine!!!)
>> Edited by beljames on Tuesday 14th May 17:00
Had a similar problem with my 3.5 year old Chim 500. Bought it two weeks ago from Fernhurst, then battery suddenly failed last weekend
. Fernhurst changed the battery free of charge this morning (excuse pun). I suspect the car had been under-used over the winter and the battery drained by the alarm system. Plus the battery was nearing the end of its life anyway.

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