Discussion
What sort of conditioner is it. If it's a trickle charge one, ie the type you leave plugged in all the time when car not in use, it's most unlikely (unless it has some sort of boost charge) that it will have put enough juice back into the battery in an hour.
What symptons did you have when it wouldn't start, did it turn over at all, just click, or nothing at all. Did the pump prime, are you fairly confident that it's not the immobiliser?
If the car started okay after just an hour, it might just be a loose connection somewhere. Have you tried it with the headlights on when starting, to see whether or not they dim - might be worth a try. Any idea how old the battery is, and whether it's the correct output.
It may well be the battery and if I had any doubt I'd just put a new one in. However, it's worth trying to eliminate a few simple things first.
Sorry lots of questions, but it could be a number of things which a bit more info. might help to address.
What symptons did you have when it wouldn't start, did it turn over at all, just click, or nothing at all. Did the pump prime, are you fairly confident that it's not the immobiliser?
If the car started okay after just an hour, it might just be a loose connection somewhere. Have you tried it with the headlights on when starting, to see whether or not they dim - might be worth a try. Any idea how old the battery is, and whether it's the correct output.
It may well be the battery and if I had any doubt I'd just put a new one in. However, it's worth trying to eliminate a few simple things first.
Sorry lots of questions, but it could be a number of things which a bit more info. might help to address.
The pump did prime as normal. I opened the boot and the light seemed strong. When I tried to start the car there was a click. I did play around with the immobiliser switch on the dash (Tuscan 2) after a 25 mile run I placed the trickle charger into the car and the charger started to charge which is unusual. The car usually shows full charge after several seconds once placed on charge.
It's obviously difficult to say without a meter to test it (I'm assuming you don't have access to one to check the voltage and then see what happens when the engine is running).
As it's a Tuscan 2, could it still be the original battery? A trickle charger will prolong the life, but if it is original, it's going to be 6-7 years or so old. The battery on one of mine (not TVR), where the car is hardly used but kept on trickle charge suddenly expired after just over 7 years. It just clicked when I tried to turn it over. Had been perfectly fine 2 weeks previously when last started and run. A new battery sorted it. If it is a standard lead-acid type battery, they can be fine one minute and dead the next, most of them don't seem to gradually run-down like they used to years ago.
However, a click could indicate a problem with the battery or the starter solenoid. Do you have access to another (known) good battery that you could substitute and see whether that resolves it.
You might be able to see what the headlights are like in the dark, then see if they get brighter with the engine running (assuming you can get it started, that is). If so, that would tend to indicate that the alternator is charging.
This is no more than a guess, but if the history /age of the battery is not known, or it's known to be the original, I'd be tempted to opt for that being the problem.
If no luck, you could try posting on the Tuscan forum, there may be some specific model issues that I'm not aware of.
Good luck
As it's a Tuscan 2, could it still be the original battery? A trickle charger will prolong the life, but if it is original, it's going to be 6-7 years or so old. The battery on one of mine (not TVR), where the car is hardly used but kept on trickle charge suddenly expired after just over 7 years. It just clicked when I tried to turn it over. Had been perfectly fine 2 weeks previously when last started and run. A new battery sorted it. If it is a standard lead-acid type battery, they can be fine one minute and dead the next, most of them don't seem to gradually run-down like they used to years ago.
However, a click could indicate a problem with the battery or the starter solenoid. Do you have access to another (known) good battery that you could substitute and see whether that resolves it.
You might be able to see what the headlights are like in the dark, then see if they get brighter with the engine running (assuming you can get it started, that is). If so, that would tend to indicate that the alternator is charging.
This is no more than a guess, but if the history /age of the battery is not known, or it's known to be the original, I'd be tempted to opt for that being the problem.
If no luck, you could try posting on the Tuscan forum, there may be some specific model issues that I'm not aware of.
Good luck
In my experience, if it charges once you've put the charger back on then I'm pretty sure it will be fine. If the battery were dead, then normally the Optimate (other makes are available) will not bring it back to life. Keep the charger on, see if the green light comes on to show the battery is fully charged. My battery is only a year old, but I still keep it on the Optimate as the battery charge barely lasts a week without the trickle going through it. It's down to the amount of charge the alarm eats up. Make sure your boot is shut properly and that the interior light isn't in the reading position.
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