Dying battery?

[sam_strachan]

Hi all. I experienced a problem yesterday where I turned the ignition and nothing happened (when it was hot). I tried this a couple of times and after letting it cool for a few mins it turned over. However, the starter motor sounded slower and the windows moved slower than usual.

Anyway, I left it overnight and decided to take it for a spin to charge her up. Only, the battery light came on soon after I turned on my lights and she started to misfire a bit too when I was pushing at about 2500rpm - I drove for a good 30 mins.

Please tell me this is just a simple case of a dying battery and that all these things are related... I can't take problems this early on in ownership!

[parrot of doom]

Best bet is to contact the previous owner, or check the vehicle's history of receipts (if it has one) to see when the battery was last changed.

I've found the previous owner of mine to be an invaluable source of information on the car as he knows it top to bottom.

[mongoose]

sounds like possibly an alternator problem as the battery light came on when you put the lights on(insufficent charge).your battery may be u/s also but you cant be too sure until its had the oppertunity of a full charge from a good alternator.the extra demand on the battery when the starter/solenoid was hot sounds like it showed up the weak battery,and hopefully you dont need a new starter just yet.

[sam_strachan]

Thanks guys - I'll look into that, I have the previous owner's details somewhere. So would it also account for the loss of power (which I assumed was misfiring)?

[parrot of doom]

Could be, although I'd check your HT leads at the same time.

[petros]

if you,re getting a loss of power it would lead me to suggest that it,s the alternator at fault, although that doesn,t mean that the battery isn,t duff as well. peter

[M@H]

The non starting sounds like the "classic" hot start problem. The rest of it sadly sounds like your alternator has been cooked.. its easy enough to check for a charge output with a voltmeter.

Cheers
Matt

[sam_strachan]

Righty ho. Thanks everyone for your responses. I'll make a few calls tomorrow and see if I can get something sorted.

Are there any particular causes of alternators "cooking" or is this likely to be just one of those things?

[GreenV8S]

The starting and running problems suggest that you are losing electrical power for some reason.

A dead battery would stop you starting the car but doesn't account for the problems with the engine running. If the alternator isn't charging the battery it would eventually run down causing these symptoms. Could be because the alternator is not working, or that the fusible link has failed.

[petros]

one of those things. pulled out of the garage last week to be greeted by an awful graunching howl from under the bonnet. checked underneath and my cat wasn,t there so gingerly headed for central tvr in stourbridge. on arrival, opened bonnet to be greeted by sparks shooting out of the alternator. replaced, and, boy, aint they expensive? peter

[sam_strachan]

petros said:

...and, boy, aint they expensive? peter

I am thanking the good lord for a 3 month warranty!

[jtong]

Check the 100A alternator fuse under the car. If it's broken, the battery will not get charged and hence will get discharged when you use the car.

I had almost the exact same symptoms: battery light on, slow windows, misfire over 3000rpm, (bizarrely) under-reading (5psi) oil pressure.

Having broken two, I now change the fuse at service time.

[sam_strachan]

jtong, that would be altogether better news. I have a bible at home - will I find the fuse details in there? From your description, it sounds like it's not in the footwell, is that right?

Also - where could I order / buy a 100amp fuse from?

Edited: Decided to show some initiative and search the forums - found loads of info. Thanks!

>> Edited by sam_strachan on Monday 21st March 12:41

[Big Al.]

Sam, the location of the 100 amp fuse on my 98 Chim was alongside the oil sump on the drivers side of the car. It's housed in a black plastic box.

[jtong]

I got my fuses from main dealers or specialists. Having broken down doing a ton on a French autoroute, I now carry a couple for spares.

Should cost around one gold nugget. You can just about see the box if you look through the front driver's side wheel arch behind the wheel. As Big Al says, it's strapped to the main chassis rail.

Easiest to change if you can get some ramp time (my local garage obliged me!).

[spend]

VWP supply them mail order, 01159305454 ask for FS100 (100A strip fuse) 30p+vat

Dave

[sam_strachan]

Thanks guys - PH to the rescue as ever! I'll be ordering a few of those 100amp babies

Since my last post - my battery has completely died so I can't even get her started to take her the 1/3 mile to my local garage.

So I have the AA coming tonight and they should be able to give me a lift to the garage. I'll let you know when the fix is found.

[sam_strachan]

It's fixed! A top man called Paul from the AA came over and sorted it in no time. Turns out it was a loose connection to the in-line fuse. The fuse was absolutely fine.

For the benefit of others, my symptoms included:

• Not starting (not even a solenoid click upon throwing the key) (oh and the lights didn't dim either)

• Misfiring over 2500 rpm

• Slow windows

• Battery charge light

• And eventually of course a flat battery

• Not to mention getting really fed up

Anyway, this leads me on to a couple of subsequent questions.

I'd like to purchase a small but good jack that would be sufficient for me to fix this and other things myself in the future and would fit in the boot. I could have saved myself a lot of heartache. Does anyone have any recommendations?

I also want some jump leads that will cope and are long enough. Any that people would recommend?

And of course I'll be getting some of those fuses too, just in case!

Thanks again everyone!

>> Edited by sam_strachan on Tuesday 22 March 20:25

[mongoose]

sam_strachan said:

I'd like to purchase a small but good jack that would be sufficient for me to fix this and other things myself in the future and would fit in the boot. I could have saved myself a lot of heartache. Does anyone have any recommendations? I also want some jump leads that will cope and are long enough. Any that people would recommend?

i can recommend the leven jumpleads as they are much more convenient than scrabbling around in the footwell.however any ordinary jumpleads will also do the job and at a lower price,but they need to be a good heavy duty set preferably and quite long,at least 3 meters will help,so you pays your money....as they say.as for the jack,tvr used to supply a scissor jack with all new chimaeras and griffs,then stopped suplying them before production finished.these had a 'cup' on the top to locate on the chassis tubes.many people didnt like using them,fearing they would put unnecesary strain/distortion on the outriggers,especially if already weak from corrosion.i have to say,i used mine many times on my old griff with no probs and would like another for my new griff!youll probably get one from douglas valley or bell hill breakers. failing that your probably looking at a trolley or small bottle jack i suspect.freindly word of warning-its not considered safe to work under a car supported by only a jack or jacks.you should always use axle stands or ramps at least.



>> Edited by mongoose on Thursday 24th March 18:22