Battery charging
Discussion
Hello all,
The other day, my car wouldn't start after work, tried several times but it wouldn't start. Waited an hour or so for recovery, but when I went to show them what the car was doing, it started as if nothing had happened. He said it is probably a low battery, so I borrowed a charger from a friend and charged mine up, thinking it would take overnight, but 45 minutes later, the "Full" LED was on, I was surprised but then I just reconnected the battery and thought that was that. But now thinking back, could my battery have charged that fast? It was only a 4 Amp charger? Or were the lights telling me something else, I didn't have the instructions.
Thanks
Dom
The other day, my car wouldn't start after work, tried several times but it wouldn't start. Waited an hour or so for recovery, but when I went to show them what the car was doing, it started as if nothing had happened. He said it is probably a low battery, so I borrowed a charger from a friend and charged mine up, thinking it would take overnight, but 45 minutes later, the "Full" LED was on, I was surprised but then I just reconnected the battery and thought that was that. But now thinking back, could my battery have charged that fast? It was only a 4 Amp charger? Or were the lights telling me something else, I didn't have the instructions.
Thanks
Dom
A sticky starter solenoid could cause those symptoms. It may be aggravated by a low battery voltage or poor wiring.
If it happens again, you may find that if you hold the key in the 'cranking' position it will eventually start cranking. If it's a recurring problem and you have an opportunity to prepare for it, and don't mind getting your hands dirty, locate the starter motor and get something such as a broom handle you can tap it with while the key is held in the cranking position. This can help it break free and start working.
A faulty immobilizer could also cause similar symptoms.
If it happens again, you may find that if you hold the key in the 'cranking' position it will eventually start cranking. If it's a recurring problem and you have an opportunity to prepare for it, and don't mind getting your hands dirty, locate the starter motor and get something such as a broom handle you can tap it with while the key is held in the cranking position. This can help it break free and start working.
A faulty immobilizer could also cause similar symptoms.
Edited by GreenV8S on Thursday 8th March 11:00
GreenV8S said:
A sticky starter solenoid could cause those symptoms. It may be aggravated by a low battery voltage or poor wiring.
If it happens again, you may find that if you hold the key in the 'cranking' position it will eventually start cranking. If it's a recurring problem and you have an opportunity to prepare for it, and don't mind getting your hands dirty, locate the starter motor and get something such as a broom handle you can tap it with while the key is held in the cranking position. This can help it break free and start working.
A faulty immobilizer could also cause similar symptoms.
You may find that if you hold the key in the cranking position it will eventually start to melt the wiring - No offence meant but - This is not a good thing to doIf it happens again, you may find that if you hold the key in the 'cranking' position it will eventually start cranking. If it's a recurring problem and you have an opportunity to prepare for it, and don't mind getting your hands dirty, locate the starter motor and get something such as a broom handle you can tap it with while the key is held in the cranking position. This can help it break free and start working.
A faulty immobilizer could also cause similar symptoms.
Edited by GreenV8S on Thursday 8th March 11:00
Was "the other day" very recent and very cold?
A symtom of a battery that is showing its age is that it can't produce the large current that will turn the starter when cold, but can when things warm up. A way of 'warming up' the battery is to put headlights in full for a minute, then off and try again.
John
A symtom of a battery that is showing its age is that it can't produce the large current that will turn the starter when cold, but can when things warm up. A way of 'warming up' the battery is to put headlights in full for a minute, then off and try again.
John
There are various discharge ways of testing batteries but a multimeter voltage test has allways sufficed for me IMO. 12.6 volts or more is ideal. You need to wait a bit after chargiing a battery though or put a bit of drain on it to settle it down. Immediately after charging you can see some high voltage readings which aren't really representative of its true condition.
Dom1961 said:
Just measured it, 12.64 volts, so perfectly fine! Maybe it wasn't low in the first place...
You could get someone to crank the engine over while you measure the voltage at the battery, measuring the battery voltage without a load on it is telling you nothingIf you do get someone to lend a hand - Make sure the cars out of gear - Measure voltage while cranking, voltage should not fall below 9.6 Volts
It would be good if you could stop the engine from firing by removing a fuel pump fuse if there is one (I don't know what model of car you have), in doing this the engine can be cranked for longer (10-15 seconds is good) and leave for 5 minutes then repeat
GreenV8S said:
Penelope Stopit said:
You may find that if you hold the key in the cranking position it will eventually start to melt the wiring - No offence meant but - This is not a good thing to do
Nonsense.Bad connection is one example
"Nonesense" hey
DrDeAtH said:
Get the battery load tested. Your local old school car shop should be able to do this, then sell you a new battery...
This is the problem, too many shops seem to fail a battery so as to be able to sell a new one, I reckon a battery should only be load tested in front of the customerGassing Station | Home Mechanics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff