Battery - thoughts please
Discussion
The lads 55 Hyundai Getz had a Eurocarparts Lion battery about three years ago.
During lockdown the car wasn't moved for three months and when he came to start it, dead as a do do. When he managed to jump start we found the brake lights were permanently on - without the key in the ignition -we then diagnosed the brake light switch had disconnected itself so the assumption is this drained the battery..probably three months back.
That was sorted and I checked the battery cells ....all were still covered in water, so I charged with a 1.5 amp trickle charger. 26 hours later and its fully charged.
Since then the non operating battery level has gone from 12.8 Volts to 12.58 over a week of intermittent use. The operating level (with car running) is 13.83 Volts.
Is it safe to send him back down to Uni land (many miles away) for the winter and are these battery levels indicative of a healthy battery that should keep going despite three months of total discharge or lob a new one in there for £40.
During lockdown the car wasn't moved for three months and when he came to start it, dead as a do do. When he managed to jump start we found the brake lights were permanently on - without the key in the ignition -we then diagnosed the brake light switch had disconnected itself so the assumption is this drained the battery..probably three months back.
That was sorted and I checked the battery cells ....all were still covered in water, so I charged with a 1.5 amp trickle charger. 26 hours later and its fully charged.
Since then the non operating battery level has gone from 12.8 Volts to 12.58 over a week of intermittent use. The operating level (with car running) is 13.83 Volts.
Is it safe to send him back down to Uni land (many miles away) for the winter and are these battery levels indicative of a healthy battery that should keep going despite three months of total discharge or lob a new one in there for £40.
A fairly long period of discharge will not be kind to any battery. A 3 year old Lion battery will definitely be adversely affected by this as they are far from good quality batteries. I would think one of those would be past its best anyway at 3 years old.
If you are worried then stick a new battery in, I suggest something a bit better than a lion if you intend to keep the car.
The other option is to to show your son how to change the battery, put the correct size spanner in the glovebox and show him which one to buy from the local euro car parts if he needs it.
If you are worried then stick a new battery in, I suggest something a bit better than a lion if you intend to keep the car.
The other option is to to show your son how to change the battery, put the correct size spanner in the glovebox and show him which one to buy from the local euro car parts if he needs it.
Battery drain fault fixed and decent charging volts... he'll be fine.
Teach him a bit of spannering with a 10mm and a 13mm before he goes just incase.
It's only a light Getz so worst case him and a mate can push and bump start it. Little cars are surprisingly easy to get going. I once bump started my Corsa on my own at 3am after it spent 2 weeks in an airport car park with so little power the central locking didn't work and none of the dash lights came on.... the ex-GF was somehow not impressed...
If you're really worried then you can buy little Li-ion battery pack jump starters. I have one after the battery died on my Saab and it has been invaluable ever since. I have confidence it'll start anything short of a truck, and that's only because 24V, Cost me about £50 IIRC.
Teach him a bit of spannering with a 10mm and a 13mm before he goes just incase.
It's only a light Getz so worst case him and a mate can push and bump start it. Little cars are surprisingly easy to get going. I once bump started my Corsa on my own at 3am after it spent 2 weeks in an airport car park with so little power the central locking didn't work and none of the dash lights came on.... the ex-GF was somehow not impressed...
If you're really worried then you can buy little Li-ion battery pack jump starters. I have one after the battery died on my Saab and it has been invaluable ever since. I have confidence it'll start anything short of a truck, and that's only because 24V, Cost me about £50 IIRC.
Scrump said:
A fairly long period of discharge will not be kind to any battery. A 3 year old Lion battery will definitely be adversely affected by this as they are far from good quality batteries. I would think one of those would be past its best anyway at 3 years old.
If you are worried then stick a new battery in, I suggest something a bit better than a lion if you intend to keep the car.
The other option is to to show your son how to change the battery, put the correct size spanner in the glovebox and show him which one to buy from the local euro car parts if he needs it.
^^^This.If you are worried then stick a new battery in, I suggest something a bit better than a lion if you intend to keep the car.
The other option is to to show your son how to change the battery, put the correct size spanner in the glovebox and show him which one to buy from the local euro car parts if he needs it.
Some years ago I was told by the chap in my local ECP that they reckoned to get 1/3 of them back within the warranty period.
I was returning one & as I'm trade I think he thought it was a customer's car.
They MIGHT have got better since.
The onset of cold weather usually sorts out dying batteries.
If it's been sat & is showing 12.58 it may be OK, 12.6 is often given as expected post-charge & left for 24 hours.
Lion are not a good brand.
But. If the car starts, and battery sits around 12.58 after being parked for around 1 hour or more, then chances are the battery is ok.
Anything above 12.4 is ok., but ideally wants to be closer to 12.6
Any battery can fail in an instant though, so you can only check that it is ok for now (today).
Valuable lesson for him in being prepared to change it. When my daughter went to uni I gave her a set of notes (kept in the car), how to jump start the car (in simple easy stages). Could do the same for your son, chances are if it fails he will have forgotten what you told him
But. If the car starts, and battery sits around 12.58 after being parked for around 1 hour or more, then chances are the battery is ok.
Anything above 12.4 is ok., but ideally wants to be closer to 12.6
Any battery can fail in an instant though, so you can only check that it is ok for now (today).
Valuable lesson for him in being prepared to change it. When my daughter went to uni I gave her a set of notes (kept in the car), how to jump start the car (in simple easy stages). Could do the same for your son, chances are if it fails he will have forgotten what you told him
I don't really understand how anybody wouldn't be able to change a car battery. People put together IKEA furniture don't they?
It's just knowing what to do and the right tools. TBH you can generally do it with the wrong tools on simple little cars.
It's one of those things that, along with checking oil levels, coolant, windscreen wash fluid, tyre pressures and changing wheels, anybody who drives should know how to do.
But if you are worried I can second the suggestion of a little Lithium Ion battery pack. They work really well to jump start cars with flat batteries and can also serve as power banks for other stuff like charging your phone in the middle of nowhere. It does need charging itself, but it's actually really useful in a lot of ways.
And agreed, tiny cars are perfectly jump startable by yourself, though if you have to get out of a tight on street parking space to get it moving it can be a bit sweaty and people will start to look (though not help)
Edited: Also true, if you're really worried get a new battery. One of those battery packs is a great thing to keep around as a backup though
It's just knowing what to do and the right tools. TBH you can generally do it with the wrong tools on simple little cars.
It's one of those things that, along with checking oil levels, coolant, windscreen wash fluid, tyre pressures and changing wheels, anybody who drives should know how to do.
But if you are worried I can second the suggestion of a little Lithium Ion battery pack. They work really well to jump start cars with flat batteries and can also serve as power banks for other stuff like charging your phone in the middle of nowhere. It does need charging itself, but it's actually really useful in a lot of ways.
And agreed, tiny cars are perfectly jump startable by yourself, though if you have to get out of a tight on street parking space to get it moving it can be a bit sweaty and people will start to look (though not help)
Edited: Also true, if you're really worried get a new battery. One of those battery packs is a great thing to keep around as a backup though
Edited by Jambo2000 on Saturday 19th September 19:29
Changing the battery is not the simple job it once was on a lot of modern cars.
Peuegeot Citroen have a very specific ritual to go through when disconnecting and reconnecting the battery, nine times out of ten you will probably get away with ignoring it but next time will close down all the body module sytems requiring a reset.
BMW you have to check the battery your fitting is the exact same spec as the one removed, if not you need to plug it into scanner and tell it the specof the new battery or charging system wont work correctly, think Audi is similar.
Peuegeot Citroen have a very specific ritual to go through when disconnecting and reconnecting the battery, nine times out of ten you will probably get away with ignoring it but next time will close down all the body module sytems requiring a reset.
BMW you have to check the battery your fitting is the exact same spec as the one removed, if not you need to plug it into scanner and tell it the specof the new battery or charging system wont work correctly, think Audi is similar.
slowpeddler65 said:
The lads 55 Hyundai Getz had a Eurocarparts Lion battery about three years ago.
During lockdown the car wasn't moved for three months and when he came to start it, dead as a do do. When he managed to jump start we found the brake lights were permanently on - without the key in the ignition -we then diagnosed the brake light switch had disconnected itself so the assumption is this drained the battery..probably three months back.
That was sorted and I checked the battery cells ....all were still covered in water, so I charged with a 1.5 amp trickle charger. 26 hours later and its fully charged.
Since then the non operating battery level has gone from 12.8 Volts to 12.58 over a week of intermittent use. The operating level (with car running) is 13.83 Volts.
Is it safe to send him back down to Uni land (many miles away) for the winter and are these battery levels indicative of a healthy battery that should keep going despite three months of total discharge or lob a new one in there for £40.
The real question is why is he driving a Hyundai? In all seriousness though the battery sounds knackered I would get a new one. During lockdown the car wasn't moved for three months and when he came to start it, dead as a do do. When he managed to jump start we found the brake lights were permanently on - without the key in the ignition -we then diagnosed the brake light switch had disconnected itself so the assumption is this drained the battery..probably three months back.
That was sorted and I checked the battery cells ....all were still covered in water, so I charged with a 1.5 amp trickle charger. 26 hours later and its fully charged.
Since then the non operating battery level has gone from 12.8 Volts to 12.58 over a week of intermittent use. The operating level (with car running) is 13.83 Volts.
Is it safe to send him back down to Uni land (many miles away) for the winter and are these battery levels indicative of a healthy battery that should keep going despite three months of total discharge or lob a new one in there for £40.
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