The dreaded flat battery
Discussion
2007 DB9. Went to set off this morning, car unlocked OK, ignition on OK and all the usual lights, but not enough grunt to turn the engine. Just a clicking from the starter motor. Arse.
I have a battery conditioner which is now plugged into the socket in the boot, and it says the voltage is 9-10V. But conditioners apply very little charge so I wondered if it might be time to use the proper battery charger:
As you can see this has 'high' and 'low' charge, and will certainly charge a battery, but I'm concerned that the wiring to the 12V socket in the boot might not be designed to take that much, and something might go bang in an expensive manner.
Will it be OK? Or should I hunt around in the engine bay for beefier terminals?
I have a battery conditioner which is now plugged into the socket in the boot, and it says the voltage is 9-10V. But conditioners apply very little charge so I wondered if it might be time to use the proper battery charger:
As you can see this has 'high' and 'low' charge, and will certainly charge a battery, but I'm concerned that the wiring to the 12V socket in the boot might not be designed to take that much, and something might go bang in an expensive manner.
Will it be OK? Or should I hunt around in the engine bay for beefier terminals?
That charger is only 5A so your remote socket should be fine - the official AM conditioner is rated at 4A.
However, either the battery has died or you left something on as 9-10V is flatter than a flat thing.
If the battery does take a charge, expect 10 or more hours for it to be full again.
However, either the battery has died or you left something on as 9-10V is flatter than a flat thing.
If the battery does take a charge, expect 10 or more hours for it to be full again.
Edited by ctdctd on Friday 2nd December 13:11
Simpo Two said:
Yet everything was working fine last Sunday...
Funny, Speedy Gonzales said that, after he wrecked his car by crashing into a wall.
Seriously though, do you know how old your battery is?
The usable life obviously varies, but I had my battery changed after 8 years. It was working fine, but did not want to push my luck.
I always attach my trickle charger to the in-boot socket, but when using a normal charger on other cars, I connect directly to the battery. I expect all chargers now cut out when fully charged, but years ago I must have been using one that didn't cut out. The battery exploded. What a mess.
Another tip.
Defunct car batteries can usually stiil be used to store electricity.
Connect a 10w or 20w solar panel, then you can run a few 12 volt LED lights from the battery.
Handy if you want power at a distance away from electric sockets.
Jon39 said:
Seriously though, do you know how old your battery is?
I could e-mail the owner who had it up until Dec 2020; I expect he did the last change.Jon39 said:
but when using a normal charger on other cars, I connect directly to the battery.
I'd rather not have to pull the back seats up and start unbolting ally panels... there must be connection points in the engine bay for a 'normal' charger like the one in my photo, but I can't find any diagram online. Can anyone advise on that?Or I could just call the AA tomorrow and let them fit a new battery.
Hopefully they can keep 12V across the terminals or I'll lose all the settings, the folding door mirrors and the blasted misfire corrections.
Also wondering if I should keep the car locked, and hope it unlocks tomorrow, or leave it unlocked and cause more drain but at least it's open...?
Edited by Simpo Two on Friday 2nd December 13:54
No need to connect to the battery. There is a +ve charging post at the front of the engine bay in the DB9 and negatives goes to an earth point - I used to clip it to the alternator on the lhs. Easier than trying to get to the battery under the rear seat. I used to charge mine from the boot point without problem but often had to start in the engine bay to get some charge in since the Volante had an electric boot release and no manual override so you couldn’t get to the boot point if the battery was fully flat.
Thanks very much. I've just gone out again; the conditioner was warm, so obviously doing something, and the little 'tree' of LEDs which before was barely illuminated had crept up into the red. I switched it off at the mains for a moment to check the battery voltage with a multimeter (ie something accurate) and to my surprise got 12.7V. So it may be that the LEDs on the conditioner are very pessimistic. I'll leave it on for a few more hours and see how it goes. Plan B will be to connect the proper charger in the engine bay. With luck it's not as dead as feared!
I know we all have our own way of doing this... I own 4 of these chargers (from the big "A"): BLACK+DECKER BM3B Fully Automatic 6V/12V Battery Charger/Maintainer with Cable Clamps and O-Ring Terminals
It comes with a number of options for connecting the charger. I attached one of the O terminals to the charging terminal under the hood, and the ground O to a handy ground point near by. This gives me a little pig tail that I can access by popping the hood. The cable can squeeze under the hood should I need to close it, but usually in the garage the hood is up until the engine bay cools down, and is then just down but not latched. Really works well and I keep the AM, a M5, a R75/5 and a 29 Packard (6V) all on the same tenders. As always, YMMV!
It comes with a number of options for connecting the charger. I attached one of the O terminals to the charging terminal under the hood, and the ground O to a handy ground point near by. This gives me a little pig tail that I can access by popping the hood. The cable can squeeze under the hood should I need to close it, but usually in the garage the hood is up until the engine bay cools down, and is then just down but not latched. Really works well and I keep the AM, a M5, a R75/5 and a 29 Packard (6V) all on the same tenders. As always, YMMV!
AM4884 said:
I know we all have our own way of doing this... I own 4 of these chargers (from the big "A"): BLACK+DECKER BM3B Fully Automatic 6V/12V Battery Charger/Maintainer with Cable Clamps and O-Ring Terminals
Thanks. The conditioner didn't achieve much overnight so I'm now using the old charger shown above, using the connections under the bonnet. So far it's had 10.5 hours at about 3A. Hopefully by tomorrow morning it will be happy. But in case not, I've ordered one of these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09FKXHW2R/ which is due tomorrow.From the choice of settings, can anyone tell me which setting would be best - Standard, AGM/Gel, Wet or Repair?
before I did anything but "standard" I would take the cover off the battery and see how old it is. My guess is that it's more than 3 years old and has died. And trying to "repair" it is a good way to catch it on fire.
If you aren't sure of the chemistry or construction (eg, is it an AGM or not) you really want to look at it. It's not that hard to get the seat off, or the aluminum cover off (a bunch of 10mm bolts). Just move the seat in front of it forward before you start.
If you aren't sure of the chemistry or construction (eg, is it an AGM or not) you really want to look at it. It's not that hard to get the seat off, or the aluminum cover off (a bunch of 10mm bolts). Just move the seat in front of it forward before you start.
Well, after 24 hours on the charger the beast fired up as normal. Took it for a 20-mile spin and everything worked as normal.
Almost. The autofold door mirror function has gone. There's no AMDS around here so I'll have to crank them in and out by hand before and after every trip
And the passenger door window doesn't work at all, no up, no down. Will pulling the fuse in the footwell out for 10 secs fix it?
NB: I found out from the first owner that he changed the battery in Oct 2019.
Almost. The autofold door mirror function has gone. There's no AMDS around here so I'll have to crank them in and out by hand before and after every trip
And the passenger door window doesn't work at all, no up, no down. Will pulling the fuse in the footwell out for 10 secs fix it?
NB: I found out from the first owner that he changed the battery in Oct 2019.
Edited by Simpo Two on Sunday 4th December 14:46
Simpo Two said:
Almost. The autofold door mirror function has gone. There's no AMDS around here so I'll have to crank them in and out by hand before and after every trip
And the passenger door window doesn't work at all, no up, no down. Will pulling the fuse in the footwell out for 10 secs fix it?
NB: I found out from the first owner that he changed the battery in Oct 2019.
And the passenger door window doesn't work at all, no up, no down. Will pulling the fuse in the footwell out for 10 secs fix it?
NB: I found out from the first owner that he changed the battery in Oct 2019.
Just 3 years old then, so you might be lucky that it continues to work.
I have a vague recollection that there is a reset procedure. Might involve pressing two buttons at once for a while, although that might be for mirrors.
Could there be something in the handbook perhaps? Hopefully someone with a better memory than me, will be able to help you.
The handbook only covers the normal 'down/up for 5 secs' reset procedure, which I had to do for the driver's window.
You'd think that a car which can eat a new fully charged battery in 22 days (ref: the handbook) just by not doing anything would have some sort of flashing LED battery warning outside wouldn't you... or at least memory that didn't need constant 12V...
You'd think that a car which can eat a new fully charged battery in 22 days (ref: the handbook) just by not doing anything would have some sort of flashing LED battery warning outside wouldn't you... or at least memory that didn't need constant 12V...
Your battery is almost certainly knackered. Mine only lasted 3yrs from brand new on my V12VSM before I needed to replace it, so if yours is pushing 4yrs old then you've done OK.
Once it starts getting to the point of needing to be charged I think its on its last legs really. In the last 3-4 months before I replaced mine it barely lasted 2 weeks from a full charge to zero, let alone 22 days!
Once it starts getting to the point of needing to be charged I think its on its last legs really. In the last 3-4 months before I replaced mine it barely lasted 2 weeks from a full charge to zero, let alone 22 days!
Simpo Two said:
Thanks Adam, frankly I've never know a car like it. Problem after problem, and only 19K miles with FSH. Are all Astons this bad? I need a car that works a bit better.
I think you've been unlucky, but I forget how old your car is?? I'm on my 4th and 5th Astons now and never really had any issues at all, beyond the usual stuff. That said they have all been bought brand new and kept for #1 1yr, then #2 2yrs, then #3 4yrs, and current ones for #4 6yrs and #5 2yrs. Simpo Two said:
..... frankly I've never know a car like it. Problem after problem, and only 19K miles with FSH. Are all Astons this bad? I need a car that works a bit better.
Snap .... 19,000 miles.
Now a 12 year old.
1 Door damper.
1 AC condenser radiator.
1 Clutch.
1 Battery.
4 Tyres.
That is it.
Hopefully you have now finished your run of problems and I wish you better reliability.
oh dear. Seems you haven’t had much luck. I hope your oil leak is just a drive shaft seal, these are pretty easily replaced and the part isn’t so expensive.
On the battery - these cars are very sensitive to dying batteries. When the battery is in its way out it will create all manner of electrical gremlins. It is perfectly feasible for a Vantage to kill a battery in 3 years (I’m on my 4th in 6 yrs had one last less than 1 yr), especially if the tracker hasn’t been disabled.
Had the cold weather finished yours off? I would strongly suspect so. It is at this time of year that problems with ageing batteries will appear. A new battery is a tad over £100 and an hour of fiddling, contortion and scraped knuckles to fit but well worth it. You might be surprised at what replacing the battery solves.
Trickle chargers, inc the Aston one are just battery chargers, all will have a rating from maybe half an amp for the cheapies to about 5-7 amps for a higher end CTek. The difference from dads old battery-sized charger is that the modern stuff often has some intelligence to maintain the battery when charged, they don’t maintain a constant charge when the battery is full and slowly boil off the electrolyte in the battery.
The old fashioned one will also have a peak charge rating, they were usually 5 or 6 amps, as has been pointed out, yours is the same. You can connect to cigarette/12V port and not worry about wiring, which will be protected by a 10A fuse anyway.
Remember that even with a 6A charger you won’t get a full 6A for the duration of the charge, as a lead acid battery charges it’s internal resistance increases, decreasing the rate of charge for a given applied voltage. Also there are efficiency losses in the charge process.
it’s why an 80ah battery would take a full day to charge, assuming it was in good condition.
I’d advise biting the bullet and replacing the battery. A good specialist can disable the tracker if it isnt already done.
On the battery - these cars are very sensitive to dying batteries. When the battery is in its way out it will create all manner of electrical gremlins. It is perfectly feasible for a Vantage to kill a battery in 3 years (I’m on my 4th in 6 yrs had one last less than 1 yr), especially if the tracker hasn’t been disabled.
Had the cold weather finished yours off? I would strongly suspect so. It is at this time of year that problems with ageing batteries will appear. A new battery is a tad over £100 and an hour of fiddling, contortion and scraped knuckles to fit but well worth it. You might be surprised at what replacing the battery solves.
Trickle chargers, inc the Aston one are just battery chargers, all will have a rating from maybe half an amp for the cheapies to about 5-7 amps for a higher end CTek. The difference from dads old battery-sized charger is that the modern stuff often has some intelligence to maintain the battery when charged, they don’t maintain a constant charge when the battery is full and slowly boil off the electrolyte in the battery.
The old fashioned one will also have a peak charge rating, they were usually 5 or 6 amps, as has been pointed out, yours is the same. You can connect to cigarette/12V port and not worry about wiring, which will be protected by a 10A fuse anyway.
Remember that even with a 6A charger you won’t get a full 6A for the duration of the charge, as a lead acid battery charges it’s internal resistance increases, decreasing the rate of charge for a given applied voltage. Also there are efficiency losses in the charge process.
it’s why an 80ah battery would take a full day to charge, assuming it was in good condition.
I’d advise biting the bullet and replacing the battery. A good specialist can disable the tracker if it isnt already done.
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