Transit connect 2012 dead battery, failed to jump with Micra

[Jumper5500]

Hello - I signed up specifically to post this question.

Haven't been driving my Ford Transit Connect 2012 for about 3 weeks, came out this morning, won't start/dead battery.

Van has been in good working order until this morning, no issues.

Connected my missus' 1996 Nissan Micra up to the van and left it running for 10 minutes, tried to turn ignition, dead. Makes the sound of trying to turn over, but just sounds flat or not enough power.

We live in a fairly remote place so her car was the only option, no decent hills to get a run to bump.

Am I right in thinking the Micra is simply not supplying enough power to the battery or is the battery just toast?

Sincerely appreciate any help and feedback.

Cheers.

[hersh]

Unfortunately, it's probably the battery
If you have a battery charger put it on charge overnight and If you also have a volt meter check the battery tomorrow, anything under 12.6v is a dead battery

[Matt_E_Mulsion]

Probably a combination of a knackered battery on the Transit and a set of poor quality jump leads.

The Micra should be more than capable of supplying enough power to start the Transit with a decent set of leads.

[OldGermanHeaps]

Your jump leads are probably ste or making a poor connection. A micra has a big enough battery and alternator to slowly turn over a transit and after 10 minutes should have put some charge into it, but there are loads of inadequate low quality jump leads on the market.

[Jumper5500]

Wow, thankyou all for your rapid and detailed responses.

I can't post links or pictures, but the cables I bought were:

MAYPOLE MP3506 2LTR BOOSTER CABLES 2.5M

You can see them on Screwfix with a quick google.

They don't appear to be too heavy duty like some I have seen.

Thankyou all so much.

[Scrump]

Jumper5500 said:

Wow, thankyou all for your rapid and detailed responses.

I can't post links or pictures, but the cables I bought were:

MAYPOLE MP3506 2LTR BOOSTER CABLES 2.5M

You can see them on Screwfix with a quick google.

They don't appear to be too heavy duty like some I have seen.

Thankyou all so much.

Those leads are really small diameter. Unfortunately they are a waste of money.

[ferret50]

HTH,

https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/enduroline/1...

Usually next day delivery

[Richard-D]

If a battery is completely dead it will stop you may not be able to jump it even with a good 2nd vehicle/set of leads. It's just that time of year, we've had a couple of cold nights and borderline batteries start to fail.

I can also recommend Tayna. If you need it quicker Halfords are still pretty good at stocking a wide range of batteries and have reasonable opening times. I know some people like to moan about them but they're one of the few places left that you can still go to on an evening/Sunday when you're stuck.

[paintman]

+1 for Tayna.

[E-bmw]

Change the battery anyway, after it being that flat it is likely un-recoverable anyway.

When you come to fit it check/clean/undo/redo all high power battery/alternator/fusebox/chassis/engine connections are really good, clean & tight as this is many times the actual issue.

[Heaveho]

If the glow plugs are on the way out ( even just one ), it's a much harder job to get those Connects to start. Next time you try to jump it, try turning the ignition on and off a few times to give the glow plugs a few heat cycles before cranking it.

[ferret50]

And when you fit the new battery, tighten the clamps up properly!

My 12 plate Connect refused to start on the quay at Newhaven waiting to board a ferry, finally tracked down to a loose battery neg. terminal.

[PhillipM]

Jumper5500 said:

Wow, thankyou all for your rapid and detailed responses.

I can't post links or pictures, but the cables I bought were:

MAYPOLE MP3506 2LTR BOOSTER CABLES 2.5M

You can see them on Screwfix with a quick google.

They don't appear to be too heavy duty like some I have seen.

Thankyou all so much.

yep, terrible leads, you need massive jump leads to transfer enough power without serious voltage drop - those 8.5mms are nowhere near, you want 25mm^2 at a minimum, preferably 35+

[E-bmw]

Although those leads are pretty rubbish, by the sound of it you still have an issue around the connections as above.

With the Micra running at high idle for 30 min or so & still doing so when starting it could be enough to start it.

Unfortunately, with a completely flat battery gobbling up much of the available current you are making it harder though.

Better to charge the transit battery overnight first and check/clean/tighten all connections first to give it the best chance.