Dead Battery???

[Thatch]

just had to jump start the Griff after 6 weeks of inactivity. The battery was flat, but after jump starting i left it on tick over for an hour (ameter looked good) before a 20 minute drive.

when i came back, felt confident enough to turn off and on again.

While there is enough charge to let the door lock/unlock, clock and radiator fan keep working, there is absolutly no turn over, not even priming the feul pump!

does that mean the battery is completly fked? it was only replaced last year.


any advice gratefully recieved!

cheers

[sumoone]

i have done exactly the same as you and straight away went out and bought a accumate (approx £60 plus a fiver for the cig lighter extn.)
Now have no problems whatever the length of time i leave the car inactive.

invest in a conditioner.....

only my opinion though.

(ps i also leave the car unlocked in the locked garage.)

mark

[bam50]

Andrew, it might be worth trying to get it tested first. I had exactly the same thing happen to mine and I tried charging it up first, but a couple of the cells displayed excessive bubbling/gassing and I was advised to change it. HTH

ETA.

Thatch said:

... it was only replaced last year.

Is it still under guarantee?

PS. I also now have a conditioner connected. You'll find them cheaper than a new battery, and a lot less inconvenient.

Edited by bam50 on Saturday 29th March 13:24

[Chimjunkie]

Batteries dont like being left discharged for long periods. I think i may have the same prob. Will see if it is charged by end of day...

[Pasco]

As above but to leave a car ticking over for an hour is also not good as full oil circulation requires more than tick over rpm

[Zumbruk]

Generally speaking, once a car battery has been run flat it is knackered. And the longer it is left that way, the more likely it is to be so. Car batteries are not designed to be "deep discharged".

Replace it.

And buy a battery conditioner.

[Thatch]

I might have been lucky!

disconnected the battery, and charged over night. Started fine, and more importantly re-started at the petrol station!!!

thanks for the advice, will be investing in a conditioner this week.


Cheers

Andrew

[Simpo Two]

Pasco said:

As above but to leave a car ticking over for an hour is also not good as full oil circulation requires more than tick over rpm

I find that from totally flat to fully charged takes 24 hours on a battery charger, so I doubt an hour of tickover is going to work - not to mention the petrol it uses and noise aggravation to the neighbours!

Zumbruk said:

Generally speaking, once a car battery has been run flat it is knackered. And the longer it is left that way, the more likely it is to be so. Car batteries are not designed to be "deep discharged".

My S-Type has 'RFBS' (random flat battery syndrome) whereby about once a month, at random intervals, it totally discharges the battery in about 5 hours. Stone bloody dead. Nobody can find the problem. So I carry a spare, and swap them over when it happens. The only time I got caught out was when it did it twice in two days

ETA And buy a conditioner.

Edited by Simpo Two on Sunday 30th March 23:24

[97octane]

Buy a new battery.
Forget conditioner... DRIVE IT INSTEAD!

(I really hate to hear about unused Tivs!)

[LordGrover]

Zumbruk said:

Generally speaking, once a car battery has been run flat it is knackered. And the longer it is left that way, the more likely it is to be so. Car batteries are not designed to be "deep discharged".

Replace it.

And buy a battery conditioner.

Mine is the exception that proves the rule then.
My battery was flat after about five days; I had driven about two hundred miles on the Monday, parked up (alarmed) and it was flat on the following Saturday - not even any dash lights. It registered just 3 volts on two different meters; the general consensus was it was irretrievably dead. Jump started it no problem and drove it for an hour or so - good as gold. I assume I must've left the lights on or something - no hint of a problem since.
I've bought a CTEK conditioner which I shall be using if it's likely to be parked up for more than a few days without use though.

BTW, according to the receipts that came with the car, the battery's likely to be at least four years old so I'll be replacing it at the next hint of trouble anyway.

[Chimjunkie]

Chimjunkie said:

Batteries dont like being left discharged for long periods. I think i may have the same prob. Will see if it is charged by end of day...

Well, recharging did not work. Left totally discharged after car accident waiting for insurance to sort out repair. New battery fitted today. Something else to add to the insurance bill...

[Hoover.]

Chimjunkie said:

Chimjunkie said:

Batteries dont like being left discharged for long periods. I think i may have the same prob. Will see if it is charged by end of day...

Well, recharging did not work. Left totally discharged after car accident waiting for insurance to sort out repair. New battery fitted today. Something else to add to the insurance bill...

keep the reciept - as you may want to do exchanges with supplier over the next 3 -5 yrs (so far done mine 4-5 times which equates to nearly £450 of battery)

[Bluebottle]

Hoover. said:

Chimjunkie said:

Chimjunkie said:

Batteries dont like being left discharged for long periods. I think i may have the same prob. Will see if it is charged by end of day...

Well, recharging did not work. Left totally discharged after car accident waiting for insurance to sort out repair. New battery fitted today. Something else to add to the insurance bill...

keep the reciept - as you may want to do exchanges with supplier over the next 3 -5 yrs (so far done mine 4-5 times which equates to nearly £450 of battery)

My old Audi A6 Quattro was like that, best I managed was 9 months between battery replacement. After my 4th visit to Helfrauds I was expecting them to tell me to stop taking the pi$$ as the battery in that thing was the size of a tractor and cost £100 a pop.

[red griff roger]

Just had to replace mine. Car is driven regularly, and a trickle charger is always on. But left the headlights on whilst filling with petrol, and realising my error, turned the lights off before paying. The drop in voltage FUBARd the alarm, and there wasn't enough juice to turn the engine. RAC measured 11.2 volts in the battery. Managed the rest of the journey (to Snetterton), but towards the end of the day had to rely on muscle to push start. (Thanks guys). Had it in my mind the battery was new, but when I checked, it is over 5 years old. Not an electrician, and will probably be corrected, but I think these batteries take a hammering turning that big engine. Look after them.