440 Flat Batter (Again!)
 

My car battery started to go weak and take longer to turn over. About a week later it was dead. Jumped it and drove. It would then struggle to start as little as 12 hours later. Most of the time it didnt start.

I replaced the battery with my local battery with 2 year warranty.

They checked the battery and it was recieving enough charge and was compensating for headlight etc. Ie, Alternator ok.

Anyway, all was well till the last 7-10 days. its become slow to turn over again and I thought to myself. This is going the same was as the last one. I took it for a 20 mile drive on the motorway last night doing 70mph. Parked up at 7:25pm. Went to start it this morning and it could just turn over but then clicked. Tried again. Complety dead.

I jumped it and it was fine. Drove spot on.


Now, im not leaving lights on interior or exterior.

Im going to take the car back this weekend and ask them look further into the problem

Maybe the alternator is shorting when the car is not running depleting the battery of charge?

Maybe the alt is intermittantly charging or something else?

Its a pain!

Could be a faulty battery. I had a problem with one a while ago on my V70. When the car sat overnight tha battery was flat. Jumped started perfectly and would work fine all day. Had the charging system checked by Volvo no problems. Checked the various leads and were fine from the battery. Eventually it was found that the battery voltage was slightly lower than it should be and was replaced and the problem was solved. This was with a new battery.
Best of luck
Jim

Thanks Jim.

Im not sure what they will do.

If they replace it with a new battery and check the charging system again and take it from there I guess

If you are a member of any of the breakdown organisations they would check your battery and charging.

Here is what the AA would do.

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice...ry_advice.html

Put an ammeter in series with the positive terminal of the battery. With nothing turned on (as parked and locked) the current flow should be small. Yes, the car is charging, but is it being drained by something when left? Alarm fault perhaps?

With the engine running, check the terminal voltage. Should be 14v+

Im not good with electrics and I have no ammetere or multimeter.

Ill purchase one come pay day I think though!


Just to add,

Jump the car this morning at 7:30am. Drove to work.

Locked the car at 7:45am.


Went to start it 4pm, Dead.

That has to be some serioes draining power to kill a batt in 8 hours?!

Park up tonight, disconnect battery. Refit in morning and see if she starts....

Take off pos and neg or just one of them?

I would take off the earth lead.

Hi,
One should do (-ve)

Make sure you have the code for the radio if it has one..

You can get a cheap practical ammeter from either Lidl or Aldi when they have such in their "Specials" days..

Des. . . ;)

Cheers guys. Ill go take it off in a minute.

What are thinking with regards to taking the battery out of the loop so to speak?

Machine Mart are selling an inexpensive multimeter which is a handy tool.

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/pr...gue-multimeter

Hi,
Well, if there is a problem with the battery, then you will be in the same hopeless situation as you were this morning!

However, if there is a big drain on the battery caused by an electrical fault or drain on the car then tomorrow, your battery will start up Ok...

This will tell you whether it is the battery or the car at fault..

Des. . . ;)

Excelent.

Fingers crossed for the morning.

Im kinda hoping its the car so I can do some detective work with a multimetre ;)

In the mean time ill keep a 13mm spanner/socket with to keep disconnecting the battery when I park up.

If you're going to get an ammeter for checking the quiescent current drain (nothing turned on), make sure it is capable of at least 10A DC. DO NOT attempt to switch on the ignition or start the car with it in place....

Yes, theory of disconnecting the battery is to see if the car is draining it, or the battery is discharging itself. If it's the battery, take it back. It would be useful to see what the voltage at the battery terminals is when running and switched off.

Im to pop out to Aldi tonight to see if they have any if not ill try somewhere else or borrow one this week.


BTW, if I do get one I will need novice instructions on how to use it :p

Hi,
No Aldi don't have any ATM.
Check on line:
Aldi
Lidl

Des. . . ;)

I had this problem with my old Escort, bought a brand new battery and it drained it over right charged it up and it did it again, so i removed the alternator and as u spin the pulley it was all rough and sticky, part exchanged it in for a reconditioned one and fitted it 10 mins later and all was good again!!

Best of luck!
Jose

I saw but thought id chance my luck.

I got a 101 peice tool bit kit instead lol damn handy as I always lose the little bits!

Dead batt
 

Hi Bruce T,

I had the exact same problem with my 440. Turned out to be the glovebox light swich being faulty ... noticed it one night by coincidence when fumbling about for something on the floor. Light was staying on and draining the battery. It's a long shot perhaps, but maybe you've got a light staying on somewhere courtesy of the car rather than yourself?

Best of luck,

Anthony.

ahal,

I shall the check the glove box light when I connnect the battery up and drive to work and lock her up tomorrow at work.



Could a moderator/admin staff make the batter have a y on the end to read Battery? - Cheers :p

You should be able to edit your own post using the box at the bottom of your posting.

Sorry Bruce just noticed its in the title of the posting.
Sorry Jim. Just ignore me.

Heh, no worries Jim.


Spose I can always re-solder my dash intruments PCB one weekend atleast even if I cant start my car!

Important to be positive.
Best of luck in the morning.

Just to note.

When I connected my battery up the other day (Nothing to do with this incident) I connected the red live cable first and then the black negative one and when putting the neg on it sparked slightly?

Is that suppose to happen?

A "splat" is generally expected!

I connected the battery up and started the car, it was slow to crank started on the 3-4th engine turn (Not key). It then died instantly.

I start it again but it more letheragic and I had blip the throttle to kick her into life.

The battery would be weak since its been drained all the time so Im guess thats an expected out come.

Next thing is to get the readings from the battery then, My mate is pestering his mate to get him to lend him his. So fingers crossed.

As previously mentioned in this topic.

1. Check the battery voltage with the engine running. If it is up at/above 14V then the alternator is charging. The higher the engine revs, the higher the voltage will be. Get someone to rev the engine whilst looking at the voltmeter. If the voltage is around 12-13V, then it is likely that the alternator is not working properly - be that electrical connection or a fault with the alternator itself.

2. If you have access to a decent ammeter (not a cheap one as linked in an earlier post that only measures 250 milliamps - which is 0.25A. More like the 10A plus as mentioned would be better which can be had for about £5.50) then you should measure the current being drawn when everything is off. If this is more than a few tenths of amps, then something maybe drawing off too much current when it shouldn't be. You can start pulling fuses (one at a time) to see which one cuts the current draw down significantlt. This will then seriously reduce the number of possibilities for the faulty component. CD changers in the boot can often be a culprit if you have one?

3. Disconnect the battery and leave overnight after a good run. If the voltage drops below ~12.3V by morning, then the battery is likely duff.

Got myself a digital multimeter from B&Q for £25

Im in worjk put ill post specs of it tonight and then Ill get one of you explain in simple terms how I use it lol

Here are the spec quickly

V D.C
200mV
2V
20V
200V
1000V

V A.C
200mV
2V
20V
200V
700V

A.a.c. A.d.c
- 20uA
200uA
2mA
20mA
200mA
2A
10A

Its a "Rapitest" DM25

Another common failure could be the startermotor itself or the relais on the starter is going south or a bad connection on the red cable running from the battery + to the starter. This also would cause the symptoms you discribed. If you can't find a drain from the battery check these.

Ok guy,

Ive got the meter,

Now I need an idiots guide on how to use it!

Here is a picture of what ive got.

What setting must I use to test the voltage of the battery?

Whats V~ and V -... etc?

How do I check the drain on the battery?

OK, I know the DC and AC symbols now.

:P

Turn the control round till it reaches 20v
It should be on the V- which indicates direct voltage not alternating.

If you put the multimeter on to the battery pos to pos and neg to neg the battery should read over 12 volts. If reading over 12 volts the battery is not the fault.
Best of luck

I got home at 5:15pm and locked the car which is immboliser and siren etc etc.

Ive just tested the battery and it was reading 12.02V which im guessing is "OK" ish but we/I do not know as of yet how much current is been drawn.


Started the car and the battery was reading 14.25v and did increase a bit when I increased the throttle.

How do I now check the current been drawn?

www.autoshop101.com/forms/h6.pdf

Page 10 should help you.

So I just set the meter to 10A and then put the black one on the neg on the battery and the red on the earth strap going under the battery?

I would say that the battery showing 12.02V just after a run is too low. Car batteries are not actually a 12.0V source, they are around 12.6V depending on temperature.

this website is very in depth. Click through the links for the FAQ (7.1) and then click on section 4 - how do I test a battery. You will find a table in there, showing you the open circuit voltage, and how this corresponds to the state of your battery. 12.02V corresponds with about 25% state of charge - which is bad (obviously).


To test the current being drawn (with everything off) turn the dial to the 10A DC position - circled in green and plug the left lead in to the 10A socket - also circled. With everything off, touch the red lead with the multimeter to bare metal earthed with the body, black to battery negative. This will let you know how much current is being drained.

I warn you now - if there is something seriously wrong with a piece of eleccy kit on your car, and it is pulling more than 10A when you test, it may well smoke your new multimeter.

I would also suggest you check in the manual that the symbols I have circled correlate correctly with what I have said, rather than just listening to what I have said, (and then hoping I buy you an early birthday present - I am skint at the moment :( and I have not used that type of multimeter before).

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