Quote:
Originally Posted by concrete
He used a drop tester connected to the battery terminals and when I started the car it showed the correct charging current going to the battery.
Just started the car, 13 degrees and it turned over and started ok without giving the heat plugs chance to work. Bloody thing. 😊
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A drop tester won't check the alternator. However there is a clue in what you just said - without using the preheat it started fine. That points to the battery.
What sort of battery is it? If it's a calcium/silver-calcium then it's almost certainly not getting a full charge and worse still, becoming sulphated as a result which will ultimately kill the battery in short order. Also is the battery up to the job of starting the car? It might be too small for the diseasel lump under the bonnet.
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/ba...ee-952465.html
That's what should be in your battery tray, normally i wouldn't recommend Halfords for anything much but they appear to be the only people selling these now. I've seen countless posts now where people have fitted calcium batteries and suddenly experienced starting problems because their alternators are designed for normal lead-acid batteries (with lead-antimony doping on the plates instead of silver-calcium) so won't charge the calcium variety.