340 GL / Auto..Hit & Miss Starting

I have a 340 GL AUTO and until recently everything has been fine.

I came to start up the other morning and the battery seemed dead.
I jumped the care into action from my wifes car and all was OK.
I removed the jump leads but put the choke in too far befre it had warmed up enough and it stopped, I immediately turned the ignition key to restart and it turned over great.
I then travelled 16 miles to work (8 hour shift) then returned back home with no starting problems but the following morning the battery appeared dead again.
There are no electrical items left switched on overnight yet the battery seems to lose it's charge.

Is it just a duff battery and needs replacing or is there an underlying problem that could be draining the battery?

[Peter Milnes]

To isolate whether fault is with battery or alternator disconnect the positive battery terminal overnight. Then if same fault persists when battery reconnected and you try to start, the battery is duff. If the car now starts perfectly then the alternator is duff ( the diode(s) that stop the battery discharging through the alternator have become unserviceable allowing the battery to discharge through the alternator).

All the best, Peter

Hi Peter,

Thank you for your response, I will follow your instructions and let you know what the results are.

Regards

Kudos

Hi Peter,

Tried your solution and found the alternator at fault.
Decided to buy a new alternator and battery to be on the safe side (£120).

Many thanks for your assistance

Kudos