Driving a car with a completely dead battery.

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by GMcL

Not sure why EVs are thought to be exempt. They still have a 12v battery to kick things off. I had to jump start my wife's EV in a car wash when the 12v battery decided it had enough. Same as using jump leads on any other car.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=7217459398280876

[J liddy]

Just turning this post round .the Alternator on my 940 sized 4 miles from home few years ago now .I though we'll I have another spare Alternator at home I will leave the car there overnight on British rail car park .o well a good freind on the forum said you are 4 iles from home the weather is cool just cut the Alternator belt the battery power will get you home without car overheating as weather cool so I drove ho.e and was able to replace the Alternator on the comfort of my drive rather than a British rail car park .only downside I had to pay £24 in car park charges .i did not know this at the time of breakdown 9.30 at night .otherwise I would have cut the belt and continued my journey .thanks again to Tristan from South Devon

[GMcL]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=7217459398280876

You'll have to give me a clue, I don't do Facebook, Instagram, X or any of that soschal meeeja.

[DaveNP]

I couldn't help but wonder what one was doing until 21:00 at a picnic spot, presumably with the lights on draining the battery

But back towards the point of the original post, in the past we had a Proton which was going for scrap, I'd already taken the battery out for another car so I jump started the Proton, removed the jump leads, and drove to the scrappers. Now I can't recommend it as I've no idea if it did any damage but as I recall there were no issues on the few miles I did drive, I'm not sure the guy at the scrap yard believed me when I asked where he wanted it parked as once I turned it off it had no battery to start again.

[john.wigley]

Originally Posted by DaveNP

I couldn't help but wonder what one was doing until 21:00 at a picnic spot, presumably with the lights on draining the battery

Thats as maybe, David, but modern batteries can (and do) fail very quickly anywhere at any time.

Linda had one go on her 744. Driving home from work one winter's evening, the car behaving perfectly normally, she stopped for fuel. In the time that it took her to dispense and pay for her petrol, at the most 10 minutes, her battery was stone dead. The car had to be pushed away from the pumps, the AA attended and fitted a new battery.

On the occasion that I mentioned earlier, I finished work at a Scarborough client one Friday lunchtime and set off home in my own 744. As was my custom, I pulled onto the hilltop picnic site on the outskirts of the town to have my lunch before continuing homewards. I was there for no more than half an hour, 40 minutes at the most, with the radio playing and my phone plugged in. Went to start the car - nothing! Again, the AA came to the rescue and fitted a new battery.

In neither case was there any advance warning of imminent failure. In the old days, one did usually receive some notice of a failing battery, and there was also a starting handle to fall back on in an emergency. Come to think about it, I quite often used the handle on my Ford Pop in winter to 'spare the battery'!

Regards, John.

[GMcL]

I just read you comment John about always carrying jump leads. Great idea, unless your car has an electronic boot release, then you have to start disassembling the interior of the car to gain access to the boot area where the jump leads are.

I know this from experience, after the battery had died on our EV I bought some leads and stuck them in the boot thinking next time I'm prepared. Ho, ho, ho.

[Offgrid]

I've got a couple of jump lead packs. One is professional grade, and one is a cheap halford's set. As has been suggested, I carry them more to help other motorists than to use myself, although they are useful when starting a car that has been on a SORN for a while.

Re. The picnic area comments. It was more of an imagined scenario than an actual experience. However, I have aprked in the evening to watch the wild life ( non-human ). and i go to dark car parks to check the ignition system for leakage. It's obvious when you see the corona around the cable and other bits that need cleaning or replacing.

This thread has started me off on some other experiments. For example, can I restore one or both of the batteries by starting the car whilst they are disconnected, and reconnecting after starting with the jump pack when it has been removed. If that doesn't work. Can I remove the sulpate by blasting the battery with an arc welder? Enquiring minds want to know.

[ITSv40]

Originally Posted by Offgrid

I've got a couple of jump lead packs. One is professional grade, and one is a cheap halford's set. As has been suggested, I carry them more to help other motorists than to use myself, although they are useful when starting a car that has been on a SORN for a while.

Re. The picnic area comments. It was more of an imagined scenario than an actual experience. However, I have aprked in the evening to watch the wild life ( non-human ). and i go to dark car parks to check the ignition system for leakage. It's obvious when you see the corona around the cable and other bits that need cleaning or replacing.

This thread has started me off on some other experiments. For example, can I restore one or both of the batteries by starting the car whilst they are disconnected, and reconnecting after starting with the jump pack when it has been removed. If that doesn't work. Can I remove the sulpate by blasting the battery with an arc welder? Enquiring minds want to know.

No need to justify your late night car park activities. Where you walk your dog is up to you.😉😉

[griston64]

Originally Posted by Offgrid

I've got a couple of jump lead packs. One is professional grade, and one is a cheap halford's set. As has been suggested, I carry them more to help other motorists than to use myself, although they are useful when starting a car that has been on a SORN for a while.

Re. The picnic area comments. It was more of an imagined scenario than an actual experience. However, I have aprked in the evening to watch the wild life ( non-human ). and i go to dark car parks to check the ignition system for leakage. It's obvious when you see the corona around the cable and other bits that need cleaning or replacing.

This thread has started me off on some other experiments. For example, can I restore one or both of the batteries by starting the car whilst they are disconnected, and reconnecting after starting with the jump pack when it has been removed. If that doesn't work. Can I remove the sulpate by blasting the battery with an arc welder? Enquiring minds want to know.

Make sure you take a video of when you blast your car battery with an arc welder as I would be really keen to see how that goes

[baggy798]

Read that running with the alternator without a battery is bad as it produces voltage spikes which can damage components, the battery acts like a sponge for these spikes. There's probably instructions somewhere on how to modify it.