battery problem i think ...

scott_e · Post by **scott_e** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 8:05 pm

people telling me its ok to charge while connected

scott_e · Post by **scott_e** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 8:10 pm

so back to the:

14.2 when engine on
12.3 when engine off

its was suggested above that 14 and above suggests altenator is ok ? ... battery is obvoisly getting a charge when engine is on.

steve_weegie · Post by **steve_weegie** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 8:23 pm

Yup, that would indicate the alternator is working fine. Charge it up overnight and see how you get on i guess!

If it goes flat in a couple of days, then the battery is goosed... otherwise if it keeps on working well, just remember to unplug the satnav at night

I unplug my battery from the car when i'm charging it - depending on how your battery charger works, it may send quite a high voltage pulse out that the battery can deal with, but not the car electronics. It will probably be fine though...

Cheers,

Steve

steve_weegie · Post by **steve_weegie** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 8:26 pm

ps.... my old battery started doing similar things... it would be fine for a few days, but any longer and it would leak all its charge and leave me stranded! Luckily i live on a hill so bump starting was nice and easy. Airport carparks however were slightly more of a problem

See how you get on over the next few days

scott_e · Post by **scott_e** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:11 pm

thanks for the reply steve , I really appreciate the posts from everyone.

my nerves are settled now and i have learned a bit too

scott_e · Post by **scott_e** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 7:33 am

Morning,

I charged the battery with the trickle charger until it said it was done.
Unplugged the charger
Voltage reads 12.98
After 10 mins it was down to 12.86 (note: always connected to car)

Is the voltage supposed to drop that quickly or is it buggered ?

Thanks again
Scott

robin · Post by **robin** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:53 am

There's a float charge which will vanish really quickly, so I wouldn't worry about that - the real test for the battery is to monitor its voltage during cranking - repeat a few times - it should drop to ~10v during cranking and then recover to 12v - if it drops to less than 8 then the battery is either flat (not in your case as you've just charged it) or shagged.

Cheers,
Robin

scott_e · Post by **scott_e** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 10:09 am

robin wrote:There's a float charge which will vanish really quickly, so I wouldn't worry about that - the real test for the battery is to monitor its voltage during cranking - repeat a few times - it should drop to ~10v during cranking and then recover to 12v - if it drops to less than 8 then the battery is either flat (not in your case as you've just charged it) or shagged.

Cheers,
Robin

thanks robin. By cranking do you mean turning the ignition on ?

think im going to pickup a new battery today anyway. Had a look in halford yesterday and there was loads !

Think i will go for a good calcium one. What SIZE, DIMENSION, TYPE do i need to pickup ?

Calcium
V12
Sealed
Size ?

Thanks again
Scott

Post by **Shug** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 10:16 am

Cranking = turning the engine over, trying to start it.

scott_e · Post by **scott_e** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 10:16 am

cheers

mac · Post by **mac** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 10:36 am

Your battery will have a number on it somewhere (probably 049) - just pick up the same number

scott_e · Post by **scott_e** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 10:42 am

ah thats what that numbers for. I will need to nip home and have a look again.

Cheers for that Mac.

Scott

robin · Post by **robin** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 6:41 pm

If you f*ck up putting the battery on you will destroy your car's electrics at vast expense. I say this, because some batteries appear to ship with the poles coloured counter-intuitively, i.e. the black one is +ve ...

Also note that a battery with the same number will be approx same size and similar capacity but may or may not fit into your car, and may have the poles reversed from yours, if you see what I mean.

So, by all means get a replacement (but not from Halfords - any tyres'n'exhausts place will carry a cheaper battery), but don't cock up fitting it, or prepare to take it in the shorts ...

If you're at all unsure, ask the guys in the tyres'n'exhaust place to help - more often than not if they're not busy, they'll fit the thing for you while you chat to them about what an awesome babe magnet the car is

Cheers,
Robin

fd · Post by fd » Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:18 pm

Nice simple test for battery health - simpler than trying to measure voltage during cranking - is to power the ignition on and simply put the lights on full beam for 2 or 3 minutes . . . then switch them off . . . this removes the residual charge and shows you what the battery is really like . . . it should recover to >12V fairly sharpish . . .

Fd

scott_e · Post by **scott_e** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:33 pm

robin wrote:If you f*ck up putting the battery on you will destroy your car's electrics at vast expense. I say this, because some batteries appear to ship with the poles coloured counter-intuitively, i.e. the black one is +ve ...

Also note that a battery with the same number will be approx same size and similar capacity but may or may not fit into your car, and may have the poles reversed from yours, if you see what I mean.

So, by all means get a replacement (but not from Halfords - any tyres'n'exhausts place will carry a cheaper battery), but don't cock up fitting it, or prepare to take it in the shorts ...

If you're at all unsure, ask the guys in the tyres'n'exhaust place to help - more often than not if they're not busy, they'll fit the thing for you while you chat to them about what an awesome babe magnet the car is

Cheers,
Robin

thanks for the warning robin ! I got a:

HCB063 440 AMP (from halfords)

as it was the same number that was on the car ... staff confirmed it should be ok.

On car was a 063/3 380AMPS ....

took a photo with me showing all the text on the old one. Got a Calcium one which is 450 amp instead of the 350amp that was there but thats ok i understand.

Both are the same physical size , both 12v (obviously).

Sound ok to you ?

I can upload photos if your not 100% sure.

Sorry to be a pain.