the car won't start up, start up motor starts spinning but soon stops. thinking it's due to low battery, got another car and managed to jump start the damn thing. then had it running for 10min at 2000rpm. hopefully it will start tomorrow fine. i then bought a RAC car battery charger. it seems like a very simple bit of kit, a 230v transformer to 12v. but it has two settings: trickle charge and fast charge. i assume if i want to charge it full, i'd use fast charge. and if i want to maintain full charged battery, i'd leave it in trickle charge. the instruction says one must disconnect the battery from the vehicle. but i cannot make any sense in this. (don't want to disconnect because of settings and can't find serial number for the radio) think the battery as a capacitor, then any current supplied to the system connected across the battery should go into the battery unless the battery is full. so why would one need to disconnect the battery from the main system? any tips on car battery are welcome
Trickle is the better way to charge, It just means it charges it slowly giving it a better charge. fast charge is when your in a hurry and 10mins on fast charge will be enough to get you going. The issue by the sounds of it here is a duff battery. Batterys need changing every 2 years or so anyway so its probably on its way out. the fact that the weather is cold doesnt help. You could take the batter out and unscrew the 6 caps on the cells. Check the fluid levels and if they are low you need to fill them with some electrolyte (de ionised water). This could save the battery but it may not too. Easiest way to get hld of this water is just to boil some water in the kettle. Does the same job you see. If the starter motor spins up its probably drawing the correct power but a lack of a start would indicate a dead battery. Worst case scenario could be either a failing starter motor. When this happens the starter will draw around 500amps or so from the battery instead of the usuall 150-175 ish. Another worst case would be an alternato thats on its way out. Its unlikely as is the starter so the best bet is the battery. Places such as halfords can put a drop test on the battery to see if its performing correct. A good battery will be around 13.8-14.2v for a 12v battery. When underload it should drop to around 12.8v. If the battery has had it your looking at 12v or less. Andy
bringing it for a drive for 10 mins would do best. if its trying to start and dies out prob its a flat battery, if the starter was fecked itd either do nothing or spin continuously. batteries can last years, i had a high performance battery in a citroen that was guaranteed for 5 years, and after 7 it was still perfect. my current car is 06 and the battery is perfect and hasnt been changed and ill not change it until it dies, waste of money replacing them before theyre dead, when u can push start or jump start them anyway if they do die. sounds like you might need a new battery alot of new batteries have a little glass window on top that shows either green or red depending on the health of the battery, you might give that a check. if the battery is ok its prob the alternator. you want to trickle charge it yeh. disconecting will lose your settings and might reset the code on your radio, its to reduce the chance of frying your electrics or blowing fuses.
If the car has enough power to start with a "flat" battery it should keep going, surely? Cranking takes huge amps that a flat battery can't provide, there's nothing particularly draining on a battery once the engine is firing.
sooooooo i don't need to disconnect the battery? just clip it in and set it to trickle charge? thanks for the voltage range, andrew. before being jump started, it was 12.07v. after jump started and 10min of reving at 2000rpm, then shut off the engine, it was 12.7v. once engine starts, it is around 13.8v. the battery is a maintaince free Ford battery on Ford Escort 98 1.8L Zetec engine. no where to add stuff.
it would be best to disconnect it tbh if you can start the car, drive it for 10/20 mins it should start the next time and after driving for a few days it should be fully charged, the alternator recharges your battery as you drive along, you prob know that already. or trickle charge it which ever suits best
Seeming you jumped your car just fine and none of the electronics in your car died, I feel its safe to charge your car without disconnecting it. The manufacture generally has it that way in the manual in order to cover for any liability reasons. More than likely your dome light was stuck on or something of that manner and drained your battery. Batteries for me historically usually last at around 3-6 years till they need to be replaced. To charge your car... (I'm following these exact same steps tomorrow in order to get my ice racer started from it sitting for a year) 1. Get your charger out 2. Set your charger on trickle charge (Only use fast charge to get enough charge in your battery to get to work, trickle charge is the best way to charge a battery) 3. always connect Red to red first, then black to the engine block (or car frame) ground. 4. Turn the charger on 5. if your charger has an amp meter on it, check to see if its charging (should be around 2 amps on trickle charge) 6. let it charge over night 7. wake up the next morning 8. if your car runs and starts fine. Woo hoo! nothings wrong. 9. if your car doesn't start still: 9a. check the water levels in your battery 9b. use a screw driver to open the caps, try not to get any of the fluid that is inside, on you, if you do put some water mixed with baking soda on it. 9c. The fluid level should be maybe a centimeter or so from the very top of the battery 9d. If it looks low just add some bottled water preferably the kind with no minerals added (I've never noticed a reduction in lifespan of a battery using bottled water vs. deionized/boiled water) 9e. If the levels weren't low and your car still won't start, then call your mechanically inclined friend who you trust, if that's not available take it to a professional mechanic. Or better yet, if you still have warranty on the car, go to your local dealership. 10. if your car runs fine for a week or so then the battery dies, you have a bad alternator, or there is a short in your electrical system. Fix it by calling mechanically inclined friend, or take it to a mechanic or dealership Hope this is helpful, good luck
many thanks. those steps are great and easy to follow. have bought a new battery from Halfords this morning, and is trickle charging outside of the car now. will be installing it tomorrow and hopefully won't have to worry about this again.
What's the point of boiling the water you put on the battery? That won't remove impurities. Bacterias don't damage batteries, minerals and metals in tap water will.
No, it won't. Condensation from the steam of that water will be deionized. When you boil it, you actually increase the concentration of impurities in the water because metals have a higher boiling point than water. The water evaporates, while the metal and minerals will be left in the kettle. Boiling the water will kill of germs, though. Not that that will help much in a battery...
Lol I think you mean metals have a higher boiling point than water (except for cesium, rubidium, gallium, and mercury), I don't really understand the reason for boiling the water either. If your desperate you could even use tap water in a battery and it wont be the end of the world, not good for it yes. But just use bottled water, or if you must deionized water.
better still rain water collected in a plastic container. The new battery shouldn't need charging, you should be able to drop her in and go. I had a battery during the summer die on me suddenly, i think the heat wave and being stuck in a tail back on the M1 near Mansfield just toasted the battery, and the car was operating just off the alternator. I always get the life time warranty as they expect people on average to swap cars before the battery dies, 3-5 years. So far i have had two free batteries! lol, i'll leave you to do the math on how long i've had this car!
I use the battery tender charger. I have like three of them. You can find it on amazon for like $40 but it's well worth it (there;s also a cheaper version called 'junior') The new one I just bought is attached to a 1967 Ford truck that can be quite a drain on the battery at times, especially during the colder months. I purchased it before this winter, and never once had an issue with the battery being too low or too cold, despite some pretty frigid temps. I set this on a shelf just in front of and above my truck, and leave the lead to the charger hanging. I then wired the battery end to my battery and channeled it so the plug end can be pulled through the grill. It's nearly invisible when it's not in use, but is very quick and easy to plug up. I've gotten used to just plugging up the truck every time I'm done with it, and this little puppy brings it up to full charge fairly quickly. Anyway here's the link to the one I have http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00068XCQU
Ctek have a similar but slightly more elegant solution: http://www.ctek.com/EN-GB/Default.aspx The only thing I don't like much about the Ctek is that the leads for permanent mounting doesn't have a fuse. You could mount one yourself, though. Or buy one of the other cables that have the fuse holder already mounted. (They have attachments with a battery indicator, or with a cig. plug adapter.)
