Battery dead again

Scruff

Battery in the car died on me 3 times since i bought the car in februrary last year so about 3-4 months ago i bought a new one for it. Everything fixed or so i thought until i sat into it this morning and turned the key.
Nothing. Barely even enough juice for the lights on the dash board.
Last drove it 2 evenings ago. Radio automatically turns off when thw key is pulled out and a warning is sounded if the driver side door is opened when the lights are on.
Any idea what the hell could be draining it???

When i think back on it, now and again over the last few weeks i noticed that it wasnt starting as sprightly from a cold start but dismissed it as nothing but a cold start. doh!

unkel

Some possible causes:

1. Alternator isn't charging the battery
2. Drain, perhaps caused by radio / cd

crosstownk

Do you have any accessories fit that might be drawing current even though the car is off? - phone kit, alarm etc.
Do you leave the car for long periods (days)?
Have you checked to make sure all the connections at the battery are tight?
If all appears well then maybe you should have the battery and alternator checked out.

jobonar

something similar happened to my dad's car bout 2 years ago! battery kept goin dead and nobody came up with a reason for it!

went out to the car 1 night and turns out and saw light coming from the boot so assumed it hadnt been closed properly but turns out that the light in the boot had been staying on constantly and thats wat had been draining the battery!!

just a thought....

Scruff

crosstownk wrote:

Do you have any accessories fit that might be drawing current even though the car is off? - phone kit, alarm etc.

nope

Do you leave the car for long periods (days)?

dont drive to work so sometimes it could be 3 or 4 days without being driven

Have you checked to make sure all the connections at the battery are tight?

no, will do.

If all appears well then maybe you should have the battery and alternator checked out.

how mush does a new alternator typically cost to buy and fit? car needs a service and belt change so might have to add that to the list

crosstownk

I'd hazard a guess that because you leave the car lying for 3-4 days is contributing to the problem. It probably isn't reaching full charge when yo do drive it. Get it started and take it on a long drive (100km if you can). Alternatively, disconnect the battery and charge it with a mains battery charger overnight. Then see what happens.

pontovic

Same thing happened to my Bora when I left it for a couple of days over the weekend. I would go to start it on a monday morning and not a breath of life out of it. A jump start would see it right.

Your radio might 'appear' to be off (mine did), so double check that. In my case the radio was the drain so I got a new one fitted instead. Problem solved. Good luck with it.

Scruff

i'd be suprised if it was the radio seeing as its the standard one that came with the car. how can ye check if its really off if it appears to be off and there is no sound and turning the volume dial up does nothing? pull it out an run a voltmeter across it?

Citizen Jake

My bet is it's the alternator. Buying an alternator should be about equal to the price of three or four new batteries. Jake

chicken_food

darando, batterys get old but what are the odds of 3 or 4 new batterys all being old?! Id say it sounds more like an altenator charge,could be a simple task of replacing busings in the altenator. A diy job. If not then try a scrappy or ebay. They always have cars lying around. Also if ur getting a new alt, maybe go for the diesel equivalent. I know with my car you can put the diesel alt in and 'apparently' it is stronger and better. Worth a thought.

Darando

Apologies lads,

long day at work missed the part about buying 3 new batteries!!!!!!


Will remove the post!

Has happened to me a lot too.

I presumed the problem was that the car had an alarm/immobiliser and sometimes it seems to 'kick in' - I guess it was never properly diconnected. Anyway, this manifests itself in certain ways - sometimes when I turn the key in the ignition the engine doesn't start, and I have to rub the key to get rid of the static on it which seems to override whatever signal the key used to transmit to the immobliser/alarm. A few guys have told me the dying battery is probably linked to the same problem, with the defunct alarm continuing to drain the battery.