Car Battery Issue (Or Not)
divingbboy
Posts: 14,074 Forum Member
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I'm trying to figure out the problem with our car might be. Basically, over the past couple of weeks, we've repeatedly had problems in starting the car, and have had to jump start it a few times. I assumed that the battery had run down, especially given the cold weather. So, I take the battery out and hook it up to the recharger.....................and the recharger says that the battery is fully charged. So, now I'm confused. Given that it'll start from a jump, I can't figure out what the problem is. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
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I have no technical knowledge at all so have no idea why this works, but it does.....
I thought it was that but I didn't like to say
Surely it's just the snake oil lubricating the clutch plate?
That's why I said a 'short term solution'
Yeah, have tried that, thanks. It works (sometimes) because the starter motor doesn't have to work so hard to turn the engine over when the clutch is depressed.
That's what I suspect. I might also try a different battery charger (it's a very good charger, and can put seriously messed-up batteries through various cycles to get them working properly again, but it does sometimes have an issue with absolutely dead-flat batteries).
If it turns out that the battery is OK, it could be your starter motor. Again, this is probably down to the extreme cold. We are simply not used to the kinds of problems that very low temperatures bring regarding cars etc.
Sound like a knackered battery to me. It can be tested, get this done and if required buy a new battery.
If you park outside, they will, come out and have a look.
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And Sean, we moved from Aberdeen to Devon many years ago because my Mum wanted a warmer place.
Exeter was -14 deg C the other night. lol
I'd go with the battery being knackered, it may well take a charge but won't actually have the current to start the car. The cranking current of a battery will be affected by the cold and a car engine will be harder to start in cold weather, so makes things even worse.
Go to Halfords or an auto electrician and they should be able to do a load cell test on it. Modern batteries can fail suddenly rather than gradually as they used to do, recently I went out with my MG ZT, three hours later I went out, turned the key and all the lights went out :eek: Meter on the battery 12.7v, try to start and about 7v :mad: New battery - good as gold
Could also be a dodgy earth lead from your battery to the engine - if you can, remove the engine end of it and clean as above.
You don't do that anyway?
i drove to work the other day & the car was fine & it had been starting up ok all week before that ... i finished my shift, came back out & bang no power in the engine, couldnt get it started
amazing how quick it all can happen eh
possible, although if it jumps starts then you could rule this out, unless you connect the jump lead to the engine block.
Checking the lights whilst trying to start will tell, if the battery is clapped the headlights will probably go dim trying to start, a voltmeter across the battery will also drop down trying to start. A poor earth would probably not give any appreciable drop.