Battery doesn't maintain charge
Hey folks, so I got this new battery which has been giving me drama ever since I got it.
I accidently left my lights on one night after installing it (damn stupid light switch on the dash) and it went flat. Charged her back up and now it simply wont keep its charge.
When I charged it (using a battery charger) it would not get a full charge, I left it on for over 24 hours and the green indicator light never came on to say it is fully charged. It did charge somewhat though so I could turn the car on.
I'm not using the car at the moment since I got no rego, so it's been sitting idle for a week or so and the battery keep losing charge when I try to start it up.
Is this a faulty battery? Did I screw myself when I drained it the first time? Will warranty cover this (if I don't tell them about my little 'accident')
Cheers!
Take it back and get another one.It should hold its charge, and charge up again properly if its new, even if you did run it flat that shouldnt matter.
Donating Member
If you are using one of those small cheap chargers, you will need to leave it on charge for a few days to fully charge as they are flat out delivering 2 amps. It also help if you fully disconnect the battery from the car. Your lights should have automatically turned off with the ignition off and the door closed (in theory). If you want to keep the battery fully charged even though you are not driving, just run the charger for an hour a day using a cheap timer. Good Luck.
As Hako said,the headlights should go out when the key is off and door is closed.Have you checked the boot light and glovebox light.These have been known to flattern batteries if their switch gets sticky or worn and doesnt shut off properly.
mate, try another spare battery as well, the vr-vs have a common fault where the red wire on the back of the alternator becomes corroded and loses contact, hence the battery will not charge, have a peek next time and see what you can see, if the alternator is intact and the wires are fine then might just be the battery.
Originally Posted by Jesterarts
NEED 4 SPEED
Is you battery water ok ?? If it is 1 of those batteries you can check the water level and fill-up ??
where did u buy the battery from? reputable dealers will change easily
Alright thanks folks, I'll leave it on charge for a few days and when I get it driving I'll see how it goes.
It is a cheapo battery, from a place in Castle Hill (greg's batteries or something). Maxx battery is the brand.
Quickest way to charge it would be to put it into the car and jump start it and take it for a drive for about 30 minutes, see if you can borrow one of those jump starting packs incase it's stuffed. I'd be taking it for a drive allowing sufficient time to charge it and go to the battery place on the way back and get it tested as well as your charging system.
Mucca Mad Boys
He's got no rego mate, If the bettery is at fault and its not out of warrenty you will be able to get an exchange or refund depending on how good the bloke is, it shouldn't matter about you leaving your lights but i'd just keep it quiet.
He can just idle the car to charge it, still faster than a domestic battery charger. He can then check the alternator voltage with a volt meter, the battery place is likely to claim it's run flat because his car is at fault so if he is armed with the information all the better.
If the battery is going flat over a few days after it is charged and reconnected into the car then it is probably a faulty diode in the alternator allowing the battery to discharge.
hey Wortus thanks for the info. I'll check the volts of the alternator this afternoon. If it is a faulty diode in the alternator, will the reading of the volts be able to determine that?
It may or may not it depends on which diode and what is wrong with it. Alternators output 3 phase AC and this is rectified by 6 diodes to produce a DC voltage. There are also 3 field diodes that apply a DC voltage to the rotor through the slip rings and brushes this voltage is varied by the regulator to maintain the proper output to charge the battery.
Usually it is the field diodes that go and you can pull the alternator apart and test them with a multimeter (they only conduct in one direction). You can buy a new diode setup or just get an exchange alternator with new bearings etc for around $220.00 exchange.
What I would do is charge the battery to a point where it can start the car and with the motor running put a volt meter accross the battery terminals, you should read around 14.4 volts and it should be fairly constant over the rev range. If this is the case the altenrator is charging the battery. You can then turn the car off and use an amp meter to measure what sort of current drain is on the battery and this will tell you if something is drawing too much load. Small globes will only draw a light load and would take a long time to flatten the battery.
If there is a heay load disconnect the battery then the alternator and reconnect the battery and test the load again. If the load has dropped then there's probably a bung diode. If there is still a big load you will need to start removing fuses one by one and note what circuit is at fault if any.
the only other thing I can think of that would happily draw a big load is the solenoid on the starter motor you could check that as well.
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