car battery i think!

benthebratt · Post by **benthebratt** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 5:47 pm

Can someone please help. Since having the lude off my dad it started to have a problem with what I think is the battery. Drive around a bit leave the car come back and start it, and it starts sweet. If I leave it overnight , it lacks power when starting taking longer and the lights go dimmer. So I charge the battery, and slowly the same thing happens again.

So yes I could replace the battery, which isn't too cheap but I thought it could be the old alarm or another electrical appliance draining the battery when its off. So I took it to an electrician who works with cars, he said its my old aftermarket alarm, so he took that out and said hes 99% sure that was the cause.

So here a couple of days after all this, the same thing is happening again.

Can anyone help me please?

Post by **Gayno** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 6:03 pm

It probably is the battery. After a few years they do start to lose their ability to hold charge.

A replacement should only be around £60, or you can get a reconditioning charger for around £50 to see if you can revive the current one.

mercutio · Post by **mercutio** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 6:27 pm

yeah get it to a shop and get the battery and alternator tested

benthebratt · Post by **benthebratt** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 6:32 pm

I did take it to a proper electrician who said the cause for the battery to deplete was the alarm , so gonna go back and speak to him as he charged me £40 to remove the old alarm system.

Thanks for the replies lads

Post by **Gayno** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 6:45 pm

Generally an alarm won't cause that much of a drain, unless it had a fault somewhere.

My car has been stood for 2 months with a knackered battery, with the alarm on, and when I went to it on the weekend it unlocked and flashed the lights. Granted there wasn't enough juice to actually start the car!

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 7:08 pm

Firstly, do you only use it for short trips? If so, it's entirely possible that the engine isn't run for long enough to top the charge back up.

You should check that the alternator is correctly charging - start the engine and stick a voltmeter across the battery terminals - should be around 14.4v.

The battery is not really something you can check yourself these days (they're generally all sealed, so can't test the SG like you used to be able to). You can though get the battery checked for health at most fast fit places, for free. They will stick a tester across the terminals (with the engine off) and tell you whether the battery is good or not.

benthebratt · Post by **benthebratt** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 7:36 pm

Thanks again for the advice ! I will invest in a voltmeter as ive needed one a few times over the past few months so will get one, and if that reading is all good will get the battery tested.

benthebratt · Post by **benthebratt** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 4:44 pm

Thanks for your help, went back to the chap who took out my alarm he gave me £20 back as he apologised for my inconvenience as the car wouldn't start after he said he sorted the problem, went to a local mechanic store and picked a new battery up for £55 so not too bad at all. Fingers crossed its all sorted now