Is my battery dead or.....

Moonpie2

Moonpie2

Moonpie2

Soldato
Joined
23 Dec 2002
Posts
2,895
Location
Shiny Shanghai
Hello.

I came to start my car a few days ago and it sort of made a weird buzzing noise and didn't start, I tried again and it fired up.
It then started just fine the next time I tried.

Then I left the car for a couple of days and when I went back to it, I just have the weird buzz. (Like an electrical gurgling sound) The starter motor isn't even turning over.
The wipers work extremely slowly, the radio won't come on, centeral locking doesn't work and the headlights glow VERY dimly.

Sounds like a faulty battery, but I dunno anyone with any jump leads to test my theory and I don't want to go buying a new battery if that's not the problem.

Any thoughts ?
 
If its especially cold then a battery will be more likely to fail in starting the engine. Sounds a lot like it could use a recharge, check the levels and charge
 
I'm like the world's biggest motoring noob :)

No idea how to check the levels or what the levels even are.

If I managed to bump start it and then drove around for 20 minutes, would that help charge the thing up ?
 
Yup battery is dead.

Its either a duff battery (most likely given the weather currently) or the alternator not charging it properly. Get a multimeter out - there should be about 12V across it when the car's off and 14.4V when it's running.
 
I had a battery that was dying for about 2 years. I dont think I ever replaced it :D Just had to be sure never to play the radio without the engine on


Go and buy a trickle charger for the battery, sooner or later it'll be usefull and most likely would help you out right now


With the levels, some batteries can be opened up and you can see the state of the metal plates and acid inside. Also you can either measure the charge of the acid or connect a battery tester to see

Sometimes a local scrappy will part ex an old battery for a working second hand one, which is a cheap way to see if that was the problem.

Battery is about one of the most common reasons for a car not starting
 
I think I'll have a crack at bump starting it.
At least if it does start I'll rule out a bunch of other problems.
Plus it's due it's MOT in like a week so I'll just make do until then. I'll buy my own battery for them to fit tho :)
 
Moonpie2 said:
I think I'll have a crack at bump starting it.
At least if it does start I'll rule out a bunch of other problems.
Plus it's due it's MOT in like a week so I'll just make do until then. I'll buy my own battery for them to fit tho :)
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An odd decision? Surely choosing which battery is the hardest bit of changing it! Which goes to show how easy it is - all that needs doing is unscrewing the old one, probs size 10 or 12 spanner, and sticking the new one in, and swapping over the terminals.
 
I dunno.
I had a look and the terminals seem a little crusty. Plus I have no tools :(

Well the bump starting didn't work either. Very strange. Didn't even seem like it was anywhere near working. Maybe the immobiliser was doing something !!
 
If it's as flat as a pancake then it will probably not have enough juice to bump start. I remember this happening to Subaru WRC cars a few years back, not enough voltage to get the ECU firing or the fuel pump primed.

Alarms and immobilisers tend to go a bit loopy when the battery goes flat as well.

Charge/jump or replace battery......
 
You could try and recondition the battery also, if you don't want to buy a new one. This is not 100% guaranteed to work, but worth a try.
 
I guess the cold must have just killed it dead :(

My next worry before I get to the garage is that my boot is open and the only way to lock it is with centeral locking :confused:
Eek !!
 
My battery died last winter but it's been fine ever since I topped up its water and recharged it with an Accumate. These past few weeks I've had the car hooked up the Accumate constantly so that it sustains the battery through the sub zero temps!
 
iaind said:
Yup battery is dead.

Its either a duff battery (most likely given the weather currently) or the alternator not charging it properly. Get a multimeter out - there should be about 12V across it when the car's off and 14.4V when it's running.
Click to expand...

This has just happend to me. Went to start the car yesterday morning and couldn't even open the doors. Got in using the key and the car wouldn't even turn over.

Called the RAC out and the chap had a look, got the multimeter out and it was running 10v with the current battery which was getting juice from his van, and 11v without my battery in the loop. Basically the alternator is shot and has knackered the battery. Strange how it's ever had a problem until yesterday.

Still going to replace both the battery and the alternator in the next couple of days once the parts arrive.
 
Similar just happened to me. I'm guessing my battery and alternator has gone, confirm/deny would be good:

Last few minutes of my drive home, I lost power steering, radio, speedo and rev counter, all lights and even the engine electrics I think (in that order). Managed to limp the last couple of miles home. Would I be right in saying the alternator caused this and the battery needs to be replaced too?
 
I don't think the battery is at fault here, the OPs description sounds more like the starter solenoid stuck, maybe it was frozen and the ice melted when it was 1st trying to engage.
 
BigglesPiP said:
I don't think the battery is at fault here, the OPs description sounds more like the starter solenoid stuck, maybe it was frozen and the ice melted when it was 1st trying to engage.
Click to expand...

The wipers work extremely slowly, the radio won't come on, centeral locking doesn't work and the headlights glow VERY dimly
Click to expand...

With the quoted symptoms I think the battery is at fault - given that a flat battery also gives you the rapid solenoid firing he describes.
 
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