Can batteries suddenly die?

Oh well thats blown my idea out of the water. Ive only ever had German cars tho really (Supra and DC5 only ones that arnt and they run after market stereos). Ive never had a car where I have had to reset radio code (I did on my dads old Vauxhalls) but thats it.

Fabia, Lupo, Polo, Golf mk5, Audi TT.
 
My dad's Ford Galaxy did that the other day and it wasn't even cold. He used the car and it was fine the day before it died. Even the AA man couldn't start it. New battery sorted the problem
 
Can you jump start the car and check the alternator output, and if that's OK (which I suspect it is) you know its time for a new battery. At this time of year its very common with the lower temps.
 
Could be the colder weather killing off weak batteries, or a suddent change which is draining your battery

You will find batteries a few years old or outside of their decent lifetime span become very weak, as soon as the cold snap comes in it could be overnight and bam, wont start in the morning

If so, time for a new one, be sure its not something going wrong that is draining your battery though, a lot of places will do a free battery test
 
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I once drove 5 minutes to the shop and when I came out and went to start the car is was totally dead, didn't even crank. It can't have gone flat it must have literally broken a connection inside. Unfortunately it was on new years day or something like that and took all day for the AA sort.
 
Finglonga said:
Is it a "V" serial or a "M" serial on your radio? The "V" is dealer only but the "M" is simple to get.
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Thank you OCUK, solved it! Found a code via an app on Google Play. Cost me £1.89 but it was cheaper than getting Ford to do it!

All sorted with car now, it seems just the battery was dead, starts instantaneously now too, which it didn't quite do before. Fingers crossed it starts tomorrow, left it for about 3 hours and it still started fine, so hope it was just a knackered battery.

Now to dispose of the old one....
 
Pretty much as everyone above has said, the physics of a car battery mean they don't work so well in cold weather so if it's poorly that can finish it off.

Also if it's been poorly for a while and the voltage been dropping it suffers permanent damage due to a process called 'sulphation' - there'll be a decent explanation of it on the web if you google it.

http://www.wisegeek.com/how-does-sulfation-drain-a-battery.htm

Just to check with your new battery is it a silver calcium type? Didn't know this myself till recently but Ford run a 'smart' charging system and they specify this type of battery is used.
 
tl45 said:
Pretty much as everyone above has said, the physics of a car battery mean they don't work so well in cold weather so if it's poorly that can finish it off.

Also if it's been poorly for a while and the voltage been dropping it suffers permanent damage due to a process called 'sulphation' - there'll be a decent explanation of it on the web if you google it.

http://www.wisegeek.com/how-does-sulfation-drain-a-battery.htm

Just to check with your new battery is it a silver calcium type? Didn't know this myself till recently but Ford run a 'smart' charging system and they specify this type of battery is used.
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Ahhh! You're still around here, neglecting the road cycling thread I see! :D
 
physichull said:
Thank you OCUK, solved it! Found a code via an app on Google Play. Cost me £1.89 but it was cheaper than getting Ford to do it!

Now to dispose of the old one....
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Sorry should have said to PM me I would get it for free on M codes.

As for the old battery, the tat men will take it off your hands, just leave it at the side of the road and it will disappear.
 
Still on my original battery. Failed two years ago took me to the shop. got to the shop and came back out.. Dead.

Took it to a battery place and was told how the cold can reduce a cells capacity drastically. If it was extremely cold which it was the car will have enough juice left in battery to start once and a short run won't recharge it enough to give it enough power to start again. I drive a diesel so extra crank power is needed too

Always get it tested after it dies just to check it out :) I did and im still running it
 
Certainly can!

A couple of weeks ago I used my car on the Saturday for a tip run. Monday afternoon it was as flat as a pancake!

Breakdown man came out, jump started the car using his little box thing which also checked the battery condition and it was fine. Been fine since, but now it's getting really cold I'm half expecting it to fail again soon! If it does, it's new battery time!
 
It was probably slowly dying but you didn't notice, they tend to stutter and take longer for the car to start when they are dying.
 
If it's ever gone flat in its life you can guarantee it will drop at some stage in its life. The battery drops a cell and it's all over. If it's an oldish battery and has gone flat, get a new one it's not worth it in the wrong run. It will charge up fine and work fine for a while but it will die on you.
 
physichull said:
Ah great, that's reassuring to know that that is all likely to be wrong with it. More annoying is that I don't have the audio code from the previous owners so the radio will be down until I pay Ford £25 for a new code....
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Some people write the codes on the radio or in one of the books, might be worth pulling out to have a look. Also has it gone up in price? I paid £12 years ago all I did was give them the serial number.
 
Finglonga said:
Sorry should have said to PM me I would get it for free on M codes.

As for the old battery, the tat men will take it off your hands, just leave it at the side of the road and it will disappear.
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you can get £2 to 5 for it depending on size just have to find a place that recycles battery's
 
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