Battery/Alternator or something else...how to tell?

cymatty

cymatty

cymatty

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Joined
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South Yorkshire
My poor car was left abandoned outside my house for the past two weeks in the cold and it seems to have had a strop and fall out with me.

I went to start it yesterday and it was dead as a dodo the central locking would not work. Jump started it off a friends car and took it for a 15-20min drive. Parked it up and came back 2 hours later to another dead car, this time the central locking and interior lights worked.

Took it for a 20min plus drive before I run out of fuel. If it does not start again what would be your first thing to check. I was under the impression that if the alternator was failing you would see a battery light on the dash.

The car hasn't really been on a long 30min+ run in about 6 week could this be a contributing reason?
 
Matt82 said:
its clearly not charging if it was unable to start the car again after 2 hours or even operate the central locking
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Sorry after 2 hours the central locking and alarm and interior light worked fine it just didnt have enough juice to turn it over. I was wondering if it was because the battery was super flat and I didnt run it for long enough.
 
markweatherill said:
Is it one of those batteries where you can top it up, or a totally sealed one?
If the water has got low it might do some good topping it up with distilled water, but it might also be past help.

But first check the terminals for corrosion, just in case, as this can make a healthy battery appear duff.
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I will have a look at the terminals but I think they should be ok as the battery has recently been moved to the boot (last 3 months so dont think that is the issue). I will try to find out how old the battery is and see if that sheds any light on it.

Regarding sealed or not, I am not sure the only thing I know is it is a Halfords one I will ahve to examine further tonight

Thanks for the help so far. :)
 
Matt82 said:
24hrs, lets just make the numbers up eh? the battery is kaput, just get a new one, you might be able to get a jump start so easily next time
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Yeah think I will bite the bullet and get a new battery, so because it ran for 20 mins we can assume it wont be the alternator?
 
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Just hoping it is easy to change the battery as I am sure it is screwed down in the boot, plus car batterys scare the bejesus out of me. :o
 
agw_01 said:
Watch out for the big bang and the sparks when you reconnect the new battery.

I'd recommend standing well back and closing your eyes. If you can get a passer by to reconnect it that'd be better as it'll be him who loses his eyebrows.
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I hate electricity with a passion, since doing electrical testing and seeing simple things being potentially deadly stuff it has turned me into a wimp. :o
 
Are there any chargers you can buy that you can use in the house, as I now live on the first floor and my car is a good few hundred yards away.
 
Clarkey said:
Can't see why you wouldn't be able to use any charger indoors. My only advice would be to put it next to a window that's open a bit because there will be a small amount of dangerous fumes given off while charging.
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I have a balcony it could sit on that is covered. That would be ok, if it was raining i could leave it near an open window.:)

Do I need something like

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_210939_langId_-1_categoryId_165629

or

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_210983_langId_-1_categoryId_165629
 
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Gadge said:
have you got a multimeter? Measure the battery voltage then turn engine on measure the battery voltage. Without engine running it maybe around 12v and with engine running, about 14v. Then rev the engine slightly to 3000rpm and the voltage should increase slightly to 14.7v. If it does, your alternator is fine.
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Don't have a multimeter unfortunately dont want to go out and try it incase it starts as there is not enough fuel to take it for a 10 mile drive I don't think. I will just have to bite the bullet and buy a battery.
 
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