Car battery failed after 10 months.

Whatagain

Hi,

Not sure if anyone here can offer any advice. I got a new battery in January this year. The car then broke down today, I got the RAC out and they tested the battery and stated that it needed replacing as it would not hold a charge.

I spoke to the company that fitted it (a mobile service), the person I spoke to told me that it was impossible for the RAC or the AA to say that the battery had failed and would not hold a charge and that the only way to tell is to charge the battery for 24 hours and then see if it will hold a charge, yadda yadda. Does anyone know if this is true? It sounded rather suspect to me, the battery is 10 months old and the car has been driven normally in this time.

My previous battery was 8 years old and despite the car being unused for 3 months toward the end of last year it drove fine in November and December before finally failing on a frozen January morning.

Any comments or advice would be welcomed, apparently a local branch will be calling me to discuss the matter. I'm loathe to pay out for a new battery when it is so new and am peed off that I am without a car.

Thanks for your help.

Whatagain

maninthestreet

Presumably, the problem manifested itself when you got in it and tried to start it? When was the car lasted started? Any problems getting it to start in the last week or so ?

Whatagain

Hi, Thanks for your quick reply. I drove the car yesterday and it seemed slightly sluggish to start. I'm due to have a major service this week and was going to mention it then. When I tried to start today it was dead. I've not noticed any problems until yesterday with the sluggish start.

LandyAndy

Have you had the alternator tested?

I would have expected the RAC to do that when they came out to you.

Quentin

Batteries usually come with good warranties (3 to 5 years). Have a look at your paperwork and see what yours has.

sarahg1969

Did the RAC man try to sell you a new battery?

Whatagain

Hi Thanks for your replies. Yes he checked the alternator and could find no problem with it. He said that he had a battery he could sell but recommended that I didn't buy it as a 10 month old battery should be covered and I should not spend my own cash replacing it.

The company is coming to have a look tomorrow and I am ready to dig my heels in if needs be. The battery is 10 months old, I took a long journey last weekend that would be more than enough to fully charge it.

I want to live somewhere that I don't need a car! :rolleyes:

goldspanners

a battery can be tested using a high rate discharge tester (or in laymans terms a load tester) this will give a good indication even if a battery is flat as to the overall condition of it. to fully test it to be 100% sure then if it was fully charged you would get a better result.
but the AA guy probably sees more flat batteries than you've had hot dinners so his diagnostic skills in determining the state of a battery should be pretty well honed to perfection.
so even without use of a load tester the fact that the alternator is charging but the battery wont accept it should be good enough to diagnose a faulty battery.

but pesonally i would always load test just to be sure.

so in short your mobile guy is talking carp.

Justicia

Whatagain wrote: »

I want to live somewhere that I don't need a car! :rolleyes:

Location: The bottom of the deep blue sea

Might be the effects of saltwater...??

Let us know what the verdict is - am interested in the conclusion to this thread. Subscribed.

Mr_Warren_2

Regardless what happened, your battery should still be in working order after 10 months (especially under our climate) unless your car cannot charge the battery correctly. Do as the man who sold you the battery says, put it on slow charge for 24h then see how long it holds the charge. What kind of battery is it? what does the sticker say? Any manufacturer's mark?
Reason for being so sure of my comments is that i work directly with battery manufacturers and can assure you that they take field failures after 10 months very seriously. Just let us have more info.

Whatagain

I think he may have used a load tester, he got a few pieces of electronic wizardry from his van and they all showed disaster.

I've had a chat with my mechanic who is servicing my car this week and he is on the side of the RAC and thinks the company are talking rubbish and trying to get of replacing the battery.

I'll let you know how I get on tomorrow, thanks for all your help.