Dead Battery - need help.

skylight

I have a large P reg, 2.8 Ford Galaxy. And it has a dead battery.

I bought a new battery last year so its not an old one, but I left the boot slightly open so the light came on and in this cold weather I didn't notice as I didn;t use the car, so the battery is dead.

I have used the exs car to jump start, but it didn't work and just managed to burn out his leads.

As it was a newish battery, I was thinking of a battery charger rather than another new battery but I cannot afford to get a charger that doesn't work and thus have to buy a new battery anyway!

I have found this charger:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_210939_langId_-1_categoryId_165629

And this new battery:
http://www.monbatuk.com/index.php/ducelier-069.html

There is not a lot of money between the two, but I really don't know what to get. Normally I would have run it by someone else, but ex is no longer talking to me, I have no male friends and Dad lives in another country. This is something simple but I am so out of my depth with this one!

molerat

How about this charger http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_7575.htm not as fast as the Halfords one but will do the job. The battery should recover if it was not left for too long in a discharged state.

sebdangerfield

There are better people to answer this than me but I'd assume that if the battery was new last year then it should just need a charge. The battery capacity on the 2.8 would need to be fairly heavy duty and require a similar amount of juice from the other car to jump it, therfore if the ex's car isn't big or the jump cables were cheapo then there wouldn't be enough to get it work.

Before spending money I'd try jumping it again with some heavy duty cables. Perhaps a neighbour with a van or a landrover defender!? You know the sort, people who tinker!

djkarl

If you really dont fancy doing it, Halfords will fit your battery for you for £5, they'll also dispose of the old one for you.

Rolandtheroadie

Had the same bother with the wifes 2.5 (the big engine needed a bit more ooomph). Wouldnt start with a jump with rubbish leads.
Think Argos are doing a decent set for around £26 just now (25mm).
As the batteries been discharged alot, It might be an idea to get good leads, connect the 2 batteries up and leave the working one running for a little while before trying to start. perhaps even get someone to give the running car a little revs when trying to start as well.

SailorSam

I got a bid charger from Machine Mart which also has a jump start facility, it was well over £100 but when i was self employed i thought it was worth it just so i could guarantee to get to work in the mornings.
That link you gave us i noticed Halfords do a smaller but similar thing as mine for only £12 more than you were planning to spend.
I think it's worth the extra.

pogofish

Ime, it is unlikely that a boot light would cause enough drain over a few days for a deep discharge that would kill a newish battery altogether.

An inexpensive charger like the lidl one linked above would probably be fine for your needs, and it would be a good idea to get into the habit of giving the battery a full charge every few months anyway. Especially if the car sits idle for periods.

And good quality jump leads are also a very good idea in this situation - I've found myself stuck with the same problem before.

Mischa

The reason you couldn't jump start the car is because the battery was too flat. It needs to be charged, which should be no hassle. Just give it a day and it'll be good to go! It doesn't take much for a car battery to become flat - when the engine is running this charges it continually so when a light or radio is left on accidently it runs down the battery very quickly. Invest in a charger - they're always handy and you'll definately get your use out of it!

rev_henry

In the meantime, could you try bump starting it?

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Just bump start it, and take it for a 30 minute drive.

pompeyrich

Mischa wrote: »

The reason you couldn't jump start the car is because the battery was too flat. It needs to be charged, which should be no hassle. Just give it a day and it'll be good to go! It doesn't take much for a car battery to become flat - when the engine is running this charges it continually so when a light or radio is left on accidently it runs down the battery very quickly. Invest in a charger - they're always handy and you'll definately get your use out of it!

It doesn't matter how flat a battery is, you are using the power in the other car to start the car with the flat battery. The main reason for not being able to jump start a car is cheap cables, they look good but the wires are just too small to carry the current needed to start a car.