Dead Battery - need help.

sebdangerfield

pompeyrich wrote: »

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.

True, the car would start with a knackered battery but would run poorly once disconnected from the other car.

Decent jump leads....... seriously, it's all youll need to start with!

Nex0

skylight wrote: »

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!

Never heard of the make of battery so thats not good but if you have a motormania local to you then I recommend you give them a call to see what they can do you they offered me the best deal when I needed to get one on my mums old polo and it was a decent make yuasa to.

Not sure on the charger but id personally grab one from argos such as the one in the link below as if its not charging ur current one your find it much easier to get a refund if u say its faulty then you would at halfords. :rolleyes:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/7402106/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CGarden+and+DIY%7C14418702/c_2/3%7C15701034%7CCar+equipment+and+accessories%7C14418747/c_3/4%7Ccat_14418747%7CCar+battery+chargers%7C14418754.htm

I'm not a fan of booster cables personally as new cars these days like mine cant use them as it can damage the ecu which isnt cheap to replace!

goldspanners

pompeyrich wrote: »

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.

i agree with you regarding the cheap thin jump leads. but i have had on more than one occasion where a vehicle would not start with the jump leads connected to the faulty battery. one was where the battery casing was worn away and leaking acid and voltage all over the place and another i can remember must have been internally damaged,maybe a broken post inside or a plate badly damaged,but neither of these would start with the jump leads connected to the battery.

in 10 years its happened to me only 3 or 4 times but be aware it does happen.

goldspanners

Nex0 wrote: »

I'm not a fan of booster cables personally as new cars these days like mine cant use them as it can damage the ecu which isnt cheap to replace!

so what would the rac or AA do if you had a flat battery? would they give you a lone of a battery charger for a few hours?

all car manufacturers will tell you this, but ive never had it happen to me or anyone i know,so i'll continue my risky approach with the jump leads.

Wig

sebdangerfield wrote: »

True, the car would start with a knackered battery but would run poorly once disconnected from the other car.

Decent jump leads....... seriously, it's all youll need to start with!

No it wouldn't, once running it would run fine because the alternator is the power source.

Wig

skylight wrote: »

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

Was this after a period of prolonged non use? Or more suddenly?

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

You did have the donor car engine running when you were doing this didn't you and revving it up to about 2000 rpm ???

It should have started, but the leads may have been crap. If you use good leads and it doesn't start or it starts but stops as soon as you release the leads, then your alternator has gone.

I would still invest in a good charger, and disconnect the dead battery from the car (no need to remove from the car just disconnect it) for a good charge session, once charged you will either know it was the battery or the alternator.

4743hudsonj

Not sure if its been said but the battery you posted is incorrect for your vehicle and will not fit and/or not run your vehicle properly, so come next winter you will have a dead battery,

The correct battery should have the universal (mostly) part number of 067. Its a little larger.

But as others have said you probably just need a charge up.

One thing to consider is how badly discharged the battery is, if completely dead you will need a sufficiently powered charger to overcome the resistance in the battery cells to begin charging. The halfords charger may not be up to this (borderline)

This is ever so slightly more powerful
http://www.wilcodirect.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_32&products_id=3067

mainly though its cheaper and from a reliable brand. The store is sound too.

There are other more powerful chargers there but they hike in price after that.

Nex0

goldspanners wrote: »

so what would the rac or AA do if you had a flat battery? would they give you a lone of a battery charger for a few hours?

all car manufacturers will tell you this, but ive never had it happen to me or anyone i know,so i'll continue my risky approach with the jump leads.

The AA from experience use a battery booster and while they do not disconnect the battery they have a range of things to do which I cant remember of the top of my head to make sure it doesnt fry your ecu.

Either way for me it didn't work and I had to be towed back to the garage as whatever flattened the battery had also messed up my ecu as the key wouldn't talk to the car.

goldspanners

Nex0 wrote: »

The AA from experience use a battery booster and while they do not disconnect the battery they have a range of things to do which I cant remember of the top of my head to make sure it doesnt fry your ecu.

Either way for me it didn't work and I had to be towed back to the garage as whatever flattened the battery had also messed up my ecu as the key wouldn't talk to the car.

there was an AA van across from my house the other night at one of my neighbours cars, he was clearly using jump leads attatched to his van,no booster pack in sight.

MrF_2

usual mistake is hooking the negative lead to the boosted cars battery instead of to the engine block / alternator bracket.
Cold kills battery life, could also be low fluid if the battery is maintenance free, check the levels and top up with distilled water, then try charging it, dont smoke near it, due to the hydrogen gas being given off