Flat Battery every Morning !!

DGJsaver

we have a company near us called bedford battery that are good , my mechanic mate will get one from there i think , although going to get him to check the earth lead first , y`never know !

adouglasmhor

Strider590 wrote: »

DGJ is really isn't worth all the hassle, if the battery is +3 years old just replace it.

I've had a battery explode through trying to save money by not buying a new battery.
I charged it from flat over night (7 hours is the proper charge time for a flat car battery), when I reconnected it and tried to start the car, the plates sparked (low electrolyte levels) and ignited the nitrogen gas (which is generated through charging) and the battery then exploded, it sounded like a bomb going off and covering my engine bay and front wings in battery acid, the financial damage was a new battery at £40 + £250 in paint repairs.....

£290 just because I tried to avoid replacing a 6 year old battery, but I learnt my lesson.

Hydrogen not nitrogen. Nitrogen is not explosive (it makes up 70% of the atmosphere).

DGJsaver

Guess what ?
Yep , the battery , earth tested everything , put a multi meter on the batterty , saw that it dropped massivley when the engine was trying to start.....thinking of complaining to the AA........?

joanne_d_3

Hi , i havent read all of the posts on this thread, but wanted to tell you that the same thing had been happening to my husbands taxi .

The past few mornings when he went to go to work , the battery was totally flat !

The car started perfectly on a jump start .

Charging the battery over night whilst disconnected didnt help matters either because it didnt hold charge when put back in the car.

When we took the car to a mechanic on saturday passed , as soon as he opened the bonnett he saw straight away that the alternator pully wheel was not turning and so this ment that whilst the car was being driven , the battery was not being recharged as it usually would!

The pully wheel cost £37 and to fit it cost £20.

Our problem is now solved.

If you have already got your problem fixed then ignore this post , just didnt have time to read the whole thread before posting.

joanne

LandyAndy

joanne_d wrote: »

When we took the car to a mechanic on saturday passed , as soon as he opened the bonnett he saw straight away that the alternator pully wheel was not turning and so this ment that whilst the car was being driven , the battery was not being recharged as it usually would!

The pully wheel cost £37 and to fit it cost £20.

Our problem is now solved.


joanne

I'm surprised the drive belt wasn't squealing.

custardy

joanne_d wrote: »

Hi , i havent read all of the posts on this thread, but wanted to tell you that the same thing had been happening to my husbands taxi .

The past few mornings when he went to go to work , the battery was totally flat !

The car started perfectly on a jump start .

Charging the battery over night whilst disconnected didnt help matters either because it didnt hold charge when put back in the car.

When we took the car to a mechanic on saturday passed , as soon as he opened the bonnett he saw straight away that the alternator pully wheel was not turning and so this ment that whilst the car was being driven , the battery was not being recharged as it usually would!

The pully wheel cost £37 and to fit it cost £20.

Our problem is now solved.

If you have already got your problem fixed then ignore this post , just didnt have time to read the whole thread before posting.

joanne

if your alternator wasnt charging then i assume you had a battery light illuminated?

joanne_d_3

LandyAndy wrote: »

I'm surprised the drive belt wasn't squealing.

Hi , nope , as far as i know the belt wasnt squealing ?

My husband only bought the car about 3/4 weeks ago.

As he was intending on using it as a taxi , he took the precaution of having the timing belt changed . At the same time he also got the fan belt done.

When he went to pick it up from the mechanic , the mechanic told my husband that the fan belt tensioner was "on its way out" . Because we had just paid the money for the car and also paid to have the belts done , money was a bit tight so we told the mechanic we would come back in a week or two to have the tensioner replaced .

then , for a few mornings the car was a total !!!!!! to get started and then on friday the battery light remained lit whils t driving. on saturday morning there was NO power in the battery at all.

We assumed that the tensioner had completely died and took it to a mechanic who told us that the problem was the alternator pulley NOT the tensioner.

He agreed with the first mechanic though in that tensioner was on its way out so seeing as how we had the part anyways , we decided to let him fit both the tensioner AND the pulley . The result is a perfectly sweet running car lol.

So........is there anything the previous owner could have done to stop the belt squealing temporarily because i dont think it was when we bought it ?

Joanne

joanne_d_3

custardy wrote: »

if your alternator wasnt charging then i assume you had a battery light illuminated?

Hi sorry ,our posts crossed !

Yes , if you read my post you will see that i wrote that !

On friday when my hubby came home from work he told me that the light was staying lit .

We dont really know mych about cars though and assumed this may be something to do with the tensioner.

Joanne

Strider590

adouglasmhor wrote: »

Hydrogen not nitrogen. Nitrogen is not explosive (it makes up 70% of the atmosphere).

Ooops I got 4 characters wrong :rotfl:

DGJsaver

Love it , my AA complaint went off , just had a call , the lady says the mechanic does a complete test on the battery , called a confidence test or soemthing along those lines , and it must have been a anomoly with his equipment that it told him my battery was `good`and that it isnt their fault that they didnt recognise the faulty battery at the time

I hate the AA and cant wait to find someone better