Vectra battery problem

jkgray

My Dad has a '54' Vauxhall Vectra 1.8 petrol H/b.

Before Xmas he found on a few mornings that the car wouldn't start and needed a jump start.

When the weather began to warm up the problem disappeared.

This week however it has returned and so he thought he must need a new battery.

He went to Halfords to pick up a new battery and have it fitted.

When the bloke removed his battery however he said that the battery was 'good' and didn't need replacing. He then said you have got something on which is drawing a little bit power and that is probably draining the battery overnight. He couldn't say what however and my dad said there is nothing changed from the 3.5 years I've had the car. The bloke then said he would test the alternator to see if that was the problem but said it was fine.

The halfords bloke said you probably need to see an auto electrician but there aren't that many around.

My dad is reluctant to do this and spend money in case the Halford's bloke is just talking rubbish and all that is needed is a new battery. Conversely he doesn't want to get a new battery if one is not needed and there is a real problem.

Any thoughts? :think:

Thanks. :beer:

Paradigm

Sounds like the battery to me, if it's 3.5 years old it will be past it's best & very cold weather will soon find a dodgy one... just my opinion having had exactly the same with mine

Strider590

Just fit a new battery, but for god sake not from Halfrauds..... I have virtually the same car and paid some £60 for a Varta battery delivered from https://www.carbatteryshop.co.uk, fitted it myself in less than 3 minutes.

Halfrauds will want £80-£90 for a non-brand battery + god knows what to fit it...

mikey72

£65 + vat for the diesel battery from vauxhall themselves.
£50 + vat for the oe size one.

I've just replaced mine on a 1.8 Zafira after 6 years. No interior light switches playing up are there?

goldspanners

if he noticed a heavy spark when disconnecting the battery this could indicate something drawing current.
check glove box lights,boot lights anything like that that may be drawing power and slowly draining the battery.
the cold weather will drain the battery quicker so the fault will seem more prevelant when its colder.
the car is over 6 years old so its not unrealistic to suspect the battery but theres a chance the battery is still good.

why did the guy at halfords not carry out a load test on the battery to determine its state?

jkgray

Seemingly problem solved - it was the battery.

My dad took it to an independent today who tested the battery and said that although the battery had some charge in it, he could tell that it was not holding the charge.

He said that the small drain was because, as my dad confirmed, the bloke at halfords had the door open when testing hence the light would have come on.

hubert_cumberdale

you sure the halfords guy was testing the battery

they are a bit dim he probably tested the new one

molerat

Strider590 wrote: »

Just fit a new battery, but for god sake not from Halfrauds..... I have virtually the same car and paid some £60 for a Varta battery delivered from www.carbatteryshop.co.uk, fitted it myself in less than 3 minutes.

Halfrauds will want £80-£90 for a non-brand battery + god knows what to fit it...

Yep, never heard of Varta-Bosch before

Strider590

molerat wrote: »

Yep, never heard of Varta-Bosch before

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_734751_langId_-1_categoryId_165762

molerat

Strider590 wrote: »

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_734751_langId_-1_categoryId_165762

Your point is ?

hubert_cumberdale

i get my batterys from vauxhall main dealer its a large one and i pay £40 cash