Either the AA or Halfords are lying to me

NotSuchASmugMarriedNow

they did test the battery and said it was fine - is it because i only drove it from around the corner to my house and then left it overnight so the new battery didn't haven't enough of a charge, could that be it.

Premier_2

NotSuchASmugMarriedNow wrote: »

Can someone tell me who is in the wrong here please

my car was completely dead so my brother jump started it for me and I took it to Halfords shop and brought a new battery and had it installed for an additional £6.99 on top of the battery price.

Drove car home 5 minutes away. Left outside overnight.

2 o clock today time to go to work car completely dead so I ring the AA. The AA man did some tests and said you have been sold a dud battery take it back to Halfords. He said there is nothing wrong with the alternator.

I took the car back to halfords, they tested the battery and said it was perfectly fine and the alternator needed to be replaced. I left the car there are there is an autocentre next door and they will look at it for me tomorrow morning.

Now, my question is, the AA man said "it's the battery, there's nothing wrong with the alternator" and Halfords said (it's the alternator, there's nothing wrong with the battery)

So one of them is wrong - which one? Also, does anyone know how much it will cost me to get the alternator replaced?

Its a ford focus W reg.

TIA for your help - I would have asked my husband but I got divorced 6 months ago and although I have now learnt to catch my own spiders and programme the sky box, I am at a loss when it comes to my car

First off, no one is lying to you. If you continue to adopt that attitude then that is why yoiu are getting difficulty in trying to resolve the problem you have.

Secondly, as already mentioned, very unusual for a new battery to be dud. Usually they are sold as near as dammit fully charged. On a 5 minute journey the battery wouldn't discharge even if the alternator was knackered.

If the alternator was defective, then the ignition warning light should not go out indicating you have a charging problem.

To test a battery, it needs to be charged so how did that happen?
If it was by the AA jump starting the car and you driving back to Halfords then there is nothing wrong with your alternator.

But that doesn't mean the battery is faulty either. It obviously was ok when it was fitted and seems to have recharged ok. I assume the car started again when you left Halfords today???

What I suspect is happeneing is that you have a continuous drain on the battery whilst the vehicle is parked. e.g. interior lights, boot lamp, glovebox lamp etc not going out.
Take you vehicle to an autoelectrican. They will be able to tell you if there is any significant ongoing drain and if not will be able to expertly inform you whether it is a poor charging circuit or poor battery that is at fault.

Weird_Nev

If the battery was already drained, or really old, then you could have killed it off by starting it (that takes a lot out of a battery) and now it has insufficient energy in it to start the car again.
But I'd be wanting confirmation that my charging system was up to scratch too.

1) Charge the battery overnight using a neighbours battery charger.
2) re fit it
3) See how you go.

Actually, ignore that and follow the much better advice in the posts above and below

easy

Hmm, well as a mere woman with 25 years + experience of cars I would say a couple of things.

When you have been driving recently, have you noticed any warning lights on the dash? Has the car been slower (more difficult) to start at all in recent days/weeks? A failing alternator USUALLY gives you a bit of warning (the alternator is the mechanism that re-charges the battery when you are driving. If it is failing the battery won't recharge, especially if you have heater fan/wipers/headlights/rear screen heater on, as we do more in winter driving).

I would expect a new battery to have enough charge to start the car for a day or two, even if it wasn't being recharged, if you really only drove it 5 minutes home and then parked it overnight on the drive. So you MIGHT have some sort of electrical problem which is draining the battery when the car is standing.

First thing I would do is get the new battery re-charged. Assuming you don't have a charger, do you have a friend/neighbour who might lend you one overnight (and set it up for you)?

Take the car for a drive, and make sure you don't have any warning lights/messages on the dashboard. Check all the lights/indicators/brakelights are working properly. Do the headlights stay on and bright when the engine isn't running, or do they go significantly dimmer? If so, then check the alternator.

Then park your car with the recharged battery, and make ABSOLUTLEY sure that any electrical bits are switched off before you stop the engine, radio, rear screen, interior lights (if there is a light inside the boot, fold down a back seat to make sure that goes off when the doors/hatch are closed), and take out any satnav or phone chargers that you normally leave plugged in.

If the car is dead again the following morning, then you probably have an electrical fault somewhere. This can be as tiny as a rusted bulb connector, or damage in the wiring, and unfortunately can be really difficult to trace.
If this is the case then you need a good independent mechanic who takes a proper interest and cares about his customers and their cars. I can recommend one in the derbyshire peak district, but assuming you don't live round there, again ask all your friends and neighbours and get a recommendation.
Personally I wouldn't touch any of the chains or main dealers.

prowla

Whenever I've replaced a battery I've gone for at least a half-hour drive.

NotSuchASmugMarriedNow

woohoo

i've brought a battery charger and set it up so we'll see how it is in the morning.

I don't know much, but I have a feeling something is draining the battery. that the fault is electrical - will see how things are in the morning.

thanks for everyones comments and help, it is much appreciated.

I did text my ex and ask for his help but he refused (he is still cross with me for divorcing him :rotfl:)

GT60

:heartsmilisnt LOVE wonderful

Wig

I've never heard of "autocentre" but assuming they are independent from the Halfords store, then they should be ok to find out what the problem really is, however it would be better to use an autoelectrician garage. But it seems you have now gone and picked up the car from outside Halfords and autocentre and you have brought(transported) the car home to charge the battery that you bought(purchased) from Halfords (notice the difference between those two words?).

Hopefully your car will start happily tomorrow morning. If you have a voltmeter we can tell you how to test your alternator too....

The thing to learn from this is that if you had that battery charger to begin with you could have recharged your old battery and you would not have wasted some £70 or more on a Halfords new battery. Your old battery is probably still good for another year or two.

prowla

I had a problem with the battery draining in my car (a BMW) a while back, and I called the AA out twice and had to jump start it myself a couple of times; they gave the battery and alternator a clean bill of health each time. The second time the AA came the bloke went "Aha!" and spotted that the heating fan was staying on after the engine was turned off, and that is what was draining the battery, and he pulled a hidden fuse to disable the heater (it was in the summer!). I was able to research the issue on the internet and do the repair myself.

Paradigm

Strider590 wrote: »

Halfrauds sold a discharged battery I reckon......

They can only be stored for around 6 months, after this they must be charged back to full before being stored again, if Halfrauds didn't sell many batteries and failed to recharge their existing stock, then this could explain the problem.

I always thought batterys were stored "dry" & the electrolyte is added when purchased?