New battery or charger ?

catoutthebag

On collection of my car from the garage, the battery was dead & needing jumping. It's fine now

On previous few occassions I noticed it wasn't starting from cold immediately, taking 10-15 seconds

It's a focus zetec, mark II petrol with 96k on the clock & 8 yrar old. I do 50-100 miles / week & often use lights for dark mornings & return home & sat nav so guess it doesn't get a chance to charge

I called garage & there are 3 battery types, 063 I think starts at 35 & 2 other types 45 & 55 they'll check what I need

Do I get a new battery or a charger (with regards to overnight chsrhe it's a safe area but unsecured carpark (small) in our flats

Best

Stooby2

If the battery is a few years old, it may be nearing the end of its useful life for starting a car. It's always around this time of year when the temperature starts to drop that your battery will fail.

Some will say buy a trickle charger, or a boost charger, but you're only prolonging the inevitable and will end up stuck somewhere with a flat battery, so I'd say it's probably time for a new one.

ballyblack

no need to buy a charger if ur using the car all the time.
You probably need a new battery

OddballJamie

I believe some Fords have a smart charge system so worth testing the alternator too.

If it is just the battery try ECP or carparts4less with a voucher code.

Halfords and the like will just bend you over.

Westmead_Fan

fully charge the battery then test it to find out if its faulty, testing it now when its drained will always give you false reading.

WTFH

The lights, sat nav and radio use very little power. Heated seats, heated rear window and aircon use a lot more.
Also, if it's 50-100 miles a week in town traffic - i.e. low speeds, low revs, then the battery is never getting a chance to charge up.

DCFC79

WTFH has a good point and its the reason why I had to have a new battery fitted a few months ago as I wasn't doing enough miles to give the battery chnace to charge.

Westmead_Fan

DCFC79 wrote: »

WTFH has a good point and its the reason why I had to have a new battery fitted a few months ago as I wasn't doing enough miles to give the battery chnace to charge.

but then your new battery will drain aswell???

WTFH

Westmead_Fan wrote: »

but then your new battery will drain aswell???

It will, but at least it will work for a few years!


My wife used to have a CRV and liked to use the heated seats in winter. Most of the time she was only doing a 10 mile round trip commute to work. The battery was draining very quickly.

I bought an AA solar trickle charger:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/AA-Car-Battery-Solar-Charger/dp/B00AC1LLQY
And if we were not using the car for a few days, it would sit on the dash. That would keep the battery charged enough to start the engine.
£30 well spent, as it saved a lot of time & hassle trying to get someone to jump start it if I wasn't around.

red_eye

Westmead_Fan wrote: »

fully charge the battery then test it to find out if its faulty, testing it now when its drained will always give you false reading.

test it how? drop testers are upwards of £50.

some places that sell batterys will one and will test it for you free

colino

A lot of cars on forecourts temporarily have flat batteries, just because they are started and not moved or only driven a short distance and never get a chance to charge. They normally fully recover, but at the age of yours, it might be about to fall off a cliff. It's a strange phenomena now, that batteries seem to fail almost overnight, whereas a few years ago, they would tail off and you had the chance to give them a trickle charge to nurse them over a winter. Are you sure it's the battery though, if it's spinning properly for 10-15 seconds it might just need a service.
Watch out too for battery discharge testers, scrupulous garages use them properly, only on fully charged batteries and in your sight. In fact if you can take the cell caps off, a discharge tester will actually show which cell is failing as it will "fizz" when it's being tested. Other garages may take the opportunity to put the tester on, too long, then point to the meter and show you how it needs replacement.
063 is the standard cheap battery that traders put on to everything, on the current Maccess flyer (by no means the cheapest trade outlet) they are £20.99+VAT.