battery or alternator?

[Deleted User]

Mechanic is advising after 2 years battery deffo knackered. IS it even worth checking it?

Joe_Horner

Curently well into the second year of the battery on mine*, which was bought second hand from a scrap yard. One of our Dafs had a (6 volt) battery that was used for 2 years, left flat in a field for a year, then pressed back into service for another 4 years without problems. That battery is currently on another Daf 18 months later and still going strong.

So no, being 2 years old does not mean that the battery is dead but it's a good line to try and sell one with.



* 1.9 litre Pug diesel with slightly tired glow plugs so it takes a little cranking on cold mornings. Also had an alternator failure a couple of months ago so was charing it in the evening and running it flat through the day for a week and a half. That apparently kills batteries as well if you listen to the doomsayers / battery sellers

forgotmyname

2 years is a short life for a battery it would have to be treated badly to die so soon.

[Deleted User]

I meant car had not been used for two years so battery was sitting there dead. Mechanic says it will settle if left for this long and be no good.

AdrianC

[quote=[Deleted User];65933108]I meant car had not been used for two years so battery was sitting there dead. Mechanic says it will settle if left for this long and be no good.[/QUOTE]
For the sake of leaving it overnight on a charger, you might as well - but for the price of a new battery (quick google suggests £40-45, delivered), it's probably a "Soddit, might as well..." if you want any kind of certainty.

Joe_Horner

[quote=[Deleted User];65933108]I meant car had not been used for two years so battery was sitting there dead. Mechanic says it will settle if left for this long and be no good.[/QUOTE]

The only really important test of a car battery is this:

Does it start the car?
Does it start the car if you've left it for a week or two?

If it does both of those then it's fine because that's all it's required to do. From your earlier posts your current battery is doing just fine on both counts and that's a far better test than "it's bound to be dead because it was sitting" - it clearly isn't dead or you wouldn't have been able to charge it and it certainly wouldn't have held that charge more than overnight!

[Deleted User]

Joe_Horner wrote: »

The only really important test of a car battery is this:

Does it start the car?
Does it start the car if you've left it for a week or two?

If it does both of those then it's fine because that's all it's required to do. From your earlier posts your current battery is doing just fine on both counts and that's a far better test than "it's bound to be dead because it was sitting" - it clearly isn't dead or you wouldn't have been able to charge it and it certainly wouldn't have held that charge more than overnight!

Charged it again overnight. 3 days later reading 12.85v.

Know what you're saying but I dont want to find out its no good when Im out somewhere.

Rolandtheroadie

Have you changed the alternator yet?

Bollotom

Granny sucking eggs time. Have you had a look to make sure the belt is still there and attached? :cool: