Vauxhall Astra (2009) beeping and speedo bouncing

Money_Grabber13579

Bit of a strange one, I've got an 09 Vauxhall Astra 1.4 and occasionally when I start the car, there is a beeping noise and at the same time as the beep, the speedo will shoot away up (the revs stay as normal).

What might be causing this?

Not sure if it's related,but I couldn't get my left indicator turned off the other night, until after I'd got home... bit weird.

forgotmyname

Weak battery.

Money_Grabber13579

forgotmyname wrote: »

Weak battery.

Thanks, I was wondering if it could be the battery, as while it hasn't been hard to start, it just sounded a bit different, like it wasn't at full power.

Do you reckon the battery is knackered (5 years old now), needs a full charge, or can they still be refilled with de-ionised water as I remember my dad doing in the past?

Richard53

On a modern car, the battery is probably sealed, so no de-ionised water necessary - sorry!


At 5 years old it's probably due for replacement. Low voltage can cause strange issues with modern electronics, and the dial sweep is often used as a warning of problems. At this time of year, and with more cold weather forecast (depresses battery performance in any case), I would be thinking of a new battery before the old one leaves you stranded somewhere. 5-7 years is the average lifespan.

forgotmyname

Batteries are not exactly sealed. The filling/level checking caps are under the stickers on the top.

Honda_Lad

Richard is bang on with his reply. Batteries on their way out do all sorts of things to modern cars.

They're normally sealed for life nowadays but at 5 years you've had a good run out of it.

Money_Grabber13579

Perfect, I'll look at getting it changed then! Any idea as to how much I should expect to pay, including fitting? Not necessarily looking for a dealer to fit, but are any of the national chains worth trying?

Richard53

forgotmyname wrote: »

Batteries are not exactly sealed. The filling/level checking caps are under the stickers on the top.

OK, 'Maintenance-free', then ...

forgotmyname

They are only maintenance free if you dont want it to last longer.

If they are topped up they can last a lot longer.

Health and safety probably prevents that and of course they get to sell more batteries.

LiGhTfasT

Someone posted a video of this on the facebook mk5 astra group page a day or so ago. Sure the outcome was that people said its the speed sensor on the hub.

The bongs is the car thinking your driving without the seat belt.

Money_Grabber13579

Well, as chance would have it, I came out to the car this morning and click, click, click, click.... (I did manage to leave the interior light on all night, but wouldn't have thought that it would have drained a healthy battery?)

So, managed to boost it with my battery pack, get to a motor spares shop and battery replaced for £40. It's definitely sounding healthier, so thanks all for the advice.

LiGhTfasT - it wasn't the seat belt noise it was making, just a very shot beep, followed by the speedo shooting up.