Low mileage battery problems

ripplyuk

Should I take it to Volkswagen? Would the dealership be more likely to have brand new batteries? Maybe they could test it too, in case anything is wrong with the electrics.

AdrianC

ripplyuk wrote: »

Should I take it to Volkswagen? Would the dealership be more likely to have brand new batteries?

They'll certainly fit you one.

They'll charge like a wounded rhino for the privilege...

couriervanman

Start by taking it on a good run for 25 mile round trip on dual carriageway or motorway and give it some welly

getmore4less

Can you get the car close to power
(I run an extension under a garage door under the closed bonnet with the charger)

You could get a maintenance charger.


CTEX are the goto brand.
Aldi and Lidl do decent equivilents.

Short trips lights on heater fan etc drain the battery as it never gets a decent charge even a new battery will soon be sitting part charged.

They need a good run or a charge once and a while.
If you don't do any long runs charger is the solution.

Also lots of short runs where it does not get upto temperature are not ideal.

ripplyuk

What is a short run? I do a 10 mile journey in it two or three times a week. Once a fortnight it does a 22 mile trip (so 44 mile round trip). The rest of the time is a few 3 mile journeys to the village. Is this nowhere near enough?

There’s no motorways near me and I’m scared of driving on them anyway.

NeverEnough

Nowhere near enough to keep a battery well charged I am afraid.....


Why not invest in a maintenance charger as described above - it's not rocket science to connect to the car if you have a driveway and can get a power lead close.



Or just realise that you will be buying batteries quite often if your idea of a long run is 10 miles or so.......the battery will almost certainly have a shorter life than it should have with umpteen short trips and very few runs of over 25 miles -50 miles (all at once, not one with numerous stops and starts)

Robisere

Find a local garage (not a Dealer, all Dealerships charge over the odds for any parts).
Ask if they can test your battery and charging circuit: how much?
Before you do that, if the engine will start, take it for a 10 to 15 minute run. On return, have someone stand in front of the car holding a white surface, on level ground, out of gear, handbrake on.

Switch on headlights, driving lights, fog lamp, courtesy lights and anything else electrical, one by one. Watch for headlights dimming. (Still out of gear) - Rev engine, slowly increasing revs. Watch for lights dimming. If the lights brighten slightly as you rev, the alternator and charging circuit are fine. If they go dim, it may be that the alternator is not doing its job.

If the alt/charging circuit is OK, it's the battery. A new one should not cost more than around £55 fitted, at a good independent garage. Make sure that they will fit it for you, that it has at least a 3 year warranty and ask for a receipt, with mileage at fitting noted on the receipt. They should not question this, it's in their interest. If the battery does not last its warranty out, you get another.

Roland_Sausage

ripplyuk wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. The car is 5yo. I’m not going to buy a portable battery charger or jump starter. I wouldn’t have a clue what I’m doing. I know nothing about electrics or mechanical stuff and I don’t feel at all comfortable messing about with it. To be honest, I don’t want the hassle either. I just want the car to work.

I have a dash cam which caused battery problems last year as the guy had wired it in wrong. That has been fixed (apparently!). It turns off when I take the keys out. The dash cam screen had a warning yesterday that the battery was low but I didn’t know what battery it was talking about so I just ignored it.

I’m happy to buy a new battery. How would I know it’s a brand new one and not something the mechanic has taken from an old car? Do they have a date on them?

If the car isn’t getting much use, buy one of the solar trickle chargers that plugs into the OBD port. I had the same problem a few years ago and this solved it for me. You don’t need any knowledge to use it.

I’m doing more mileage nowadays but I still use it in my current car when I’m away on holiday and it’s parked up at the airport for 2 weeks.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AA-5060114614185-Solar-Powered-Battery-Charger/dp/B00AC1LLQY

gaz_moose

it does sound like you need a new battery. just go to your local halfords and they will supply and fit one with a decent amount of warranty, then keep the receipt. their battery's are decent enough.
in the winter months cars tend to be more power hungry as people have heated screens/lights/heaters/stereos blasting. plus cold seems to kill car battery's.


its a good habbit to start the engine before you switch the lights/heaters etc.. on as it will provide more cold cranking amps to the starter motor. then just leave it running when you scrape all the ice off it.

solar chargers that plug into the lighter socket are a bit of a waste of time.

ripplyuk

gaz_moose wrote: »

solar chargers that plug into the lighter socket are a bit of a waste of time.

Do you mean like the one Roland linked to in the post above? It seems easy to use so I was going to buy that.

I’ll get a garage to test the charging circuit in case it’s anything worse causing this problem. I’m going to get a new battery anyway.

I just can’t help thinking cars should be better than this by now. All the campaigns about saving the environment, reducing mileage and encouraging us to leave the car at home and walk/cycle instead. It’s pointless if the car then won’t work. I don’t want to be driving it for no reason and wasting petrol just for the sake of it’s battery. You’d think technology would have sorted this out ages ago. My iPad’s battery lasts longer than the car’s!