How to stop your car battery from going flat - MSE Team Blog discussion

fred246

I don't have a dpf. I do have brakes that seize up if they are not used.

iwant2asave

Unfortunately I've not been using my car for a while apart from starting the car once a week.  Today (very cold weather) tried to start it and it doesn't start...pretty sure the battery is flat.  Any advice what to do regarding the battery, bearing in mind I will not be using the car for another 2 months.  (I know my mistake, I should have checked what to do before it went flat).  Thanks.

Grumpy_chap

Leave it flat now and charge the battery when you need to use the car in a couple of months.

GDB2222

iwant2asave said:

Unfortunately I've not been using my car for a while apart from starting the car once a week.  Today (very cold weather) tried to start it and it doesn't start...pretty sure the battery is flat.  Any advice what to do regarding the battery, bearing in mind I will not be using the car for another 2 months.  (I know my mistake, I should have checked what to do before it went flat).  Thanks.

If possible you should charge the battery. I guess you don’t have a charger? Is the car near your house?

I would not leave it, as the car will deteriorate if not driven. The radio may lock itself, which would be a nuisance, and so on.

You can get a basic charger for £15 from Screwfix. Argos probably have them at a similar price. You will also need a mains extension lead that will reach to the car.

 If the car is too far away, you’ll need someone with long jump start leads to get the car started. The easiest is just to join the AA or RAC and they will get you going. Then run the engine for an hour to charge the battery.

roddydogs

Flat battery, now let me think what the answer might be.

Tammykitty

Grumpy_chap said:

Leave it flat now and charge the battery when you need to use the car in a couple of months.

Do not do this - it will just deteriorate further - the radio will lock, your central locking will stop working etc
I would get it started, via some of the chargers mentioned - or even check your insurance, you might have breakdown cover

iwant2asave

GDB2222 said:

iwant2asave said:

Unfortunately I've not been using my car for a while apart from starting the car once a week.  Today (very cold weather) tried to start it and it doesn't start...pretty sure the battery is flat.  Any advice what to do regarding the battery, bearing in mind I will not be using the car for another 2 months.  (I know my mistake, I should have checked what to do before it went flat).  Thanks.

If possible you should charge the battery. I guess you don’t have a charger? Is the car near your house?

I would not leave it, as the car will deteriorate if not driven. The radio may lock itself, which would be a nuisance, and so on.

You can get a basic charger for £15 from Screwfix. Argos probably have them at a similar price. You will also need a mains extension lead that will reach to the car.

 If the car is too far away, you’ll need someone with long jump start leads to get the car started. The easiest is just to join the AA or RAC and they will get you going. Then run the engine for an hour to charge the battery.

Thanks for the tips (and other people too).  It's on my driveway and I can easily run an extension to it if needed.  So I guess the advice is to charge it asap - I will borrow from neighbors or buy one.  Once charged how would I ensure it doesn't get flat again...would I need to keep charging regularly or regularly starting engine and leaving running for a while  or disconnect it (as I say I won't be driving it for a couple of months and actually declared it sorn as it's not in use).

MalMonroe

iwant2asave said:

GDB2222 said:

iwant2asave said:

Unfortunately I've not been using my car for a while apart from starting the car once a week.  Today (very cold weather) tried to start it and it doesn't start...pretty sure the battery is flat.  Any advice what to do regarding the battery, bearing in mind I will not be using the car for another 2 months.  (I know my mistake, I should have checked what to do before it went flat).  Thanks.

If possible you should charge the battery. I guess you don’t have a charger? Is the car near your house?

I would not leave it, as the car will deteriorate if not driven. The radio may lock itself, which would be a nuisance, and so on.

You can get a basic charger for £15 from Screwfix. Argos probably have them at a similar price. You will also need a mains extension lead that will reach to the car.

 If the car is too far away, you’ll need someone with long jump start leads to get the car started. The easiest is just to join the AA or RAC and they will get you going. Then run the engine for an hour to charge the battery.

Thanks for the tips (and other people too).  It's on my driveway and I can easily run an extension to it if needed.  So I guess the advice is to charge it asap - I will borrow from neighbors or buy one.  Once charged how would I ensure it doesn't get flat again...would I need to keep charging regularly or regularly starting engine and leaving running for a while  or disconnect it (as I say I won't be driving it for a couple of months and actually declared it sorn as it's not in use).

Hello, my battery went flat last November because I'd hardly been anywhere and the car is parked on the drive. I needed to go out that day so called the AA. Their engineer came out 20 minutes later and tried to get the battery going but it had died - I expected that because the car was five years old and the battery was the original one. Five years is around the time batteries for my car are expected to last.

The engineer put a new battery in - I had to pay for it of course but I'd checked prices for my particular model beforehand and it was very reasonable. Not to mention I wouldn't have known how to replace the battery but I'm definitely going to learn these things when coronavirus goes away! (It will go away, won't it?)  He advised starting the car at least once or twice a week and taking it out if possible once a week. You won't be able to take yours out though. But you could start it a few times a week - don't leave it running for a long time. 

I've learned that leaving a car unused for some time affects tyres and brakes too. And petrol can go off. I've not bought any petrol since last February. The car still has half a tankful because I've hardly been anywhere. So far it's okay though. Mine does need a jolly good wash but that's not mechanical! Too cold to go outside washing vehicles. . . 

kmcatherall

We had a flat battery too, so after ordering a new one online, we now make sure we start the car once a week!

GDB2222

iwant2asave said:

GDB2222 said:

iwant2asave said:

Unfortunately I've not been using my car for a while apart from starting the car once a week.  Today (very cold weather) tried to start it and it doesn't start...pretty sure the battery is flat.  Any advice what to do regarding the battery, bearing in mind I will not be using the car for another 2 months.  (I know my mistake, I should have checked what to do before it went flat).  Thanks.

If possible you should charge the battery. I guess you don’t have a charger? Is the car near your house?

I would not leave it, as the car will deteriorate if not driven. The radio may lock itself, which would be a nuisance, and so on.

You can get a basic charger for £15 from Screwfix. Argos probably have them at a similar price. You will also need a mains extension lead that will reach to the car.

 If the car is too far away, you’ll need someone with long jump start leads to get the car started. The easiest is just to join the AA or RAC and they will get you going. Then run the engine for an hour to charge the battery.

Thanks for the tips (and other people too).  It's on my driveway and I can easily run an extension to it if needed.  So I guess the advice is to charge it asap - I will borrow from neighbors or buy one.  Once charged how would I ensure it doesn't get flat again...would I need to keep charging regularly or regularly starting engine and leaving running for a while  or disconnect it (as I say I won't be driving it for a couple of months and actually declared it sorn as it's not in use).

Once you have charged it, the standard advice is to run the engine for a few minutes once a week. You should also run the car backwards and forwards a metre or two. This stops flat spots on the tyres, keeps bearings lubricated, etc. 

You may need to top up the battery again with the charger every few weeks. It’s bad for batteries to let them go completely flat.