Car Battery

Goudy

I'm not familiar with the Zafira but it looks a little low to me, not by much though which is why I suggested checking the drive belt.

Have you measured for a parasitic drain?

Turn everything off, engine off, key off, head unit off, lights off (interior ones as well) make sure the doors are closed (window down in case it auto locks, I learnt the hard way!)

Take the negative lead off the battery.

Set the multimeter to read small amps. (milliamps)

Bridge the gap between disconnected neg lead and neg terminal on the battery and see what amps are being pulled.

Normally it should be very low, something like 20 to 50 milliamps (0.02 to 0.05 amps)

If it's pulling a lot more, there's something draining the battery.
You then need to access the fuses, pull them one at a time to find which circuit the drain it on.
Remember, you're looking for the rest of the excess amps, but you'll no doubt pull the one that's meant to pulling 20 to 50 milliamps. so keep looking.

But if someone has replaced the head unit, that's where to start.
It's not uncommon that people mess up the fitment of aftermarket head units.

They require a switched live (switched as in it is only live with the key on) and an unswitched live (permanent live) to store all the settings and channels.

Get it the wrong way around or connect the lead for the switch live to a unswitched live and they'll often pull over half an amp even with the head unit turned off at the fascia and leaving that for days on end will start to drain the battery.

Some vehicles will use an inhibited live instead of a switched live.
This inhibited live will stay live for a number of minutes after the key is switched off.
Mine does this, I can switch the ignition off and the radio stays on for around 10 minutes, then is shuts down by its self.

BlueonBlue

That BMS 063 battery is now out of stock

sevenhills

Goudy said:

I'm not familiar with the Zafira but it looks a little low to me, not by much though which is why I suggested checking the drive belt.

Have you measured for a parasitic drain?

Turn everything off, engine off, key off, head unit off, lights off (interior ones as well) make sure the doors are closed (window down in case it auto locks, I learnt the hard way!)

Take the negative lead off the battery.

Set the multimeter to read small amps. (milliamps)

Bridge the gap between disconnected neg lead and neg terminal on the battery and see what amps are being pulled.

Normally it should be very low, something like 20 to 50 milliamps (0.02 to 0.05 amps)

If it's pulling a lot more, there's something draining the battery.
You then need to access the fuses, pull them one at a time to find which circuit the drain it on.
Remember, you're looking for the rest of the excess amps, but you'll no doubt pull the one that's meant to pulling 20 to 50 milliamps. so keep looking.

But if someone has replaced the head unit, that's where to start.
It's not uncommon that people mess up the fitment of aftermarket head units.

They require a switched live (switched as in it is only live with the key on) and an unswitched live (permanent live) to store all the settings and channels.

Get it the wrong way around or connect the lead for the switch live to a unswitched live and they'll often pull over half an amp even with the head unit turned off at the fascia and leaving that for days on end will start to drain the battery.

I will try that when I get time, there is no noise from a slipping belt. 
Thanks 

mgfvvc

Cloth_of_Gold said:

I don't particularly want to drive around nowhere in particular for 20 odd miles every week just to keep the battery topped up - especially as we live in a large city so driving is, frankly, a bit of a pain nowadays.

Can you put a smart charger on it?

Eldi_Dos

Cloth_of_Gold said:

35har1old said:

Lorian said:

As above they often don't last past 5th/6th winter reliably.

Have had a car for 12 years same battery only 36000 on the clock

Our current car is 7 years old but has only done 20k miles and nowadays we only do about 1000  - 1500 miles per year, the vast majority of which are short, local journeys of about 2 - 4 miles each way. 

If you do replace the battery in the future, most warranties require a minimum mileage is done each year or warranty is invalidated.

BlueonBlue

Ive taken cheaper batterys back also Bosch  and had them replaced probably at least 3 times over 20 years I cant remember exactly .
They tested the battery which was still within its 3 year period and just replaced it.... that was it .
No one ever mentioned milage in the past they just tested the battery and checked the invoice dates 

Stateofart

cymruchris said:

Different cars with different batteries consume different amounts of power when parked up. Some cars use a lot less/more than others - some cars can stand for weeks on end and start at the turn of the key - others can be left a week and be nearly as flat as a pancake. I happen to drive one of the latter, renowned for batteries being drained when not driven. I'm lucky that at the moment I have a garage, and can keep a top-up charger plugged in.

You're right.  Volvo said to me that because of all the computers, it's not uncommon to flatten it's battery in 90 mins if left active but engine not on.

35har1old

EnPointe said:

35har1old said:

Lorian said:

As above they often don't last past 5th/6th winter reliably.

Have had a car for 12 years same battery only 36000 on the clock

you might want to think about a new battery any way as it's a 12  + year old battery 

When I'm at that perhaps I should change the engine as well. 🙂
If it ain't broke don't fix it

EnPointe

35har1old said:

EnPointe said:

35har1old said:

Lorian said:

As above they often don't last past 5th/6th winter reliably.

Have had a car for 12 years same battery only 36000 on the clock

you might want to think about a new battery any way as it's a 12  + year old battery 

When I'm at that perhaps I should change the engine as well. 🙂
If it ain't broke don't fix it

35har1old said:

EnPointe said:

35har1old said:

Lorian said:

As above they often don't last past 5th/6th winter reliably.

Have had a car for 12 years same battery only 36000 on the clock

you might want to think about a new battery any way as it's a 12  + year old battery 

When I'm at that perhaps I should change the engine as well. 🙂
If it ain't broke don't fix it

thanks for demonstrating your ignorance  so comprehensively,  abtteries do degrade over time and a loss of 'cold cranking' power  or  seeming to self discharge more rapidly  can be a sign the battery is on the way out - without  doing ap roper battery test   it;s going to be hard to say  the exact health of the battery 

maxmycardagain

the test for battery condition is a "drop tester" which puts a load on the battery (see picture)



the test for the alternator is a voltmeter, 11volts with engine off, 14.4 volts at 1500rpm+