Battery Dead
 

Not a nice Birthday Present,went to get car out this morning and got the dreaded click.
It can wait until Monday now.:mad:

Batteries nowadays last some 2-3 years so it's good practice to write down or etch it to the battery the month and year you fitted it.



My friend who owns a shop does that to the ones he sells so if there's any warranty claims he has them monitored.



It's usually in colder season where they decide to die.

When I last went in to change my battery the company could tell me it was still under warranty so they replaced it FOC
Now that’s what I call good service.

The key is to give it a charge after a summer of many short journeys and air con use etc. The majority of people don’t give it a second thought, then as soon as late autumn/winter bites, one after the other with battery failures. Charging them may save it, once it’s been drained it can damage the capacity of its recharge ability.

Their life depends upon how they're used or abused Danny. There's no general rule. If a battery is kept fully charged all the time it will easily last for double the time you've quoted. :}

Simon

Just had ZTs replaced under warranty. I expected it going right away after being off road but loose connections wouldnt have helped. I never thought to check after picking her up.

I have mine on a solar charger in winter months so it's always fully charged. I must have been too late this year, unless of course the battery was dying during summer.

If you put it on a proper mains charger now Terry you might just save it! It will need a minimum of 24 hours.

Simon

The Varta battery on our 09 Audi TT diesel is still ok but it sounds a little tired.

Modern batteries have very thin plates compared to ones from years ago. If the plates start to sulphate there’s no way back and the myth that a good run will recharge it isn’t true either. If a battery is being unused for a while it’s imperative you connect one of the intelligent chargers to it

Not Rover but Battery related.
My 2 year 2 months old Hyundai battery just failed and is just out of the 2 year warranty that Hyundai apply.
Got a quote from local Hyundai dealer to replace.
Cost: £336.46p - I just could not believe it!
After further research it’s turns to be a AGM Battery, as used in a Stop/Start model, which mine is.
Cannot be replaced by an ordinary Lead Acid type, and apparently needs the Cars BSM system reset after changing, which it appears only the dealer can undertake.
My solution was to purchase a similar Halfords type Battery, at a cost of £125, and by reading a Hyundai Forum, a Master Technician explained that once the new battery is installed, just leave the car unlocked with keys out of ignition, for 4 - 6 hours, and that allows the car to reset the Battery Management System for the new battery to give correct charging level.
That’s what I did yesterday, and so far - very early days - it works ok.
Oh, my understanding is that Stop/Start Battery systems only charge the battery when under a heavy load - lights, heated rear window, A/C etc
Also needs a special trickle charging to recharge.
Is this progress?
Doesn’t sound like an ideal system to me.
Also Halford Battery has 4 year warranty.
A warning tale for those with more modern cars with this type of system.
My Rover needed a new battery last year, after the previous one lasted over 6 years.

My wife's Sportage (2 litre diesel) wouldn't start this morning. Battery flat from too many short trips all week. Second time it's happened in as many months, so I was prepared. Following a recent thread about a 12 Ah Lithium Ion jump starter on offer at Lidl, I'd already rushed out and bought one. I'd put the battery on charge with my 20 year old standby and put the new booster gizmo on charge as well, though it was 60% full already. It said in the book that this thing will start 2 litre diesels umpteen times on a single charge. Just the job. The old charger had sorted out the Sportage so the fully juiced-up Lidl pack went in the boot. Fast forward to this morning and there was no panic. Just clamp on the Lion pack and away we'll go. Or in fact, away we didn't go. With a faint groan, the Sporatge simply put two fingers up at me again. It wasn't the slightest bit intimidated by that Lidl box, no matter how big it thinks it is. So, battery charger out and RTFM again using my new glasses. No, I didn't miss something. That Sportage should be miles away right now, not stood outside with that silly smirk they seem to have.



TC

Batteries should be considered consumable items on modern cars with masses of electronics.

My cars and bike not being used are connected to CTEK/Optimate maintenance chargers once a week to fortnight for a day to bring them up to 100% charged state.

The batteries are replaced every 4 to 5 years as a matter of course and the old ones used to power portable worklights for working under the car etc.

The wifes 2012 Polo is still on the original battery (daytime lights too!).:}

I have been buying/exchanging second hand batteries from my local scrappie for years. I currently have a spare one that I keep charged (it won't lose charge, just standing, not fitted to a car), just in case one of our 3 vehicles needs a boost in the cold weather. Once connected via jump leads, I leave them connected for 5 minutes, to allow time for the charge to flow into the low battery. Even the best jump leads don't connect as well as the car's battery leads.

I have just remembered I had a set of Bi-Xenon headlights and dlr lights fitted earlier in the year, would that affect the battery?

My friendly garage tell me battery is kaput. Fitting new tomorrow. :}