Dead battery

[Terryf]

Due to my age and covid my car has only had 3 very short trips since early March.
I do have a solar charger on my garage roof which normally keeps everything charged up without problems.
However I went to the car yesterday as I had a doctors appointment and all I got was the dreaded headlight flash. I made two checks, solar charger output voltage 14.7volts and battery voltage 10.1 volts and that was on a dull overcast day.
Is the absence of runs likely to cause the problem even though a regular charge was available or do batteries sometimes just give up for no apparent reason.
Just curious, new battery to be fitted on Friday.
Terry

[SD1too]

Originally Posted by Terryf

I do have a solar charger on my garage roof ...

Hello Terry,

I'm sorry to hear that your battery has failed. I'd recommend that you replace your solar charger with a mains powered smart maintenance charger which will give you a guarantee that your battery will always be in top condition. I'm very pleased with my C-tek but there are other brands available.

Simon

[COLVERT]

Terry. For long term you really need a trickle charger.

A solar charger is only any good when connected to a fully charged battery.

From the sound of it your battery was never fully charged.

The fact that it would start your engine doesn't mean it was charged. It could have been anything from 1/4 to 3/4 charged and you would not know.

[macafee2]

I think you are jumping the gun going for a new battery.
Did you test the voltage at the battery terminals with the charger still connected and charging? You need to do that. If you have 14.7 at the output it could be as simple as a poor connection or broken wire and so no 14 volt at the battery, it is not charging

If you have 14 at the battery terminals and it drops to 10 when the charger is disconnected, I think it is new battery time.

macafee2

[Terryf]

Originally Posted by SD1too

Hello Terry,

I'm sorry to hear that your battery has failed. I'd recommend that you replace your solar charger with a mains powered smart maintenance charger which will give you a guarantee that your battery will always be in top condition. I'm very pleased with my C-tek but there are other brands available.

Simon

Thanks Simon, unfortunately Council garage no power supply which is why I went for solar. The panel is connected through a charge controller and drops to trickle when battery charged.

Terry

[Terryf]

Originally Posted by COLVERT

Terry. For long term you really need a trickle charger.

A solar charger is only any good when connected to a fully charged battery.

From the sound of it your battery was never fully charged.

The fact that it would start your engine doesn't mean it was charged. It could have been anything from 1/4 to 3/4 charged and you would not know.

It is a trickle charger ☺ My car won't start under I think it's about 11 volts.☺.Terry

[Terryf]

Originally Posted by macafee2

I think you are jumping the gun going for a new battery.
Did you test the voltage at the battery terminals with the charger still connected and charging? You need to do that. If you have 14.7 at the output it could be as simple as a poor connection or broken wire and so no 14 volt at the battery, it is not charging

If you have 14 at the battery terminals and it drops to 10 when the charger is disconnected, I think it is new battery time.

macafee2

Good thinking Sir, will try that before fitting battery.
Thanks .
Terry. 😊

[Rev Jules]

Totally agree I have a C-Tek trickle charger which I put on the battery every now and again, but I have also put an isolator on the battery because like the op I am not using the car that often, works for me.

Rev

[SD1too]

Originally Posted by Terryf

Thanks Simon, unfortunately Council garage no power supply which is why I went for solar. The panel is connected through a charge controller and drops to trickle when battery charged.

Thanks for your reply Terry. Unfortunately you're not the only one to be in this predicament. There are solutions, but they involve a degree of inconvenience.

• Remove the battery and take it indoors to charge.
• Use the car regularly for long journeys.

Solar chargers are too unpredictable in my view and I strongly suspect that they don't have adequate output in amps (voltage alone tells you very little) to re-charge and maintain a battery. As Colvert says, they might produce a trickle charge but this will be unsuitable for batteries which live their lives only partially charged and that's true for most of us!

I'm afraid that your options are as listed above or you'll end up buying new batteries frequently.

Simon

[macafee2]

aldi and lidil chargers are cheap as chips but seem to work well except of a very flat battery. If very flat then an old fashioned charger is needed to start the charging process and then swop.

macafee2