11 replies to this topic

[Mrstars11]

Hey all, me again being a noob asking probable silly questions.

I've been having battery issues since day 1 really. When I picked my car up i had to get towed home, flat battery, suspect alternator.
So got a new battery.
Then that ran for about a week or so, then I had some dodgy bodged electrics fixed, next day battery was flat as a pancake.
So fitted a new more powerful (60w? I think) alternator.

Now ive noticed today my car was struggling to start, so when it did start I went for a little drive to run the alternator to charge the battery.

Can anyone think of a reason the battery would be draining so quickly, takes about 2/3 days to be flat. In fairness i do use the car for little journeys so it is possible it's not charging from the alternator when I drive it, not driving it far enough type thing.
But I was wondering is there any other reason it could be going flat?

Ive bought a ctek 5.0 trickle charger today waiting for it to come in the post, as I figured it can't hurt to keep it on the car while I'm having battery issues.
Does anyone else use one or something similar?

Dom.

[KernowCooper]

What sort of Mini are we talking about Dom? I hope your alternators 60a not watt

Edited by KernowCooper, 14 July 2014 - 09:53 PM.

[sledgehammer]

disconnect the battery overnight - & see if you have charge in the morning

 

(providing you have radio codes if it needs them)

 

a new battery should be fine - but you never know how long it's been sat in the shop

 

is there anything that could be left on ?

 

is the fan belt tight enough 

Edited by sledgehammer, 14 July 2014 - 10:21 PM.

[mab01uk]

Alternator should be fine for maintaining charge even on short journeys.......something is draining the battery when parked. Is their an interior courtesy light staying on or some aftermarket accessory like a clock or car alarm which remains powered up with the ignition off?

 

As said above next time you leave the car for any length of time like overnight disconnect the battery so it can't discharge. If ok for starting when re-connected next time, you will have at least eliminated a faulty battery cell as the problem.

 

Trickle chargers are only really required to maintain battery charge on little used classic cars, etc.

Edited by mab01uk, 14 July 2014 - 10:24 PM.

[KernowCooper]

Parasitic Drain is whats described above thats as correctly described where you shut the car off and if its alarmed then the alarm would draw current from the battery. You can disconnect the battery and see if it cures the problem, or if you have one you can connect a DC amp meter onto the battery and see what drain it registers.typical readings would be 150mA, which would not flatten a healthy battery in 2/3 days.

 

Once you have done then disconnect the battery and test its voltage, 12.65v is fully charged if less charge the battery fully so after being off charge for 8hrs test then put a voltmeter on the battery and see what the voltage is after standing, if its less than 12.65v then the battery is sulphated and needs to be replaced. If the battery is let to go completely flat multiple times then it will never give 100% capacity again and should be fully charged and let stand for 4hrs and drop tested and the voltage measured, it will either pass or fail. Obviously most cant do these tests but someone like ATS will do it for free, read up on my battery info so your not just sold a battery

 

Once you have confirmed the above tests you should now check the charge rate, this should be at 2000rpm between 13.7-14.3v which is the regulator voltage setting, but I like to see 14v - 14.3v really. If you fail either of the above tests then you have pinpointed the fault.

 

Anymore issues look in the FAQs Electrical exact methods of testing batteries and alternators is there.

 

Any problems just shout.

Edited by KernowCooper, 14 July 2014 - 10:50 PM.

[AVV IT]

I use one of those solar panel trickle chargers that sits on the rear parcel shelf and keeps the battery topped up. It's great in my case as I generally only ever do local, short runs so the battery gets a bit of a hammering and I don't really do enough miles for the alternator to charge it back up again. It's no substitute for an unresolved electrical/charging problem, but if you don't use the car a great deal then they're a good investment. Before I fitted it, I was forever having to recharge the battery over the winter months, but haven't needed to since.

Something else to consider is your coil, I had no end of problems with my battery getting drained until I replaced the coil which happened to be the original 20+ year old item. I won't pretend to understand why it happens, but apparently old coils start to draw a large amount of power when they're on their last legs (maybe Kernow can explain why). With a new coil fitted I had no such problems.

[Miniminx71]

Ive bought a ctek 5.0 trickle charger today waiting for it to come in the post, as I figured it can't hurt to keep it on the car while I'm having battery issues.
Does anyone else use one or something similar?

Dom.

I use the c-tek mxs 3.6 and wouldn't be without it. It just clips straight onto the battery in the boot so no need to disconnect anything, plug it in and switch it on and it does the job. Keeps the battery topped up nicely and have had zero starting issues since buying it. Great for the winter when my Mini isn't used but I still need to start it up periodically and move it around. My alarm was draining mine. C-tek do make the best of these I think. 

[Mrstars11]

What sort of Mini are we talking about Dom? I hope your alternators 60a not watt

Yeah thats the one, 60a lol.... I drive a 1988 austin mini Mayfair,

As for the battery, it's only 3 weeks old, so I would imagine thats fine, although I will do some checks on it.
My belt is the correct tightness as its only just been put on when the mechanic fitted my new alternator.

I can't see any lights on when the engine is off, i detach my radio faceplate i have no clock and no alarm, so if something is draining it while its sat i have no idea what it is.

Hence the reason to buy a ctek.
Could it be a wiring issue? Like a bad earth or something. That pulling a constant drain? If it's anything in my car, I'd say the wiring is my major weak point.

[Mrstars11]

I use one of those solar panel trickle chargers that sits on the rear parcel shelf and keeps the battery topped up. It's great in my case as I generally only ever do local, short runs so the battery gets a bit of a hammering and I don't really do enough miles for the alternator to charge it back up again. It's no substitute for an unresolved electrical/charging problem, but if you don't use the car a great deal then they're a good investment. Before I fitted it, I was forever having to recharge the battery over the winter months, but haven't needed to since.
Something else to consider is your coil, I had no end of problems with my battery getting drained until I replaced the coil which happened to be the original 20+ year old item. I won't pretend to understand why it happens, but apparently old coils start to draw a large amount of power when they're on their last legs (maybe Kernow can explain why). With a new coil fitted I had no such problems.

The solar one you use, how does it clip to the battery? Is it via bulldog clips, so you clip it on when you park, then un lip it when you use the car? Ive just fitted a boot liner in mine so getting to the battery is a pain now, so I wanted one to attach to the battery and leave alone, hence my choice for the ctek...

[Mrstars11]

Something else to consider is your coil, I had no end of problems with my battery getting drained until I replaced the coil which happened to be the original 20+ year old item. I won't pretend to understand why it happens, but apparently old coils start to draw a large amount of power when they're on their last legs (maybe Kernow can explain why). With a new coil fitted I had no such problems.

Hmmm, your not the first person to suggest coil, I'm trying to tidy my engine bay up a little at the moment, replace hoses and little easy jobs i can manage, I did think of a new coil, maybe ill do that sooner rather than later. See if that helps.

[AVV IT]

Yes it's one of those that you are supposed to unclip when the car is in use. Leaving it connected whilst cranking the engine could cause a power surge that damages it apparently. I took the view that there's no way I 'm ever gonna remember to do that, so have just left it permanently connected. It doesn't seem to have suffered any harm as yet and it only cost me about £15, so if it does, then I won't be too concerned.

[Mrstars11]

Yes it's one of those that you are supposed to unclip when the car is in use. Leaving it connected whilst cranking the engine could cause a power surge that damages it apparently. I took the view that there's no way I 'm ever gonna remember to do that, so have just left it permanently connected. It doesn't seem to have suffered any harm as yet and it only cost me about £15, so if it does, then I won't be too concerned.

yeah, I park in a garage so I opted for a mains powered one over a solar one.

 

but if I think I need it ill get a solar one for on the parcel shelf anyway.