flat battery

[Spark plug]

Does anyone know of any common problems that cause the Battery to go flat other than I have left something on... Car not been used for a few days and Battery flat only reading 8volts...

[Malc1]

Age related maybe …… just knackered ! 
Malc 

[Spark plug]

57 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

Age related maybe …… just knackered ! 
Malc 

Only 2 years old and was a good make

[scudney]

Batteries nowadays don't seem to be lasting as long as they used to,have seen two year old cars/vans with flat batteries

[J Henderson]

3 hours ago, Spark plug said:

Only 2 years old and was a good make

Still under warranty then? A lot come with at least a 3 year guarantee.

[LenT]

3 hours ago, J Henderson said:

Still under warranty then? A lot come with at least a 3 year guarantee.

A very good point!

if you have the receipt and can get it back to the original retailer, then give them the problem.

They’ll check for faulty cells, poor charging rate and any unauthorised current draw.  Favourites might be something like an interior light - or even a sidelight. Yes, there should be an audible warning but on an older car that might not be working.

Or it might be but you can’t hear it!  That kept happening to me with our other car.  A combination of a very soft, high pitched ‘bong’ and my poor hearing often resulted in my leaving the lights on!

8 hours ago, Malc1 said:

Age related maybe …… just knackered ! 
Malc 

Yes, that’s what my GP said….😊

[RONNIE W HODGEKINSON]

Something drawing power from the Battery Then...  ie ..Dashcam Maybe..... check your Battery Connections are Tight..Wiring shorting somewhere Possibly.. Anything Running in the background...You need to check..!!

[Spark plug]

On 5/6/2024 at 11:16 PM, scudney said:

Batteries nowadays don't seem to be lasting as long as they used to,have seen two year old cars/vans with flat batteries

Nothing seems to last as long anymore. Can't see new cars lasting as long as my Lexus at 18 years old...

 

[RONNIE W HODGEKINSON]

2 hours ago, Spark plug said:

Nothing seems to last as long anymore. Can't see new cars lasting as long as my Lexus at 18 years old...

 

There are so many systems on Modern Day Cars that draw power from the small 12v Battery compared to Years ago..and If you don,t drive your car on a daily basis this can also effect the Battery Power...!!!!

[Malc1]

.......... and on a not so modern day car too it seems  ........  did I relate about my 2006 Honda Legend dead as a dodo Battery a few months back ........  called out the RAC ( at home )  who replaced the then tested and dead Battery that THEY had supplied new on an earlier, 3.5 years back non-starting issue ..... replaced now ( free of course )  under the 4 year Varta warranty ......  but only for the balance of the original warranty ...... .  but there, hopefully it should last another 3 years even tho' it is just a Varta Battery !

I just think modern day car 12v batteries are not as robust nor as reliable as they used to be ........  now I'm thinking of my days driving my Wolseley 16/60 with an amazing Starting Handle 🤣

I seem to only use Yuasa on my Lexii 👍

Malc

[Spark plug]

I measured the amp draw with the car unlocked and it's reading .13amps I take it this is the clock and radio settings using this. I mostly only use the car twice a week unless the weather is really bad and this is for round trips of over 20 miles. The Battery is 70 amp hour so shouldn't go flat in 4 days. I think I may have left the side lights on and didn't notice the warning buzzer which is working ok...

[LenT]

2 hours ago, Spark plug said:

 I think I may have left the side lights on and didn't notice the warning buzzer which is working ok...

That’s precisely what I did on more than one occasion!

[Spark plug]

Fully charged over night on Monday and seems to be holding full charge  so far. fingers crossed...

[T man 545645]

I have a 2006 IS250 and changed the Battery from OEM to Yuasa because the OEM was not in stock. 

The Yuasa failed within 2 years with the car needing a jump start after being parked whilst on holiday for a week. 

Was changed by my garage under warranty so no problems there, hoping the replacement doesn't let me down!

[Linas.P]

On 5/10/2024 at 2:51 PM, T man 545645 said:

I have a 2006 IS250 and changed the battery from OEM to Yuasa because the OEM was not in stock. 

The Yuasa failed within 2 years with the car needing a jump start after being parked whilst on holiday for a week. 

Was changed by my garage under warranty so no problems there, hoping the replacement doesn't let me down!

That is why I would recommend staying away from Yuasa batteries, I have seen some people praising them, but I have now had 3 of them in second hand vehicles and they all died prematurely (before even 4 year warranty, I just couldn't use it as I wasn't the original buyer and didn't have the receipt). In my case they all seem to short internally somehow and drain themselves from the charge, so it is kind of slow drain, but if you leave the car for a week it barely starts. 

For me Vatra/Bosch S4 (seems to be same thing just different branding). 

On 5/8/2024 at 1:16 PM, Spark plug said:

Nothing seems to last as long anymore. Can't see new cars lasting as long as my Lexus at 18 years old...

Maybe we just don't drive them as much + older cars develop some electrical issues... not necessary faults, but combination of weaker and older alternator, with electrical system which is not as new and efficient, with shorter journeys less often, perhaps results in Battery not being charged as much? Shouldn't be 8v, but I have seen them dropping to just under 12v which is barely enough to start the car (although that was with dreaded Yuasa batteries).

[Malc1]

Bring back Starting Handles ! 

Reduce the damnable electronicory on cars that drains ‘em 

Change the Law so’s fresh owners of cars have the same rights at law as the original owner / new Battery purchaser

That'll make ‘em produce better quality fit for purpose batteries ……. whoever the manufacturer 🤔

None of this is ever likely tho’ …..  is it ? 

Malc 

[Surebet]

On 5/10/2024 at 2:18 PM, Spark plug said:

Fully charged over night on Monday and seems to be holding full charge  so far. fingers crossed...

I have started having issues with my Battery and like you, only drive my car about once a week, only covering 900 miles last year between MOT’s.  I am considering buying a trickle Battery charger and charging Battery overnight. Unfortunately I will have to take Battery into house to recharge, can you advise if this was the method you used and was there any issues leaving the car without a power source in relations to the electronics in the car.  At the moment I’m relying on using my GOOLOO GP4000 (which has been invaluable in the past week) to start my car however this can only be a temporary solution to I figure out what’s going on. The alternator is definitely charging as voltage across Battery is 14.5 volts when engine running. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Surebet]

I have started having issues with my Battery, only drive my car about once a week, only covering 900 miles last year between MOT’s.  I am considering buying a trickle Battery charger and charging Battery overnight. Unfortunately I will have to take Battery into house to recharge, can you advise if anyone has used this method or is there any potential issues leaving the car without a power source in relations to the electronics in the car.  At the moment I’m relying on using my GOOLOO GP4000 (which has been invaluable in the past week) to start my car however this can only be a temporary solution to I figure out what’s going on. The alternator is definitely charging as voltage across Battery is 14.5 volts when engine running. Any advice would be appreciated.

[RadicalCoupe-Fuji]

There are solar powered Battery maintainers. ie - https://shop.ringautomotive.com/rsp2000-20w-solar-battery-maintainer.html

[Spark plug]

Removing the Battery should not cause any problems other than having to reset the windows. I've had no problems with mine since I charged it up when i posted this...

[Surebet]

Hi Ian(Spark plug)

Thanks for responding to my question, did you completely remove the Battery from car to charge up Battery or did you charge it up still connected to car. I'm unable to recharge with Battery still in car and I'm concerned by removing Battery for overnight charge will cause more problems. Any previous cars did not have all the electronic equipment running in the background.

[scudney]

Why can't you charge the Battery with it still in the car if I may ask?

[Herbie]

On 6/8/2024 at 1:30 PM, Surebet said:

I am considering buying a trickle battery charger and charging battery overnight

That's not the way to use a trickle charger - the clue is in the name.

Just as an example let's say that you have a charger that's capable of supplying 5A output. If you connect a flat Battery to it, the Battery will initially pull all 5A or close to it. As the Battery takes charge and returns back to normal values, the charging current reduces, e.g.,when flat it sucks up 5A but by the time it's 90% charged it may only be pulling 0.5A (completely ficticious made-up figures for illustration only).

That's how a 'standard' charger works.

A trickle charger may only be capable of supplying a maximum of, say, 0.5A anyway. It's meant to be connected and used all the time that the Battery is stood idle in order to maintain it in a fully-charged state, so you wouldn't just use it overnight to charge the Battery. You would connect it to the Battery every time you got home and only disconnect it when you want to use the car. If the car wasn't going to move for two weeks, the trickle charger would be on and connected for all that time.

[GMB]

I have been advised to leave the trickle charger on all the time the car is not used ( only goes out in the sunshine - so not very often ). It works fine and once it reaches max it sits on "maintain" usually drawing 0 Amps most of the time, dropping from 14V / 2A to 12.6V / 0A once it has reached stability.

 

Before that, I would put the car on charge every fortnight. It would fully charge after about 7 hrs gradually reducing the current draw to almost 0.

Both systems worked but I think permanently on trickle is the way these chargers are designed to function best.

[Surebet]

On 6/9/2024 at 3:19 PM, scudney said:

Why can't you charge the battery with it still in the car if I may ask?

My garage is not attached to my house and has no power supply, basically just a lockup.