Battery Issues

[Jockstar]

My car recently went away for some paint work. It was away for 6 days and probably didn't move a great deal. The most it would have been driven would be from the prep bay to the paint bay (10 feet).

When I got the car back it started ok. When I got home I noticed I had to press the lock button on the key a few times for the car to lock.

I tried to start the car two nights ago and it was basically dead. I opened my boot to check the reading on my power cap and it was at 11 volts.

Last night my dad came down and used jump leads. Initially the dash readout said there was an engine fault but the engine fired and the dash ceased to list any faults.

I went for a short drive but the traffic was bad and it was dark and raining meaning I needed lights and wipers on. When I came back and the engine was off my Dad's trickle charger was reading 12 volts. Unfortunately my Dad's trickle charger didn't seem to be working properly so we abandoned the plan to charge the battery.

I got up this morning and the car was more dead than ever. I opened the boot and the power cap was reading 10 volts.

I've recently replaced the boot and interior lights with LEDs as well as the sidelights and reg plate bulbs (I hoped they would make the batteries life easier).

Is it worth getting the jump leads on it tomorrow and take it for a drive without wipers and headlights for a decent 20 minutes? Is the battery likely to be a write off now? Are the solar panel trickle chargers that plug into the cigarette lighter worth buying for a car that's not driven every day? If the battery needs to be replaced I'm assuming the 1.8 tdci requires a specific battery?

The car has done 46-47k and is a 2007 1.8tdci.

Thanks.

[artscot79]

the paint shop likely had the doors open to do paint most likely had the stereo on etc and drained the battery it would need a few hours to charge driving ide speak to the paint shop first the leds wont save the battery the battery still puts out 12v to them so really its not working as you think knowing what they do the paint shop killed most of the battery the valeter killed the rest they gave it a quick charge and that was that you may need a new battery all fords are silver calcium and eBay sell Bosch s3 or s4 silver calcium batteries at a good price

[wase16ll]

solar chargers are excellent for vehicles with irregular use, but remember they only maintain a charge, they dont actually charge the battery up.

no need for a mega powered variety..one i often supply to owners is just a 2.4 watt and works as intended...though i would searchh for one that has an alternative connection to battery posts..such as connection to diagnostic plug

[Jockstar]

Is a Ctek battery charger worth buying to try and save the existing battery?

[ChrisCooper]

Is a Ctek battery charger worth buying to try and save the existing battery?

At that price, I'd just get a new battery. You're looking at between £50 and £75.

[Jockstar]

Ok no probs. thanks for your help folks.

[Jockstar]

Just thought I'd update this thread with the outcome. I tried jump starting the car and driving it 15 miles on the motorway. The power cap registered over 14 volts with the engine running. I left it overnight and in the morning the battery was dead again. I bought a new battery and it held 12.1 volts overnight and didn't drop.

I think it has been a simple case of battery old age. It did last 7 years so I can't complain. Fired it up this morning with no problems. I was worried I had some kind of electrical drain occurring overnight but hopefully it would seem that's not the case.

Thanks again.

[wase16ll]

you sure you read the voltage right?

12.1v on a new battery is about 30% charged...would expect 12.5-12.7v