ABW Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 My wife's car has stood idle for the duration of our holiday. When we tried to start it there was absolutely no power. Odd clicks and flickering instrument lights, but nothing else. Put the battery on charge. Charger said "Charging". After 5 minutes (or less - we weren't looking all the time), charger said "battery Full". Removed charger (two croc clips) and tried to start car. Started beautifully. Halfords help line man assured me that their charger would take up to 12 hours to get from flat to full battery. What's happening? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONDEO TXS 2.2 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 UP TO being the operative words - maybe the battery wasn't completely flat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONDEO TXS 2.2 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Monitor the battery operation over the next week or so, as it may be on it's way out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABW Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 Sorry - should have said that the battery is new(ish). The car is 8 years old and has done 8,000 miles (as roughly 120 sixty-mile round journeys), so not short battery-draining hops. My conclusion is that the battery is perfectly OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delboy Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 i would get the battery checked as it's gonna get worse when winter arrives. just because the battery is new ish they can fail any time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omendata Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Doesnt take much of a charge to get it up to allowing one or more turnovers. Also depends on whether you have it on fast charge or normal. Be aware fast charge wears your battery out due to the higher current. I have had more than my fair share of battery woes - i had a complete dud battery i thought was good on my old ROVER 820Si until i broke down on a lonely country road miles from anywhere and left the headlamps on for a few minutes. 5 mins on the charger and the car would start but then its the alternator thats keeping it going so it lures you into a false sense of security that the car keeps running ok - good way to check it is to put the engine off and leave the main headlamps on for about 5 mins - if the car wont start you have a dud battery thats how i found out (ON THAT LONELY COUNTRY ROAD) LOL until i bought myself a load tester - £30 on eBay and will save you money in the long run! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABW Posted November 18, 2015 Author Share Posted November 18, 2015 Thanks for your interest and suggestions. I wondered if it was voltage drop due to dirty battery connections, so I removed the leads, cleaned the terminals, applied Vaseline and hey presto, the problem appears to be solved. The car has stood a week without use and started first go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omendata Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Lol yes its always the simplest of issues - we sometimes jump to conclusions and dont check the basics first. I usually give the terminals on my batteries a sand down with a file to get right into the lead and leave it shiny as the lead will react with the hcl in the battery producing lead chloride (green gunk on the terminals) and react with the battery leads producing iron chloride and phosphate , copper sulphate etc - Always essential to keep your terminals clean! Halfrauds and helpline are kinda paradoxical. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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