Well our 1.4 petrol Fiesta was dead as a DoDo....Again! 

I'm sick of this guys! The car was stood for just 3 days and all turned off & locked up, I get in and turn the key and the car engine does one turn and it's dead.

I've had the battery tested and it's mint but strangely once in a while it's goes damn dead  I always have jump leads in the boot just in case I'm in trouble, this has happened 6 times this year.

Any idea's ? Think I should buy a new battery ?

Have you had the alternator tested?

I'd check all the electrical connections/battery connections, I'd also check for a drain on the battery

And I'd check the alternator

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My last car a 1998 fiesta had an after market alarm fitted (cheap eBay job) which would drain my battery, it didn't help that I only used it for short journeys and would only use it 2 weeks out of every 3 (shift work).

18 hours ago, BP2411 said:

Have you had the alternator tested?

Was tested at the ford dealership this year and everything is running as it should.

Took the car for a good run today, about 80 miles and the battery 'seems' like a thousand dura cells all firing at once when I turn the engine over.

As previously mentioned,i'd check the alternator and/or the voltage regulator.

On 03/07/2016 at 9:41 PM, Ian Lanc said:

engine does one turn and it's dead.

Gorra Multimeter?

If so, here is a quick alternator test:

Start engine. After recovering from starting (normally under 1 minute), voltage should rise to at least 13v at idle, and with the engine at about 1200rpm, charge voltage should stabilise at 14.0 to 14.6v. This range should be maintained with headlights on or off.

To check the alternator keeps on working, do the test, go for a drive (longish if possible), then repeat the 14 to 14.6v test.

(I am assuming it is not a start-stop smart charge car that does funny things to the alternator voltage).

Also some cars can display system voltage on the dash but this can be a bit suspect. A meter on the battery is better.

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This battery drain test is rather more complex. Problem is measuring a few mA of drain on a system that can use & deliver 100s of Amps!

I have checked for battery drain on my car by: Connecting a regulated battery charger, via a multimeter on Amps/mA range, to the power take off socket (these stay permanently energised on my car, if not, you can connect to the battery terminal). Then disconnect the -ve battery terminal, so all car load current goes via the multimeter. Leave the car, check what the current drops to. (Don't use the c/locking, would draw too much current for the charger / multimeter, or lock the car before disconnecting the battery, if that is possible with bonnet up)

(I used a 14.5v, 3A charger to avoid blowing the multimeter fuse when connecting up. Batteries can deliver 100s of Amps! But it must be regulated to below 15v)

 

11 hours ago, Tdci-Peter said:

Gorra Multimeter? If so, here is a quick alternator test:

 

 

I have and will find it out and give the test a go.

I had a flat battery, just once. Connected the charger, something made a fan sound, charger tripped out, then back in, fan sound, trip out, back in etc about 5 times. All was fine after this, I can only assume that some fan or other didn't shut down. Before I leave the car I now check that all is quiet.

 

Just noticed today that the 'one touch' driverside window switch isn't working as it should do after the battery went dead!

It goes all the way down on its own but have to keep my finger on the switch for it to go all the way up! Isn't there a secret way how to make this work again ??