Question about Renault Clio battery

Eoin

Hi Folks,

The girlfriend's car hasn't been driven for a couple of weeks, so the battery has gone dead. It is a 99 Renault Clio. I can jump start it from my car, but the battery is dead again soon after.

I was thinking of getting a battery charger like this one in Argos:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/7506978.htm

But I was wondering - first, would the battery be 12V in a 99 Clio or at this stage, are we just best getting a new battery instead?

thanks in advance,

Eoin

Mr Magnolia

It'd be as cheap, if not cheaper, to buy a new battery. Did you leave the car run for a while after you jumped it, this will re-charge the battery.

Henry Ford III

If it starts with jump leads (never bump start a car with a cat.) and the battery doesn't hold charge it's a gonner.

A trickle charger (used indoors only) might be a good idea.

kluivert

Is the alternator broke maybe.

Did you leave the car running after you jump started it.

Eoin

Henry Ford III wrote:

If it starts with jump leads (never bump start a car with a cat.) and the battery doesn't hold charge it's a gonner.

Yeah, using the jump leads alright, but the car wasn't driven long enough afterwards to build up any sort of a charge.

Henry Ford III wrote:

A trickle charger (used indoors only) might be a good idea.

Excuse my ignorance, but is that the same as the argos thing I posted? I.e. you take the battery indoors, hook it up to this charger?

Also, by gonner do you mean that the trickle charger won't work, and that new battery is needed?

thanks

Eoin

zuutroy

Batteries can be unpredictable after they've completely drained, no matter what you do them. You're really better off getting a new one. It's only going to be a little more expesnive than that argos thing you posted

Eoin

zuutroy wrote:

Batteries can be unpredictable after they've completely drained, no matter what you do them. You're really better off getting a new one. It's only going to be a little more expesnive than that argos thing you posted

That's what I was thinking - thanks very much for replying

AMurphy

eoin_s wrote:

Hi Folks,

The girlfriend's car hasn't been driven for a couple of weeks, so the battery has gone dead. It is a 99 Renault Clio. I can jump start it from my car, but the battery is dead again soon after.

Eoin

Most battries die somewhere between 4 and 8 years, how old is your battery.
Die you check the water level in it?. A dry battery cannot hold a charge, neither can one with a dead cell.

So if in that 4~8 zone, I'd say "new battery".

Next, do you have a current drain, such as a boot or glove box light that does not go out on closing, a dud diode in the alternator, etc.
Even a new battery will go flat under such a drain.

To test, cleck fluid level, charge and when not needed, disconnect the ground lead terminal.
If it restarts after a period it normally whent flat, then it's not the battery, if it is dead by self discharging. Change the battery and take it from there.

PS, That charger is fine, so long as yo do not have any of the drain problems.
And while it says it has a battery tester, I cannot see hos it could include a max Amp tester for that price. The other features look fairly std. and these items are grand if you are planning to leave a battery for a long period as in a boat over the winter, etc.

murphaph

Very important thing to remember about Renault battery connectors here! They are convenient but rubbish. They provide very little surface contact between the connector and the battery post because of that screw on design. I had a megane completely fail to turn over because it could not supply enough current due to some pretty minor looking calcification of the battery connector. Take the connectors off and wire brush them to a copper colour and see how you get on. Seriously, this is worth a shot with those cars.

tigerman

The battery cherger s 2/3 the cost of a new battery, Fit a new battery and have the charging system checked and the current drain at rest checked.

If you need someone in the city centre to carry out this for you i can forward you a number.