Why does my battery keep dyeing?

DylanII

I have a 2001 1.6 Ford Focus. Im having a problem with the battery dyeing a lot.

If I leave the car unused for too long then it goes dead. The longer I leave my car started for, with lights off, before I get out, the longer it seem to last.

I have been push and jump starting it the last few weeks whenever it happened, but I called the breakdown assistance today. He tested my alternator and said that wasnt the problem. My battery is about 6 months old.

It can happen as quickly as 5 minutes (if I had just jumped it and done a short drive) or it can last 15 hours.

Any idea what this might be?

mathepac

My first thoughts were about the elctrolyte level in the battery cells. If the battery is serviceable (the caps over the cells unscrew) check the level in the cells and if low, top it up with de-ionised water. Be careful if you haven't done this before.

If the battery is not a serviceable one, ignore the above.

smellslikeshoes

Maybe stating the obvious here but are you sure it's not just a bad battery? The fact that it's 6 months old doesn't actually mean that much.

the_syco

How tight is the connection of the cables on the batteries? Also, are the connections clean, or covered in greasy sh|te (a few cowboys seem to love putting this on the batteries).

Dartz

Might be a minor short, or something stuck on when the ignition is turned off?

Something could be wired direct to the battery and left on.

oldjeep

Turn off car and take out key, take off live (red) connection off battery and then tip it against it and see does it spark, it should spark if you have a leak of power. Any good tyre/battery center will check how good your battery is and normally do not charge for it.

Atlantic Dawn

How often do you use the car and for what distance of driving? If you are only doing a 5 minute drive each day in this weather it's possible the battery is not being charged.