Duff battery after 2.5 years?

Stallingrad

OH has had a "low battery' warning on and off the last few days, culminating in a dead battery this morning. 2010 Scenic. The cars first 2 years were in the UK racking up only 10,000 miles, so the battery may have had a hard life for those 2 years.

So is it possible that such a young battery is simply knackered, or would that be very unusual. May the problem lie elsewhere (alternator)?

TGi666

If it had a lot of short drives it could have affected the life of it alright
is it petrol or diesel?

Stallingrad

Diesel, spends most of it life up and down the M50 now.

pete4130

Is there a parasitic drain somewhere? I had a similar issue last week with my batteries going flat within 48 hours. Turns out the interior light I replaced (after 8 months) was causing it to drain. took the bulb out and no more drain.

Could be the alternator not charging the battery. Get a multimeter.

tossy

Low battery warning as in red battery light? Probably the Alternator.

Stallingrad

tossy wrote: »

Low battery warning as in red battery light? Probably the Alternator.

"Low battery" text comes up on the information display. No warning lights.

tossy

I would still err on the side of the alternator,what kind of life has the battery had ? Has it ever gone flat?

Stallingrad

tossy wrote: »

I would still err on the side of the alternator,what kind of life has the battery had ? Has it ever gone flat?

Not sure, only had the car 6 months, previous 2 years uk. It is the original battery though.

johnayo

The only way to be sure is to have the battery and charging checked. I have seen plenty of batteries faulty in that timescale. Having said that, we have a 2003 skoda octavia 1.4 here, and it still has its original battery. And it is doing a lot of very short runs. Doesn't make sense really.

bazz26

Get your battery tested first before replacing it.

Stallingrad

bazz26 wrote: »

Get your battery tested first before replacing it.

Do you mean with a multimeter?

bazz26

Stallingrad wrote: »

Do you mean with a multimeter?

No a battery tester is different afaik, any decent motor factors or auto electrician should be able to test it for you if you don't have one to hand.

daingeanrob

when low battery came up on the display in my saab it meant the key battery was low, check the manual?

Stallingrad

daingeanrob wrote: »

when low battery came up on the display in my saab it meant the key battery was low, check the manual?

Good advice, checked the maunual, changed the fob batteries a while back. The cars display will also tell you if your phone battery is low, can make it a it confusing to figure out what it is trying to say. Bottom line is the car would would not start due to a flat battery.

Stallingrad

Update, battery dead again today, AA came out, hooked up a fancy gizmo with a print out, the print out said "replace battery", alternator fine.

Stallingrad

So much for Renaults much lauded warranty, the battery is only covered for one year. What a gip, I've never got less than 6 years from a car battery before.