Mains charging a car battery

Bongalongherb

Hello folks.

Mitsubishi colt 1.3 GL 1999.

Battery was purchased from Halfords 2 years ago. It's a good battery.

My car has being lying dormant for 2 weeks while I sorted out my car insurance/license and tax and the battery is dead, completely dead. It's a good battery and is only 2 years old, but I was wondering if you folk have a recommendation for an in-house mains battery charging device as I will be taking the battery out of the car to give it a full charge from the house mains supply.

I don't use the car much now at the moment but would like to charge it fully from my home mains supply.

Do you have any recommendations for a reasonably cheap charging device for this ?

I was looking at this one here on link below, would it be good enough and how long would it take to fully charge this battery from dead. Thanks...

http://www.halfords.ie/motoring-travel/bulbs-wiper-blades-batteries/car-battery-chargers/halfords-maintenance-charger

rex-x

If the battery is dead after two weeks then its either bad or something is drawing power from the car when turned off.

Voodoomelon

If you do mostly short journeys, the battery could have been on a downward spiral from the get-go. Fully depleting a battery several times or keeping it at a very low charge for long periods permanently damages it.
Yes a battery should last much more than 2 years, but you can kill one inside 6 months, its all about how it's charged. If it's now dead after just two weeks of non-use, chances are it had a very low state of charge and there's a chance it's goosed. On the other hand, a good charge could get it up and running again, but possibly not for long.

The likes of the charger you linked to is okay, but it has a very low output of 750mA which means it will take several days to charge a 70mAh battery; it's meant to keep a battery topped up, not charge from flat. Go into a motor factors and ask for a charger around 2-3 amps, it will do it a lot quicker.

wonski

Halfords gives a 3 or 5 years warranty anyway.

Do you have a receipt?

Bongalongherb

Voodoomelon wrote: »

If you do mostly short journeys, the battery could have been on a downward spiral from the get-go. Fully depleting a battery several times or keeping it at a very low charge for long periods permanently damages it.
Yes a battery should last much more than 2 years, but you can kill one inside 6 months, its all about how it's charged. If it's now dead after just two weeks of non-use, chances are it had a very low state of charge and there's a chance it's goosed. On the other hand, a good charge could get it up and running again, but possibly not for long.

The likes of the charger you linked to is okay, but it has a very low output of 750mA which means it will take several days to charge a 70mAh battery; it's meant to keep a battery topped up, not charge from flat. Go into a motor factors and ask for a charger around 2-3 amps, it will do it a lot quicker.

Thanks for the reply.

I see. A few days to charge is no good, so I'll ask for a 2-3 amps charger. I was using the car a lot in the last year but the last two weeks really drained it lying there. Probably pricey though for a 2-3 amp charger though. Will ask in a few places.

Cheers.

wonski

I would still look into what is draining your battery when the car is not in use.

If the battery itself is faulty - have it replaced at Halfords.

If your car is not using any power it should be good to go, even after 2 weeks.

Had a car sitting idle for a week or 2 few times a year and never had a problem.

I just started my old car after few weeks and it started easily.

No need to spend money on charger and getting battery in and out every time you want to drive.

Bongalongherb

wonski wrote: »

Halfords gives a 3 or 5 years warranty anyway.

Do you have a receipt?

I have the receipt but I already changed my previous battery from Halfords 2 years ago, so according to this receipt below you can only change it once from the first original battery warranty, so that's out the window.

wonski

Bongalongherb wrote: »

I have the receipt but I already changed my previous battery from Halfords 2 years ago, so according to this receipt below you can only change it once from the first original battery warranty, so that's out the window.

You can change it as many times as you need, as long as it is within the original warranty period:D

All depends on when you purchased it and how long is the warranty.

Bongalongherb

I found the old receipt as well just there. it says Hal Battery faulty product 27/09/2013. They gave me a new battery on the 27/09/2013 but I don't see where it says how long the warranty is but I'm not sure if it was 3 or 5 years warranty. I just remember the guy that fitted the new one saying that you won't be able to change it again if it fails because it goes over the original warranty of the first battery if my memory serves me right.

The price of said battery was €84.99

wonski

Bongalongherb wrote: »

I found the old receipt as well just there. it says Hal Battery faulty product 27/09/2013. They gave me a new battery on the 27/09/2013 but I don't see where it says how long the warranty is but I'm not sure if it was 3 or 5 years warranty. I just remember the guy that fitted the new one saying that you won't be able to change it again if it fails because it goes over the original warranty of the first battery if my memory serves me right.

The price of said battery was €84.99

According to this link it is 4 years;)

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs-blades-batteries/car-batteries/halfords-calcium-battery-hcb063-4-yr-guarantee

4 years is 4 years, regardless if how many times you exchanged it.
Original receipt would be great in your case.

Bongalongherb

rex-x wrote: »

If the battery is dead after two weeks then its either bad or something is drawing power from the car when turned off.

I'll have to check to see if something is draining it but to be honest there's not even a radio in it and all inside lights are off as I always double check this. It's basically an analog car wind up windows no electrics that I can see that would drain it. My mechanic done a service on it a while back and said it was grand.

Will have to get him to check it again for any electrical drains.

Bongalongherb

wonski wrote: »

According to this link it is 4 years;)

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs-blades-batteries/car-batteries/halfords-calcium-battery-hcb063-4-yr-guarantee

4 years is 4 years, regardless if how many times you exchanged it.
Original receipt would be great in your case.

I have both receipts from when the fault of the previous battery went and the receipt that he gave me on the replacement battery. Right, I'll drop it down and explain it to them and see what they say.

The battery was grand until I left it for 2 weeks and there was only a click, completely dead.

Edit: Instead of having them give me a new battery I would be interested to see if they would fully charge this battery instead and allow me time to see if it is fecked. At least I can have my mechanic test the electrics after a few days of driving to see if there is a drain somewhere to rule that out. I really just want to find out why it is dying so fast. I could easily try for a new battery but I'd rather have it fully charged and tested first before I bring it back as faulty. It might be faulty again but it might not be.

John T Carroll

Bongalongherb wrote: »

Hello folks.

Mitsubishi colt 1.3 GL 1999.

Battery was purchased from Halfords 2 years ago. It's a good battery.

My car has being lying dormant for 2 weeks while I sorted out my car insurance/license and tax and the battery is dead, completely dead. It's a good battery and is only 2 years old, but I was wondering if you folk have a recommendation for an in-house mains battery charging device as I will be taking the battery out of the car to give it a full charge from the house mains supply.

I don't use the car much now at the moment but would like to charge it fully from my home mains supply.

Do you have any recommendations for a reasonably cheap charging device for this ?

I was looking at this one here on link below, would it be good enough and how long would it take to fully charge this battery from dead. Thanks...

http://www.halfords.ie/motoring-travel/bulbs-wiper-blades-batteries/car-battery-chargers/halfords-maintenance-charger

Some older cars draw far more amps if left unlocked (unlikely, but it happens) I know that a 2000 VW Bora will draw 2.8 amps if left unlocked but only 0.04 amps (40 milliamps) when locked, a friends Seat was doing likewise until he started locking it, he has the luxury of a garage. He had renewed the battery twice before I tracked down the problem for him.

Ask your mechanic to ensure that the battery terminal voltage is at least 14.0 Volts at idling speed, most alternators will give around 14.2 to 14.5 Volts if working properly. If you or one of your family is anyway handy, go and buy yourself a cheap multimeter with a 0 to 10 Amp DC measurement capability which most have. Lock the car after opening the car bonnet. Remove the negative battery clamp and tape the negative (black) meter lead to the negative battery post and the positive (red) lead to the negative clamp after ensuring that the meter is set up to read the DC amps. Leave it in this mode for about 20 minutes and see what the readings are, I would expect to see around 0.04 to 0.08 amps max, if above this, then you may have a problem.

Some car manufacturers batterys seem to last for very long periods for some reason that I have never been able to figure out, for example, my wife returned to Cork Airport last Monday from a 10 day trip abroad, her car, March 2005, has its original (Exide) battery and her car draws 0.09A (90 MA) when stopped. By my calculations, this means that almost 22 AH had been drawn down from the 44 AH battery (when new) yet the car started instantly. This car has only done very short trips throughout its life.

Sorry for being a bit longwinded but it shouldnt really be rocket science for someone with a bit of common sense to track down your problem.

Bongalongherb

Thanks for the advice. I'll explain this to my mechanic when I get this battery sorted out. One thing I have noticed was when I went to unlock the drivers side door a few days ago it was already unlocked and I remember locking it. So I locked it again, I just went out there a while ago and it was unlocked again. It seems to be unlocking itself for some reason. It has central locking but can only be locked or unlocked with the key only.

Bongalongherb

Well, I dropped the car battery into Halfords for testing and they fully charged it and done a test to see was anything faulty, everything looks fine with it so far. The guy told me to see how it goes and if there's any problems at all to drop it back and they will replace it for a new one.

I didn't want a new battery as I really needed to have it fully charged as my mechanic will be testing the electronics in a day or two to make sure there is no drain anywhere.

I've got to say, they're a great store to deal with and very professional especially allowing me all options to charge and replace the battery at my convenience need be.

John T Carroll

Bongalongherb wrote: »

Well, I dropped the car battery into Halfords for testing and they fully charged it and done a test to see was anything faulty, everything looks fine with it so far. The guy told me to see how it goes and if there's any problems at all to drop it back and they will replace it for a new one.

I didn't want a new battery as I really needed to have it fully charged as my mechanic will be testing the electronics in a day or two to make sure there is no drain anywhere.

I've got to say, they're a great store to deal with and very professional especially allowing me all options to charge and replace the battery at my convenience need be.

I would say that that rules the battery out as being any part of the problem so: additionally to my former post below,
"Ask your mechanic to ensure that the battery terminal voltage is at least 14.0 Volts at idling speed, most alternators will give around 14.2 to 14.5 Volts if working properly. If you or one of your family is anyway handy, go and buy yourself a cheap multimeter with a 0 to 10 Amp DC measurement capability which most have. Lock the car after opening the car bonnet. Remove the negative battery clamp and tape the negative (black) meter lead to the negative battery post and the positive (red) lead to the negative clamp after ensuring that the meter is set up to read the DC amps. Leave it in this mode for about 20 minutes and see what the readings are, I would expect to see around 0.04 to 0.08 amps max, if above this, then you may have a problem."

At idling speed, switch on the headlights, the heated rear screen and switch the blower speed to pos.2.....you should still be reading not less than 13.8V at the battery terminals, in other words the battery should still be "not required" to satisfy this load at idling speed, if the battery volts are around 12.6V then bring the engine revs up a little, say to 1500 RPM and see what the readings are.

If all this appears OK then carry out the parasitic (battery drain) loss test as detailed above.

Bongalongherb

That's great thanks. I printed out your information above and will forward it to him to do this on the tests.

John T Carroll

Bongalongherb wrote: »

That's great thanks. I printed out your information above and will forward it to him to do this on the tests.

Any update on your problem??.

TeaBagMania

Bongalongherb wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. I'll explain this to my mechanic when I get this battery sorted out. One thing I have noticed was when I went to unlock the drivers side door a few days ago it was already unlocked and I remember locking it. So I locked it again, I just went out there a while ago and it was unlocked again. It seems to be unlocking itself for some reason. It has central locking but can only be locked or unlocked with the key only.

Is this vehicle by chance French or Italian
You may have found the problem, you can pull the central locking fuse and see if you battery drain problem continues
This is what I use on the cars and motorcycles in the winter months
http://www.batterytender.com/Automotive/Battery-Tender-Junior-12V-0-75A.html