Old car question

somequest · Post by **somequest** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 8:45 pm

I bought a second-hand car just after the "katsastus" recently. Everything seemed to be OK. But one day, I forgot to switch off the top light and battery went very low and could not start the car. After some more days, the battery was empty.
It was said that the battery is almost new!
I used jumpstarter to start my car, charged the battery for half an hour there.
When I switched the car off and tried to restart the car, the battery had some electricity but the car could not start.
After one night, the battery was empty again, not electricity at all.
Can you give some ideas about how i can do now? Do I need to charge for a longer time? Anyway the battery should not be empty after half an hour charging and over a night, right?

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S.richard · Post by **S.richard** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 9:15 pm

1) Either the Battery has reached to the retirement age or 2) there is a problem in generator/ charging circuitry, i.e., while the car is running, it is not feeding current to the battery.

somequest · Post by **somequest** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 9:32 pm

S.richard wrote:1) Either the Battery has reached to the retirement age or 2) there is a problem in generator/ charging circuitry, i.e., while the car is running, it is not feeding current to the battery.

But before it worked very well. Can this problem happened just when I forgot the light thing?

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 11:06 pm

If you charged the battery when car was idling, the alternator won't work at full capacity. If the battery was dead half an hour in a car won't do it. Day with proper charger will. You don't want to push so much current to the battery that it would top up in 30 minutes.

caster · Post by **caster** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 11:56 pm

If the battery still under warranty get it replaced.

If you want to keep the battery - check the Dis. water levels inside, if below add to the level required and clean the battery terminals.

If the problem popped up in winter, try to change the distributor, moist in distributor prevent the sparks to ignite properly.

If you connect the block heater regularly, ok. also check if your heating package (block heater) also has charge for the battery same time, if so, check the electricals.

foca · Post by **foca** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 12:38 am

caster wrote:
If the problem popped up in winter, try to change the distributor, moist in distributor prevent the sparks to ignite properly.

Distributor? Really? The car should be at least 20 years old to have one

. If that is the case , the battery is the least of problems
But being serious, any battery has a life span. The only way to check if it is ok is to check voltage under load (a special device for that is sold at Biltema). But before buying it, look at the battery's production date , if it older than 3 years , it is most probably dead and you need a new one

Honest · Post by **Honest** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 7:01 am

These batteries take long time to get fully charged. charge it for one full day with a proper charger and then you'll know if the problem is in the battery or somewhere else. Don't keep it dead for long time, car batteries don't like it.

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 12:47 pm

You drive to Tampere and back to get it charged properly. Or take it inside and charge it overnight in the warm.

007 · Post by **007** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 1:59 pm

somequest wrote:
S.richard wrote:1) Either the Battery has reached to the retirement age or 2) there is a problem in generator/ charging circuitry, i.e., while the car is running, it is not feeding current to the battery.
But before it worked very well. Can this problem happened just when I forgot the light thing?

Might or might not. In line with the above comments, if the battery is still new, problem might lie in the generator or the circuits. Check if the battery is being drained. There are many videos online on how to check whether battery is being drained. Or you simply fully charge the battery, driving for an hour or two should suffice, then take it out, keep it in your room for a day, then see if the battery still is full. If yes, something is robbing it. If no, goodbye either battery or generator.

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 3:08 pm

007 wrote:Or you simply fully charge the battery, driving for an hour or two should suffice

From empty to full in hour or two...
"During the constant-current charge, the battery charges to 70 percent in 5–8 hours; the remaining 30 percent is filled with the slower topping charge that lasts another 7–10 hours. The topping charge is essential for the well-being of the battery and can be compared to a little rest after a good meal."

007 · Post by **007** » Sun Dec 21, 2014 3:43 pm

Upphew wrote:
007 wrote:Or you simply fully charge the battery, driving for an hour or two should suffice
From empty to full in hour or two...
"During the constant-current charge, the battery charges to 70 percent in 5–8 hours; the remaining 30 percent is filled with the slower topping charge that lasts another 7–10 hours. The topping charge is essential for the well-being of the battery and can be compared to a little rest after a good meal."

well the point is, after driving for an hour or so, battery should be loaded enough.

somequest · Post by **somequest** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 11:16 am

Thank you for all the reply.
Last time, I started the car and stayed there for half an hour, but not driviing. Does it mean that I the battery was not properly charged?

somequest · Post by **somequest** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 11:17 am

Upphew wrote:If you charged the battery when car was idling, the alternator won't work at full capacity. If the battery was dead half an hour in a car won't do it. Day with proper charger will. You don't want to push so much current to the battery that it would top up in 30 minutes.

Possibly I try again by driving it half an hour!

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 1:25 pm

somequest wrote:
Upphew wrote:If you charged the battery when car was idling, the alternator won't work at full capacity. If the battery was dead half an hour in a car won't do it. Day with proper charger will. You don't want to push so much current to the battery that it would top up in 30 minutes.
Possibly I try again by driving it half an hour!

Mine started okayish, but still not as I'm used to. I drove for about hour after that. If I couldn't get my car to start because of battery, I would haul the battery inside to charge it. Or let it charge outside, if I got place that gives me electricity for 12 hours straight.

somequest · Post by **somequest** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 1:07 pm

I jumpstarted and drove for almost one hour. There is some electricity in the battery now. But it is the same as the last time when I started the car but not drove: when I stopped, the car cannot be started again!

I found that + connector is very tight, but - connector is a bit loose but still connected. This should not be the point.

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