On 18/09/2016 14:37, David Lang wrote:
My late wife's C3 has been on the drive since mid May this year, unused.

Not surprisingly the battery was flat. Central locking, dashboard lights
etc all not working.

Bought a cheap charger from Wilkinson's & charged battery (out of
vehicle). Checked it with a meter & it had slightly over 12v.

Put it back in the car, Central locking, dashboard lights etc all now
working, but not enough juice to turn over the engine.

Do I assume the battery is now f*cked? Is it worth using jump leads now
or should I replace the battery?



My Astra handbook says disconnect the battery if the vehicle is not
going to be used for more than 3 weeks (which seems alarmingly
short).

Lead acid batteries generally don't like being allowed to
go completely flat. All you can do is start it with jump leads
and make sure the alternator is charging correctly (higher
than 12 V across the battery teminals), and drive it around
for half an hour or so. Should (could) be ok.