John,
If your battery is draining over a period of time then it sounds as if you
may have a current drain that has the ability to lower the voltage/amps
considerably over a given period of time. with the battery charged,Put an
ammeter in series with the battery and let the reading settle, you should
have approx 30 to 50mA drain.
Something simple like a light in the glovebox or boot or even a faulty diode
in the alternator may cause higher drains than this.

Another tip,
If you have a high drain reading on the meter then remove each fuse one by
one and see which one lets the reading drop then see what it supplies...
this worked well on older cars but the newer models with smart charging
e.t.c makes it more difficult.

Give it another 5 years and when ALL cars are 36volt systems with a 42 volt
charge then we will really have headaches... you should see what the next 5
years has in store... frightening.

JK


"John" john.plant90@NO-SPAMntlworldDOTcom wrote in message
...
I suppose I need a new battery but the problem seems strange. The car
usually starts fine - but if left standing for a couple of days it will
sometimes behave as though the battery is almost flat. The starter will
hardly turn the engine. If I try every couple of minutes, after a few
attempts it will often recover and start up.

Also if I put the battery onto my feeble charger for 5 mins it will also
make an amazing recovery.

Any ideas?

--


Regards

John




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