Here are the facts:

1. The car is used once or twice a week, mostly for short trips.

2. Nearly every time we use it, the battery is too dead to turn the
engine over and it needs to be charged. In fact it's so dead that even
trying will produce nothing but a click and drop the voltage across the
electrical system so low that it resets the clock.

3. After 20 minutes or so of charging, it'll start without difficulty
(it's only a 1.2l engine).

4. Alternatively, a quick push will do the trick.

5. If it has just recently been on a long drive (in the previous day or
so), or has been used once that day already, it will start without
problems, though.

6. More than once recently though I've stopped the car for a few moments
after driving several miles, and will find that it doesn't start and
needs a push to get going again.

7. It's getting worse.

8. The battery is fairly new.

I'm assuming that the problem is the alternator failing to charge the
battery properly, but no. 6 is a puzzle to me.

Thanks,

Daniele

On 03/03/2017 18:59, D.M. Procida wrote:
Here are the facts:

1. The car is used once or twice a week, mostly for short trips.

2. Nearly every time we use it, the battery is too dead to turn the
engine over and it needs to be charged. In fact it's so dead that even
trying will produce nothing but a click and drop the voltage across the
electrical system so low that it resets the clock.

3. After 20 minutes or so of charging, it'll start without difficulty
(it's only a 1.2l engine).

4. Alternatively, a quick push will do the trick.

5. If it has just recently been on a long drive (in the previous day or
so), or has been used once that day already, it will start without
problems, though.

6. More than once recently though I've stopped the car for a few moments
after driving several miles, and will find that it doesn't start and
needs a push to get going again.

7. It's getting worse.

8. The battery is fairly new.

I'm assuming that the problem is the alternator failing to charge the
battery properly, but no. 6 is a puzzle to me.

I was going to ask if you had access to a DVM but on reflection it
sounds like an intermittent fault.

Is this car of an age when they were fitted with an OBD connector? If so
then a pod connected to either a laptop or a phone will give a
continuous voltage reading.

It's not a VW is it? The reason I say is a friend had a similar problem
to do with updated software and a subsequent current drain.

On 03-Mar-17 6:59 PM, D.M. Procida wrote:
Here are the facts:

1. The car is used once or twice a week, mostly for short trips.

2. Nearly every time we use it, the battery is too dead to turn the
engine over and it needs to be charged. In fact it's so dead that even
trying will produce nothing but a click and drop the voltage across the
electrical system so low that it resets the clock.

3. After 20 minutes or so of charging, it'll start without difficulty
(it's only a 1.2l engine).

4. Alternatively, a quick push will do the trick.

5. If it has just recently been on a long drive (in the previous day or
so), or has been used once that day already, it will start without
problems, though.

6. More than once recently though I've stopped the car for a few moments
after driving several miles, and will find that it doesn't start and
needs a push to get going again.

7. It's getting worse.

8. The battery is fairly new.

I'm assuming that the problem is the alternator failing to charge the
battery properly, but no. 6 is a puzzle to me.

Thanks,

Daniele



Could be the alternator, but I'd double check the battery connections
and the earthing from the battery to the chassis. Could also be a
starter motor problem, check the spade connector terminal on it.

On 03/03/2017 18:59, D.M. Procida wrote:
Here are the facts:

1. The car is used once or twice a week, mostly for short trips.

2. Nearly every time we use it, the battery is too dead to turn the
engine over and it needs to be charged. In fact it's so dead that even
trying will produce nothing but a click and drop the voltage across the
electrical system so low that it resets the clock.

3. After 20 minutes or so of charging, it'll start without difficulty
(it's only a 1.2l engine).

4. Alternatively, a quick push will do the trick.

5. If it has just recently been on a long drive (in the previous day or
so), or has been used once that day already, it will start without
problems, though.

6. More than once recently though I've stopped the car for a few moments
after driving several miles, and will find that it doesn't start and
needs a push to get going again.

7. It's getting worse.

8. The battery is fairly new.

I'm assuming that the problem is the alternator failing to charge the
battery properly, but no. 6 is a puzzle to me.

Thanks,

Daniele

Something is discharging the battery. Either the battery is duff and is
discharging itself or there is an electrical fault which is drawing
current from the battery when the car is parked.

To find out which, leave the car overnight and then measure the battery
voltage. Chances are that it will have gone down a lot. Then charge it
and run the car and then disconnect the battery before leaving it
overnight. If it has still gone down, the battery is duff. If it hasn't,
you need to investigate the 'leak'.
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

On 03-Mar-17 8:01 PM, Roger Mills wrote:
On 03/03/2017 18:59, D.M. Procida wrote:
Here are the facts:

1. The car is used once or twice a week, mostly for short trips.

2. Nearly every time we use it, the battery is too dead to turn the
engine over and it needs to be charged. In fact it's so dead that even
trying will produce nothing but a click and drop the voltage across the
electrical system so low that it resets the clock.

3. After 20 minutes or so of charging, it'll start without difficulty
(it's only a 1.2l engine).

4. Alternatively, a quick push will do the trick.

5. If it has just recently been on a long drive (in the previous day or
so), or has been used once that day already, it will start without
problems, though.

6. More than once recently though I've stopped the car for a few moments
after driving several miles, and will find that it doesn't start and
needs a push to get going again.

7. It's getting worse.

8. The battery is fairly new.

I'm assuming that the problem is the alternator failing to charge the
battery properly, but no. 6 is a puzzle to me.

Thanks,

Daniele

Something is discharging the battery. Either the battery is duff and is
discharging itself or there is an electrical fault which is drawing
current from the battery when the car is parked.

To find out which, leave the car overnight and then measure the battery
voltage. Chances are that it will have gone down a lot. Then charge it
and run the car and then disconnect the battery before leaving it
overnight. If it has still gone down, the battery is duff. If it hasn't,
you need to investigate the 'leak'.

That wouldn't explain number 6.

On 03/03/2017 18:59, D.M. Procida wrote:
Here are the facts:

1. The car is used once or twice a week, mostly for short trips.

2. Nearly every time we use it, the battery is too dead to turn the
engine over and it needs to be charged. In fact it's so dead that even
trying will produce nothing but a click and drop the voltage across the
electrical system so low that it resets the clock.

3. After 20 minutes or so of charging, it'll start without difficulty
(it's only a 1.2l engine).

4. Alternatively, a quick push will do the trick.

5. If it has just recently been on a long drive (in the previous day or
so), or has been used once that day already, it will start without
problems, though.

6. More than once recently though I've stopped the car for a few moments
after driving several miles, and will find that it doesn't start and
needs a push to get going again.

7. It's getting worse.

8. The battery is fairly new.

I'm assuming that the problem is the alternator failing to charge the
battery properly, but no. 6 is a puzzle to me.

Thanks,

Daniele



Several miles isn't enough to charge a battery especially this time of
year when you may have the heated front/back screen operational and/or
driving with the lights on.

My guess that something electrical isn't switching off. A friend once
had similar problems and found the the tailgate switch for the light in
the 'boot' had failed and the light was permanently on - only found when
the rear parcel shelf had been removed and the light could be seen at night.

Try buying a voltmeter that fits in the power socket / cigarette lighter
It should show 14+ Volts when the alternator is charging the battery
(perhaps after a good few miles of driving and with lights and screen
heater off)

Ebay listing taken at random

https://tinyurl.com/h63p4am

OR

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hakkin-2-i...8AAOSw241Ydwg-






--
mailto: news {at} admac {dot] myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On 03-Mar-17 8:09 PM, Huge wrote:
On 2017-03-03, D.M. Procida wrote:
Here are the facts:

1. The car is used once or twice a week, mostly for short trips.

2. Nearly every time we use it, the battery is too dead to turn the
engine over and it needs to be charged. In fact it's so dead that even
trying will produce nothing but a click and drop the voltage across the
electrical system so low that it resets the clock.

3. After 20 minutes or so of charging, it'll start without difficulty
(it's only a 1.2l engine).

[12 lines snipped]

8. The battery is fairly new.

And ****ed. Buy a new battery.



You might be right, but is that the only way you're able to express
yourself?

On 03/03/2017 20:03, Joe Bloggs wrote:

6. More than once recently though I've stopped the car for a few moments
after driving several miles, and will find that it doesn't start and
needs a push to get going again.



That wouldn't explain number 6.

A few miles on a uncharged battery results in a still uncharged battery

--
mailto: news {at} admac {dot] myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On 03-Mar-17 8:19 PM, Huge wrote:
On 2017-03-03, Joe Bloggs wrote:
On 03-Mar-17 8:09 PM, Huge wrote:
On 2017-03-03, D.M. Procida wrote:
Here are the facts:

1. The car is used once or twice a week, mostly for short trips.

2. Nearly every time we use it, the battery is too dead to turn the
engine over and it needs to be charged. In fact it's so dead that even
trying will produce nothing but a click and drop the voltage across the
electrical system so low that it resets the clock.

3. After 20 minutes or so of charging, it'll start without difficulty
(it's only a 1.2l engine).

[12 lines snipped]

8. The battery is fairly new.

And ****ed. Buy a new battery.



You might be right, but is that the only way you're able to express
yourself?

Oh, dear, has the nasty man used a word you don't approve of? Well, tough
titty.


You know, there was a time in this country - not a million years ago -
when certain things were not said, and certain words were not used, in
general social situations. That has changed, and now this sort of gutter
language pervades almost all aspects of life. It hasn't improved
anything, quite the reverse, and all it demonstrates is the inability of
certain types to respect the language and other people.

On 03-Mar-17 8:23 PM, alan_m wrote:
On 03/03/2017 20:03, Joe Bloggs wrote:

6. More than once recently though I've stopped the car for a few
moments
after driving several miles, and will find that it doesn't start and
needs a push to get going again.



That wouldn't explain number 6.

A few miles on a uncharged battery results in a still uncharged battery


Depends how many miles and whether or not on those specific occasions
the battery was actually 'uncharged' to start with - and he/she did say
'several miles'.

On 03/03/2017 18:59, D.M. Procida wrote:
Here are the facts:

1. The car is used once or twice a week, mostly for short trips.

2. Nearly every time we use it, the battery is too dead to turn the
engine over and it needs to be charged. In fact it's so dead that even
trying will produce nothing but a click and drop the voltage across the
electrical system so low that it resets the clock.

3. After 20 minutes or so of charging, it'll start without difficulty
(it's only a 1.2l engine).

4. Alternatively, a quick push will do the trick.

5. If it has just recently been on a long drive (in the previous day or
so), or has been used once that day already, it will start without
problems, though.

6. More than once recently though I've stopped the car for a few moments
after driving several miles, and will find that it doesn't start and
needs a push to get going again.

7. It's getting worse.

8. The battery is fairly new.

I'm assuming that the problem is the alternator failing to charge the
battery properly, but no. 6 is a puzzle to me.



Shagged battery would be my first guess. What would you call "fairly new"?


--
Adam

On Fri, 3 Mar 2017 18:59:08 +0000, D.M. Procida wrote:

Here are the facts:

snip

8. The battery is fairly new.

Until that point I was going to say knackered batteyr and cold.
Batteries these days sometimes have a hydgrometer built in. Little
sight thingy that probably shows green for OK and black for Not OK.

I'm assuming that the problem is the alternator failing to charge the
battery properly, but no. 6 is a puzzle to me.

Some one else has mentioned poor battery connections. Check those and
all the connections involving thick cables, battery to starter motor,
battery to chassis and chassis to engine block, there should be one
and probably more earth straps from engine to chassis. Try using half
a jump lead set to connect engine block to battery (chassis coonected
terminal) and see if it starts a better. Another check is to touch
each connection after you've tried and failed to start the engine,
the faulty ones will be warm if not hot...

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 03/03/2017 20:27, Joe Bloggs wrote:
On 03-Mar-17 8:19 PM, Huge wrote:
On 2017-03-03, Joe Bloggs wrote:
On 03-Mar-17 8:09 PM, Huge wrote:
On 2017-03-03, D.M. Procida
wrote:
Here are the facts:

1. The car is used once or twice a week, mostly for short trips.

2. Nearly every time we use it, the battery is too dead to turn the
engine over and it needs to be charged. In fact it's so dead that even
trying will produce nothing but a click and drop the voltage across
the
electrical system so low that it resets the clock.

3. After 20 minutes or so of charging, it'll start without difficulty
(it's only a 1.2l engine).

[12 lines snipped]

8. The battery is fairly new.

And ****ed. Buy a new battery.



You might be right, but is that the only way you're able to express
yourself?

Oh, dear, has the nasty man used a word you don't approve of? Well, tough
titty.


You know, there was a time in this country - not a million years ago -
when certain things were not said, and certain words were not used, in
general social situations. That has changed, and now this sort of gutter
language pervades almost all aspects of life. It hasn't improved
anything, quite the reverse, and all it demonstrates is the inability of
certain types to respect the language and other people.



History says otherwise


"What the **** was that?" Mayor of Hiroshima
"Where did all these ****ing Indians come from?" General Custer
"Where the **** is all this water coming from?" Captain of the Titanic
"Thats not a real ****ing gun." John Lennon
"Who's gonna ****ing find out?" Richard Nixon
"Heads are going to ****ing roll." Anne Boleyn
"Let the ****ing woman drive." Commander of Space Shuttle "Challenger"
"What ****ing map?" Mark Thatcher
"Any ****ing idiot could understand that." Albert Einstein
"How the **** did you work that out?" Pythagoras
"You want what on the ****ing ceiling?" Michaelangelo
"**** a duck." Walt Disney
"Why?- Because its ****ing there!" Edmund Hilary
"I don't suppose its gonna ****ing rain?" Joan of Arc
"Scattered ****ing showers my ass." Noah
"I need this parade like I need a ****ing hole in my head." John F. Kennedy

--
Adam

En el artículo , Joe
Bloggs escribió:

You know, there was a time

[whinge elided]

Yeah, yeah. Now **** off.

--
(\_/)
(='.'=) systemd: the Linux version of Windows 10
(")_(")

8/10 of my votes are simply on a dead battery.

Take it to a garage and ask for a drop test - that will verify that one
way or another, quickly.

Next, get a volt meter that plugs in the cigarette socket (ebay, amazon,
cheap as chips).

Drive and if it doesn't get to at least 14V your alternator (or wiring)
has a problem.

On 03/03/17 20:14, Joe Bloggs wrote:

And ****ed. Buy a new battery.

You might be right, but is that the only way you're able to express
yourself?

I would say the battery is utterly and wanktacluarly ****ed. More ****ed
than the sum total of the Whores of Babylon.

It's ****ed Up Beyond All Recognition (IBM), it's shagged (Python), it's
buggered (me).

alan_m wrote:

On 03/03/2017 20:03, Joe Bloggs wrote:

6. More than once recently though I've stopped the car for a few moments
after driving several miles, and will find that it doesn't start and
needs a push to get going again.



That wouldn't explain number 6.

A few miles on a uncharged battery results in a still uncharged battery

The battery on both those occasions was charged well enough to start the
car.

Daniele

Tim Watts wrote:

8/10 of my votes are simply on a dead battery.

That's what I thought, which is why this battery is fairly new.
Unfortunately, despite the change of battery, the problem slowly
continued to get worse.

In fact, after I changed the battery, I realised I'd changed the battery
once before and had simply forgotten that!

So I don't believe the problem is the battery itself.

Daniele

On 3/3/2017 10:16 PM, Huge wrote:
On 2017-03-03, Tim Watts wrote:
On 03/03/17 20:14, Joe Bloggs wrote:

And ****ed. Buy a new battery.

You might be right, but is that the only way you're able to express
yourself?

I would say the battery is utterly and wanktacluarly ****ed. More ****ed
than the sum total of the Whores of Babylon.

It's ****ed Up Beyond All Recognition (IBM), it's shagged (Python), it's
buggered (me).

ROFL.

+ lots

On Fri, 3 Mar 2017 22:10:01 +0000, Tim Watts wrote:

It's ****ed Up Beyond All Recognition (IBM), ...

Thought FUBAR was military (army) in origin?

... it's shagged (Python),

Donno.

... it's buggered (me).

Yep one must make the distinction between ****ed (spontaneously
broken) and buggered (some one broke it).

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 3/3/2017 10:07 PM, Tim Watts wrote:
8/10 of my votes are simply on a dead battery.

Take it to a garage and ask for a drop test - that will verify that one
way or another, quickly.

Next, get a volt meter that plugs in the cigarette socket (ebay, amazon,
cheap as chips).

+1. I have had a couple of vehicles which have shown these sort of
erratic symptoms, and one which still does. It's a van which only gets
intermittent use (and doesn't bleep at you if you park with the lights on).

After having to get a couple of the lads at Wickes to bump start me
after I had loaded half a ton of ballast in it, my fix is to carry one
of these all the time:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FLOUREON-1...AOSwp5JWbVe z

Even my wife can use it! Usually at Sainsburys though.

Also handy as it will recharge a mobile or satnav even when parked up.


Drive and if it doesn't get to at least 14V your alternator (or wiring)
has a problem.

In article
,
D.M. Procida wrote:
Here are the facts:

1. The car is used once or twice a week, mostly for short trips.

2. Nearly every time we use it, the battery is too dead to turn the
engine over and it needs to be charged. In fact it's so dead that even
trying will produce nothing but a click and drop the voltage across the
electrical system so low that it resets the clock.

3. After 20 minutes or so of charging, it'll start without difficulty
(it's only a 1.2l engine).

4. Alternatively, a quick push will do the trick.

5. If it has just recently been on a long drive (in the previous day or
so), or has been used once that day already, it will start without
problems, though.

6. More than once recently though I've stopped the car for a few moments
after driving several miles, and will find that it doesn't start and
needs a push to get going again.

7. It's getting worse.

8. The battery is fairly new.

I'm assuming that the problem is the alternator failing to charge the
battery properly, but no. 6 is a puzzle to me.

Quick guess. The alternator has a diode failed short circuit. Which is not
only discharging the battery when the engine is stopped, but preventing
the alternator from giving the full charge too.

Of course it could be other reasons. A few minutes with a decent DVM can
measure any current flow with the engine switched off - and the output of
the alternator.

--
*I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 3/3/2017 7:12 PM, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Fri, 3 Mar 2017 22:10:01 +0000, Tim Watts wrote:

It's ****ed Up Beyond All Recognition (IBM), ...

Thought FUBAR was military (army) in origin?

Are you perhaps thinking of SNAFU?

On Fri, 3 Mar 2017 19:39:55 -0500, S Viemeister wrote:

It's ****ed Up Beyond All Recognition (IBM), ...

Thought FUBAR was military (army) in origin?

Are you perhaps thinking of SNAFU?

Thought that one was military (air force)...

--
Cheers
Dave.

Sounds like knackered alternator (and now, damaged battery, to boot).

I ran a crappy VW Polo for a few miserable weeks during the winter, many years ago. The alternator was broken and the symptoms were the same as you describe. The battery needed daily charging and I was fearful of putting on the lights, rear screen heater or any other non-essential electrics, since these would increase the rate of depletion of the battery (beyond necessary consumption by ignition electrics) and consequently, my range, while driving.

Terry.

On 03/03/17 20:01, Roger Mills wrote:
On 03/03/2017 18:59, D.M. Procida wrote:
Here are the facts:

1. The car is used once or twice a week, mostly for short trips.

2. Nearly every time we use it, the battery is too dead to turn the
engine over and it needs to be charged. In fact it's so dead that even
trying will produce nothing but a click and drop the voltage across the
electrical system so low that it resets the clock.

3. After 20 minutes or so of charging, it'll start without difficulty
(it's only a 1.2l engine).

4. Alternatively, a quick push will do the trick.

5. If it has just recently been on a long drive (in the previous day or
so), or has been used once that day already, it will start without
problems, though.

6. More than once recently though I've stopped the car for a few moments
after driving several miles, and will find that it doesn't start and
needs a push to get going again.

7. It's getting worse.

8. The battery is fairly new.

I'm assuming that the problem is the alternator failing to charge the
battery properly, but no. 6 is a puzzle to me.

Thanks,

Daniele

Something is discharging the battery. Either the battery is duff and is
discharging itself or there is an electrical fault which is drawing
current from the battery when the car is parked.

To find out which, leave the car overnight and then measure the battery
voltage. Chances are that it will have gone down a lot. Then charge it
and run the car and then disconnect the battery before leaving it
overnight. If it has still gone down, the battery is duff. If it hasn't,
you need to investigate the 'leak'.

Listen to this man. He saved me writing exactly the same

--
How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think.

Adolf Hitler

On 03/03/17 20:14, Joe Bloggs wrote:

And ****ed. Buy a new battery.



You might be right, but is that the only way you're able to express
yourself?

No, but its succint and to the point.

Miss Prude.


--
Those who want slavery should have the grace to name it by its proper
name. They must face the full meaning of that which they are advocating
or condoning; the full, exact, specific meaning of collectivism, of its
logical implications, of the principles upon which it is based, and of
the ultimate consequences to which these principles will lead. They must
face it, then decide whether this is what they want or not.

Ayn Rand.

On 03/03/17 20:27, Joe Bloggs wrote:
You know, there was a time in this country - not a million years ago -
when certain things were not said, and certain words were not used, in
general social situations. That has changed, and now this sort of gutter
language pervades almost all aspects of life. It hasn't improved
anything, quite the reverse, and all it demonstrates is the inability of
certain types to respect the language and other people.

Oh do **** off, there's a good chap.


--
Those who want slavery should have the grace to name it by its proper
name. They must face the full meaning of that which they are advocating
or condoning; the full, exact, specific meaning of collectivism, of its
logical implications, of the principles upon which it is based, and of
the ultimate consequences to which these principles will lead. They must
face it, then decide whether this is what they want or not.

Ayn Rand.

On 04-Mar-17 6:44 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 03/03/17 20:27, Joe Bloggs wrote:
You know, there was a time in this country - not a million years ago -
when certain things were not said, and certain words were not used, in
general social situations. That has changed, and now this sort of gutter
language pervades almost all aspects of life. It hasn't improved
anything, quite the reverse, and all it demonstrates is the inability of
certain types to respect the language and other people.

Oh do **** off, there's a good chap.



If you mean by that don't bother to use this ng again, you needn't worry
about that. You fact that many of you are pure scum is all the incentive
any civilised person would need.

On 04/03/17 06:51, Joe Bloggs wrote:
On 04-Mar-17 6:44 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 03/03/17 20:27, Joe Bloggs wrote:
You know, there was a time in this country - not a million years ago -
when certain things were not said, and certain words were not used, in
general social situations. That has changed, and now this sort of gutter
language pervades almost all aspects of life. It hasn't improved
anything, quite the reverse, and all it demonstrates is the inability of
certain types to respect the language and other people.

Oh do **** off, there's a good chap.



If you mean by that don't bother to use this ng again, you needn't worry
about that. You fact that many of you are pure scum is all the incentive
any civilised person would need.

Ah, I see, someone who has a Direct Line To God, and is the final
arbiter of what is and is not in the best possible taste, and lacks any
sense of humour either.

Have you actually ever had sex?

Did your dignity and piety survive the experience?

--
"It is an established fact to 97% confidence limits that left wing
conspirators see right wing conspiracies everywhere"

On 04/03/2017 00:43, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Fri, 3 Mar 2017 19:39:55 -0500, S Viemeister wrote:

It's ****ed Up Beyond All Recognition (IBM), ...

Thought FUBAR was military (army) in origin?

Are you perhaps thinking of SNAFU?

Thought that one was military (air force)...

Yes - both originally US Military slang

--
Robin
reply-to address is (intended to be) valid

On Friday, 3 March 2017 18:59:11 UTC, D.M. Procida wrote:
Here are the facts:

1. The car is used once or twice a week, mostly for short trips.

2. Nearly every time we use it, the battery is too dead to turn the
engine over and it needs to be charged. In fact it's so dead that even
trying will produce nothing but a click and drop the voltage across the
electrical system so low that it resets the clock.

3. After 20 minutes or so of charging, it'll start without difficulty
(it's only a 1.2l engine).

4. Alternatively, a quick push will do the trick.

5. If it has just recently been on a long drive (in the previous day or
so), or has been used once that day already, it will start without
problems, though.

6. More than once recently though I've stopped the car for a few moments
after driving several miles, and will find that it doesn't start and
needs a push to get going again.

7. It's getting worse.

8. The battery is fairly new.

I'm assuming that the problem is the alternator failing to charge the
battery properly, but no. 6 is a puzzle to me.

Thanks,

Daniele

Disconnect battery and charge with battery charger.
Next morning/day, (ie when the battery has been left for a while not connected to anything) reconnect and try to start car.
If car starts, battery is OK and something in the car is draining the battery or the alternator is not charging the battery.

The object of the exercise being to see if a known to be fully charged battery will hold a charge when it's not connected to anything that could discharge it.

On Fri, 3 Mar 2017 22:07:26 +0000, Tim Watts wrote:

Next, get a volt meter that plugs in the cigarette socket (ebay, amazon,
cheap as chips).

Drive and if it doesn't get to at least 14V your alternator (or wiring)
has a problem.

Assuming it isn't the battery (and the battery can go bad from just a very few
deep discharges, os it probably is):

Get a multimeter and measure the voltage between terminals, around 13ish on the
battery ("battery is full"), 14-something when running and charging ("battery
charges").

A multimeter also can be used to measure the voltage drop *along* a cable: if
there is a significant voltage difference (tens to hundreds of millivolts) along
a connection with the car running, then that connection is bad... So, with the
engine running, the voltage between (say) the negative battery terminal and the
chassis should be a few hundred millivolts at the very most. More, and this is a
sign that the connection is bad.

A bad connection is a Good Thing, because it can be easily fixed... usually
corrosion on the ends/terminals.


Thomas Prufer

"Huge" wrote in message ...

[snip]

Awww, is diddums going to flounce out like the baby they are?

Irony alert.
****wit huge who publicly announces plonking when he's confronted.

Joe Bloggs wrote:

On 04-Mar-17 6:44 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 03/03/17 20:27, Joe Bloggs wrote:
You know, there was a time in this country - not a million years ago -
when certain things were not said, and certain words were not used, in
general social situations. That has changed, and now this sort of gutter
language pervades almost all aspects of life. It hasn't improved
anything, quite the reverse, and all it demonstrates is the inability of
certain types to respect the language and other people.

Oh do **** off, there's a good chap.



If you mean by that don't bother to use this ng again, you needn't worry
about that. You fact that many of you are pure scum is all the incentive
any civilised person would need.

Given your apparent aspiration for purity in thought, word and deed, are
you paying the owners of the nospam.com domain for your use of it? Or
merely stealing the service?

--

Roger Hayter

wrote:

Sounds like knackered alternator (and now, damaged battery, to boot).

I ran a crappy VW Polo for a few miserable weeks during the winter, many
years ago. The alternator was broken and the symptoms were the same as you
describe. The battery needed daily charging and I was fearful of putting
on the lights, rear screen heater or any other non-essential electrics,
since these would increase the rate of depletion of the battery (beyond
necessary consumption by ignition electrics) and consequently, my range,
while driving.

Terry.

Yes I agree. A high discharge rate when parked needs eliminating but
wouldn't explain all the symptoms. Low output alternator with rapid
deterioration of the new battery is the likeliest explanation. Cheap
modern batteries often don't survive even one deep discharge event.
Once the alternator is fixed I recommend a new battery, even if the old
one seems to work.


--

Roger Hayter

Well apart from that what about the contacts to the battery and elsewhere?

Also could there be a rather high current leak across it. I remember back in
them days of yore when cars were simple, a friends cortina was doing this,
then one night in the street it caught firere due to a short in the loom.
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"D.M. Procida" wrote in
message
...
Here are the facts:

1. The car is used once or twice a week, mostly for short trips.

2. Nearly every time we use it, the battery is too dead to turn the
engine over and it needs to be charged. In fact it's so dead that even
trying will produce nothing but a click and drop the voltage across the
electrical system so low that it resets the clock.

3. After 20 minutes or so of charging, it'll start without difficulty
(it's only a 1.2l engine).

4. Alternatively, a quick push will do the trick.

5. If it has just recently been on a long drive (in the previous day or
so), or has been used once that day already, it will start without
problems, though.

6. More than once recently though I've stopped the car for a few moments
after driving several miles, and will find that it doesn't start and
needs a push to get going again.

7. It's getting worse.

8. The battery is fairly new.

I'm assuming that the problem is the alternator failing to charge the
battery properly, but no. 6 is a puzzle to me.

Thanks,

Daniele

No if it were the starter the clock would not reset.

Really needs to check the drain when nothing should be going on. Care needs
to be taken here as taking the battery off line for too long can bugger up
the radio coding.

Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Joe Bloggs" wrote in message
...
On 03-Mar-17 6:59 PM, D.M. Procida wrote:
Here are the facts:

1. The car is used once or twice a week, mostly for short trips.

2. Nearly every time we use it, the battery is too dead to turn the
engine over and it needs to be charged. In fact it's so dead that even
trying will produce nothing but a click and drop the voltage across the
electrical system so low that it resets the clock.

3. After 20 minutes or so of charging, it'll start without difficulty
(it's only a 1.2l engine).

4. Alternatively, a quick push will do the trick.

5. If it has just recently been on a long drive (in the previous day or
so), or has been used once that day already, it will start without
problems, though.

6. More than once recently though I've stopped the car for a few moments
after driving several miles, and will find that it doesn't start and
needs a push to get going again.

7. It's getting worse.

8. The battery is fairly new.

I'm assuming that the problem is the alternator failing to charge the
battery properly, but no. 6 is a puzzle to me.

Thanks,

Daniele



Could be the alternator, but I'd double check the battery connections and
the earthing from the battery to the chassis. Could also be a starter
motor problem, check the spade connector terminal on it.

In article
,
D.M. Procida wrote:
Tim Watts wrote:

8/10 of my votes are simply on a dead battery.

That's what I thought, which is why this battery is fairly new.
Unfortunately, despite the change of battery, the problem slowly
continued to get worse.

In fact, after I changed the battery, I realised I'd changed the battery
once before and had simply forgotten that!

So I don't believe the problem is the battery itself.

Batteries are very expensive items. And are easy enough to test with the
correct equipment. Not something I'd fit a new one of on a whim.

Any auto electrician should be able to test the battery, charging system
and check for high quiescent load in a matter of minutes.

--
*PMS jokes aren't funny; period.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Huge wrote:
On 2017-03-03, D.M. Procida wrote:
Tim Watts wrote:

8/10 of my votes are simply on a dead battery.

That's what I thought, which is why this battery is fairly new.

Allowing car batteries to go completely flat, e.g., in a car which is
not often used, destroys them. Until I got a trickle charger, I'd
be lucky to get 8 months out of a car battery.

Why let it go flat? If the car isn't much used, fit a battery disconnect
device. A lead acid battery has very slow self discharge. Of course you
may them have to enter the radio etc code each time you use it. Same as if
you let the battery go flat. ;-)

--
*Someday, we'll look back on this, laugh nervously and change the subject

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.