Car battery...again !

[SAM LOVERS HER TOYOTAS]

Guys, my partner has an issue with his 60plate 2.0 diesel Avensis starting up again.

It might be his own fault, reason? He never ever drives it! He fires it up once a month only to check if she's still alive! Reasons as to why he no longer drives it?..we have my Aygo now to run around in & we hardly do long journeys like we used to for business. Ive been telling him to sell it for months now but he says he really likes his car. Its only done 73k i think & very well looked after & even polished regularly! I recall he had an mot in September 2019 and i dont think he has done more than a few hundred miles in it since.

Ok, so we had the same issue several months ago whereby it wouldnt start up one day. I feel the problem began when he hardwired in a Dashcam last year to the fuses under the dash/passenger side, because the 1st non start was after that, but he then disconnected the hardwire set up & it still has a starting issue as experienced today, so i assume that hardwire may be unrelated! Anyway the 1st issue of non start last year we had the toyota Battery replaced under warranty as we suspected it was faulty in that it wasnt holding its charge! So currently we have a brand new Battery. 

I dont know what may be causing the issue. We have one of the cigarettes port devices that measures the Battery...this morning it read 10.8 i think with the ignition set to AC and 11.8 when trying to fire it up.

Could it be the alternator knackered maybe?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated guys.

[SAM LOVERS HER TOYOTAS]

LOG INSIGN 

 

The Top 8 Things That Will Drain Your Car Battery

Your car Battery could keep dying from a variety of reasons such as age, a bad alternator, human error, and more.

by Valerie Johnston on 

 

 November 30, 2015

SAVE

SHARETWEETPIN

 

You're late for work and rush out to your car, only to find that it won't start. The headlights are dim and the engine simply refuses to turn over. You realize that your battery is dead. How did this happen?

A car Battery is the most crucial piece of equipment to starting and driving your vehicle. It sends power from the starter motor to the sparks plugs, igniting your car’s fuel, while also giving other systems power. This includes lights, radio, air conditioning, and more. You may be able to tell when your car battery starts to die if you find it difficult to start, have flickering lights, or a weakening alarm system

Your car battery may begin to drain for 8 reasons:

1. Human Error

You’ve probably done this at least once in your life – you come home from work, tired and not really thinking, and left the headlights on, didn't completely close the trunk, or even forgot about some internal lights. Overnight the battery drains, and in the morning your car won’t start. Many new cars alert you if you’ve left your lights on, but may not have alerts for other components.

2. Parasitic Drain

Parasitic drain is due to components in your vehicle continuing to run after the key is turned off. Some parasitic drain is normal – your battery delivers enough energy to keep things, like your clock, radio presets, and security alarm operational at all times. However, if there's an electrical problem – such as faulty wiring, poor installation, and defective fuses – parasitic drain can exceed what's normal and deplete the battery.

3. Faulty Charging

If your charging system isn’t working properly, your car battery can drain even while you’re driving. Many cars power their lights, radio, and other systems from the alternator, which can make the battery drain worse if there's a charging problem. The alternator may have loose belts or worn-out tensioners that keep it from working properly.

4. Defective Alternator

A car alternator recharges the battery and powers certain electrical systems like lights, radio, air-conditioning, and automatic windows. If your alternator has a bad diode, your battery can drain. The bad alternator diode can cause the circuit to charge even when the engine is shut off, and you end up in the morning with a car that won’t start.

5. Extreme Temperature

Whether extremely hot (over 100 degrees Fahrenheit) or cold (under 10 degrees Fahrenheit), temperatures can cause lead sulfate crystals to build-up. If the car is left in such conditions for too long, the sulfate buildup can damage long-term battery life. It may also take a long time for your battery to charge in these environments, especially if you only drive short distances.

6. Excessive Short Drives

Your battery may wear out before its time if you take too many short drives. The battery puts out the most power when starting the car. Shutting off your vehicle before the alternator has a chance to recharge could explain why the battery continues dying or doesn’t seem to last long.

7. Corroded or Loose Battery Cables

The charging system cannot top off your battery while driving if the battery connections have corroded. They should be checked for dirt or signs of corrosion and cleaned using cloth or a toothbrush. Loose battery cables make it difficult to start the engine too, as they cannot transfer the electrical current efficiently.

8. Old battery

If your battery is old or weak, it will not hold a full charge well. If your car consistently won't start, it’s possible that the battery is worn out. You should generally replace your car batteryevery 3-4 years. If old, or poorly maintained, your battery may die on a regular basis.

What to do with a battery that keeps dying:

Having a battery that won't hold a charge is frustrating, and figuring out what's causing the problem can be tricky. Assuming that the cause of the battery drain is not human error, you will need the assistance of a qualified mechanic who can diagnose your car's electrical problems and determine if it's a dead battery or something else in the electrical system.

[SAM LOVERS HER TOYOTAS]

Found the above article interesting

[furtula]

The Battery is drained even if the car is off. Car should start fine after 3 weeks of sitting, but you need to drive it for 30 minutes or more to recharge the Battery propperly (considering you will have lights on, radio etc, at least 30 minutes).

If you just start the car to check if it's alive, then shut it off after a few minutes, combined with car not being used, it's a great recipe how to drain the Battery.

Healthy car battery should be around 12-4 and up.ay ca

Anyway, if you dont have a booster pack or etc, you can wait for a nice sunny day, and try to start it then, it should start even with such low voltage, drive it around for an hour-ish to recharge the battery.

Below you have a general chart to see how charged is your battery.

[Mooly]

Starting it once a month for a few minutes and not driving it would be about as bad it gets, not just for the Battery but for the car in general.

Fifteen minutes running (driving) a week (every week) should should just about keep an otherwise good Battery in a fair state of charge for several months but the overall charge will be gradually falling. 

If the alternator maintains around 14V to 15V when started then its probably OK. Modern charging systems do switch the alternator output during driving to aid economy but they also sense when its more important to maintain output to bring the Battery to full charge.

10.8V at rest suggests a very low charge. Leaving a battery in that state increases sulfation of the plates which means a hard coating of lead sulfate forms on the plates preventing it accepting new charge.

If you suspect the Dashcam then the best way to prove that is to monitor the current drawn in the feed to the camera. Measuring current draw from the battery has problems that can catch the unwary out... mainly because of very high current pulses as things such as central locking are activated. That can be enough to zap a normal multimeter.

 

   

 

[Mike169]

Hi Sam.

Every time your partner starts the car up, every month or whatever it takes the alternator 20 minutes to put the same amount of charge back into it so just starting it, letting it run for a very short time is just about the worst thing for the Battery as it never gets a chance to fully recharge.

10.8 volts is very poor, it should read more than 12 volts or more and about 14.6 volts when the car is running.

Depending on where you live either buy something like this to keep the Battery fully charger by the mains voltage...…….

https://www.carparts4less.co.uk/cp4l/p/-/-/-/-/?447440180&0&cc5_145&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9JzoBRDjARIsAGcdIDXIhxdVhkLB2mG7R_qsEXOUA2Q2RB22HcTM0M0y6GhtBZeIP58_sqkaAlmJEALw_wcB

You don't of course have to use this shop but it's the CTEC 7.0 charger I am suggesting or if you can't charge it up due to where you live buy a jump charger like this...…..

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07C7T4LBT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you can't open up either of the two above links please let me know and I will try sending it a different way.

Regards, Mike.

[SAM LOVERS HER TOYOTAS]

Thank you guys for your support, it proves that they’re are still people out there who care.

Update, had our AA brake down come over this afternoon, tested the entire charging system...I had to persuade him as initially he confirmed that it was just the Battery that had depleted and simply needed a recharge...alternator absolutely fine...battery as good as new he reported...and he recommended that we start the car at least once a week for 30 minutes to maintain Battery charge...he also recommended that we remove all hardwiring for the dash cam install and install a new 15amp fuse in re.the cig as it may be faulty...he commented that the majority of his call outs for vehicles not starting was due to dash cams wired in that drain the Battery.

So that’s what we did...ran the vehicle for 2hrs this afternoon...starts up fine now...pretty powerful infact...and removed all the hard wiring and replaced fuse. So far so good.

However, we have decided to invest in a battery jump starter...we think it’s an investment SO LONG AS IT IS USED CORRECT i.e + to + and - to -, there are some horror vids on YouTube re.such issues.

Decided on this model here, with my sons trade discount I think it comes in at 135.00.

https://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/garage-equipment/battery-chargers-jump-starters/gb70-2000a-noco-jump-starter

[Mooly]

Good to know all is basically OK with the car and that the Battery is also OK.

I don't follow the bit about the fuse being suspect... it takes only a very low drain to discharge a car Battery over a few weeks e.g. theory says a fully charged healthy Battery would support a load of around 80 milliamps or 0.08 amps (that's not much in the scheme of things) for a month, but in practice such a load would kill a battery pretty quickly causing deterioration of the plates. Batteries like these need to be kept fairly well charged at all times to prevent deterioration.

Good luck. 

 

 

[SAM LOVERS HER TOYOTAS]

Guys

Hi

Does anybody have any suggestions for a reliable jump starter brand out there?

We’ve come across a few in Halfords and now discovered Argos sell a small range.

Thing is i really don't want my other half investing say 150.00 on one and hardly uses to it to find it stops working out of warranty and turns out to be a complete waste!

It has to be powerful and reliable and be able to jump start up to a min if Say 3L vehicles

Thanks guys

Sammy

[FROSTYBALLS]

Amazon have a good range.

[Perfection]

Why not fit a ctek trickle charger. They do one for less than £10 in Halfords. You can just leave it connected to the charger all the time.

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs-blades-batteries/battery-chargers-jump-starters/ctek-m6-comfort-indicator-eyelet?cm_mmc=Google+PLA-_-Bulbs,+Blades+and+Batteries-_-Battery+Chargers+&+Jump+Starters-_-140008&istCompanyId=b8708c57-7a02-4cf6-b2c0-dc36b54a327e&istFeedId=62b447cf-331e-4fec-a47a-9985ff72d404&istItemId=miaqattp&istBid=tzpi&_$ja=tsid:94971|cid:1536900872|agid:58114610145|tid:pla-329023466368|crid:291898455794|nw:g|rnd:2555396923222537473|dvc:m|adp:1o1|mt:|loc:1007136&gclid=Cj0KCQjwl6LoBRDqARIsABllMSZv00UQIcGmQVzGIBVmPWw7DG6vVP7vrvuIDLagDCgCrlox7HK55UAaAp8fEALw_wcB

[Mike169]

Hi Sam.

Mars above has made a good suggestion with the CTEK MXS7.0 Battery charger and the 2.5 metre extension lead if you live in a place where you can keep the car on charge. CTEK Battery chargers are very good as they work the Battery, sort of draining them and recharging them making the battery work rather than just topping them up.

A friend of mine has an Aston Martin and they have a charging point in the boot as Aston Martin's 'eat' batteries so they sell a trickle chargers to keep the battery at it's best and they are actually CTEK battery chargers but they put their own Aston Martin sticker on them so the car will always start in the morning.

The jump pack you have bought is good and should keep you out of trouble, just keep it charged up normally via your computer via the same lead in my case that charges my mobile phone and I think you will find your jump pack will have very good Lithium batteries in it and they are not too big to store in your boot or garage?

I have this jump pack, just in case, https://www.amazon.co.uk/TACKLIFE-T8-MAX-Jump-Starter/dp/B07C7T4LBT/ref=sr_1_26_sspa?crid=AOSF6MFXMFHE&keywords=battery+jump+packs&qid=1560880499&s=gateway&sprefix=battery+jump+packs%2Caps%2C177&sr=8-26-spons&psc=1 and it is very good, if you can open the link that is?

Always ask away as this is the best Toyota site on the internet in my opinion.

All the best, Mike.

[paul9]

Personally, I would have considered one of those £20 solar Battery maintainers from Aldi or Lidl, if the car is kept in daylight.

[+robster+]

I had a solar panel type trickle charger for an old motor I hardly used worked a treat.

 

And your 10ish volts on ACC then 11ish volts when ignition lights on seems as if you have looked at voltage drop first when glow plug timer has been draining current. Then it has timed out when switching to second position.. but overall the Battery does not have a deep charge and needs proper use

[SAM LOVERS HER TOYOTAS]

Cheers guys

We definitely arent looking for a Battery charger!

Its a Battery jumper that we are more keen on! This way theres no trailing cables etc needed to plug into the AC and we dont have a driveway so it'd be inconvenient.

I think he's decided on the noco gb70 model at Halfords...excellent reviews but very costly...least this way we can jump start vehicles so long as the Battery has depleated but not defective