Battery Misbehaving

[salthepal]

Quite often I'm having to trickle charge my Battery which is 3.5 years old. When I had it checked out at my local dealership, I was assured that all is well with the Battery and it is my fault for not going on longer journeys! It seems the Battery slowly loses its charge if it is not used for a couple of days and drops down to about 50% according to my new battery charger. After a few hours it drops down to about 75%.

Does this mean that I should think about a replacement or should I accept that unless I tear up and down the motorway into Portsmouth at speed, I shall have to keep the recharging machine handy?

Thanks.

Sally

[bothwell_buyer]

Hi Sally

If you have managed 3.5 years from a RAV Battery then you should be proud!!

As you will see from the size of the Battery, its not big compared to the size of engine (1998cc) and amount of electrics. Looks to me if its had its day and its time for a new Battery. Shop around for a good price. Parts-King might be able to help give you a price but its a heavy thing to ship.

Maybe you have a local garage who will supply and fit cos sometimes the battery brackets and nuts can be tight to get off/corroded. I use LSUK cos they have a branch in Glasgow and I use a few batteries for some of the equipment we have, so I'm not sure what price you will be quoted.

Also, as with everything, you get what you pay for - so some batteries come with a 1 year guarantee; some with a 2 year etc.

Changing it will mean you shouldn't have to trickle charge the battery unless you're leaving the vehicle for a couple of weeks.

Hope this helps....

Scunnered cos I only get less than 2 years from my RAV batteries...!!

[T600]

A Battery in good condition should be able to be left a couple of weeks at the very least without losing much power.

So either you have something draining the Battery while the car is stood, or else your Battery has a problem.

You can check for current drain using an ammeter, but either find a guide on this, or else get it done by someone who knows what they're doing. An alternative is to remove the battery if you're not using the car for a few days and then re-fit. If it goes flat when connected but not when disconnected that suggests current drain.

If the battery is struggling, then a good quality charger may be able to re-condition it. Look at the C-Tek range.

The other option is that your alternator isn't charging the battery correctly. The most obvious check is the aux belt because if that's loose then the alternator may not be being driven adequately. But testing the alternator itself probably worth considering if you can eliminate the battery itself as a cause, as you'd probably need an auto electrician to test the charging circuit.

[salthepal]

Thanks for your prompt reply. Just checked the paperwork and in fact the Battery will be 4 in March - so I've done pretty well.

I'll shop around for a good price and get a heavy duty one fitted for me as you suggested as I don't intend to part with this Rav for a good while yet.

[salthepal]

A battery in good condition should be able to be left a couple of weeks at the very least without losing much power.

So either you have something draining the battery while the car is stood, or else your battery has a problem.

You can check for current drain using an ammeter, but either find a guide on this, or else get it done by someone who knows what they're doing. An alternative is to remove the battery if you're not using the car for a few days and then re-fit. If it goes flat when connected but not when disconnected that suggests current drain.

If the battery is struggling, then a good quality charger may be able to re-condition it. Look at the C-Tek range.

The other option is that your alternator isn't charging the battery correctly. The most obvious check is the aux belt because if that's loose then the alternator may not be being driven adequately. But testing the alternator itself probably worth considering if you can eliminate the battery itself as a cause, as you'd probably need an auto electrician to test the charging circuit.

Thanks T600 - sounds complicated so I reckon I'll replace what seems to be an old Battery. After a relatively long journey I find the Battery is fully charged so it prob isn't the altenator. It is just that it can't hold its charge if the car is not used for a few days.

[bothwell_buyer]

Thanks for your prompt reply. Just checked the paperwork and in fact the battery will be 4 in March - so I've done pretty well.

I'll shop around for a good price and get a heavy duty one fitted for me as you suggested as I don't intend to part with this Rav for a good while yet.

Thats what i like to hear from 3 door RAV fanatics!!

T600s points are valid too, but initially, from my experience, the batteries don't last, like wot larger batteries do in other cars. Whether the later model RAVs have larger batteries I don't know. If you still have the Toyota alarm system fitted, then that will give a slight drain on the Battery but not enough to knacker it over a few days. Wherever fits your Battery will be able to quickly check the alternator output. Again, in my experience after 160,000 miles, I've not had a problem with the original RAV alternator.

[T600]

I think you're probably right about the Battery. The only thing that made me think otherwise is that you said the dealership had tested it and declared it good. They could easily be wrong though as Battery tests tend not to be conclusive in my experience. They test by looking at voltage and then heavy current load, but that's not the same as leaving it on low discharge for a week and seeing how it performs over a period of time.

Shop around because prices vary quite a lot, and look for one with at least three years warranty. You can get batteries with 4 or 5 year warranties too, but not for all cars.