Battery drain???

i remember mth doing this a few months ago and then it just stoped i did never find out what this was
 
Doh... spoke too soon. With no current draw and the trickle charger on for a few hours it then refused to start so i think it's week off the road without brakes has killed the battery.

When running it's around the 13.5 volt mark at the battery terminals.

Going to nip out and get a battery unless anybody has any better ideas?

Rich
 
Well the motor factors tested the battery and said it was gone. They always say that of course but pae now has a new battery. Fingers crossed!
 
Hope the new battery does the trick Rich. Could it have just been the battery all along? When lead acid batteries get older you get sludge building up in the sediment trap in the base of the battery. Eventually, the sediment starts to touch the bottom of the plates in the battery. As this sediment is semi-conductive, it increases the batteries self-discharge rate. One of the other main effects of ageing is sulfation; basically, the battery will hold less charge regardless of how long you charge it. This all means that even a fully charged battery will very quickly discharge either when you try to turn your starter or will fairly quickly discharge even if no current is being drawn off it. I have seen car batteries very quickly deteriorate like this - even over a period of a few days normal driving.
 
the battery was less than 2 years old but i didnt have the receipt. Did negotiate a discount based on the fact the other one was knacked. (took it in with me to reinforce the point!)
 
Well it does sound like your battery was the culprit, I have had several instances in recent years where the battery failed to make it out of its 2 year warrenty period. Your charge voltage should exceed 13.5 at running speed, werw it to remain no higher than 13.5 your battery would prematurly die.

Graeme
 
The charging voltage is 13.5 at tick over. Does go up with revs... So hopefully that'sit! Thanks for your help!

Rich
 
Before you get too smug, Rich; just check what voltage the alternator will deliver at max. Having recently seen one go past 24v when revved that could be the cause of your battery's demise! I ask because 13.5v sounds rather a lot at tickover to me.

Chris
 
About 14V sounds OK. General experience with cars tells me to expect 13.5 to 14V. I usually expect to see something like 13.8V across the battery terminals with the engine running at a fast idle (e.g. 1000-1500rpm).
 
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