Dexter Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 After a long drive on the highway, had a 5min stop. When i tried to start the car again, absolutely nothing happened. Even the headlights wouldn't turn on anymore, and the clock died soon. Luckily i had jumper cables and a young Polo guy gave me a helping hand and i was on my way. The car worked perfectly, sound system, cooling and everything electrical too. Close to home i stopped to fill the tank. As i tried to start the engine again, the exactly same thing happened as before. Jumper cables again. I'm charging the battery as we speak but the dial on the charger isn't working so don't know what's happening. I have a multimeter but not right here so can't check anything with that yet either. Battery is a 3 year old Optima Yellow Top. Distributor cap, rotor, spark plugs and leads are all pretty new. My guess is the problem is the alternator, but never had a problem like this before so don't know for sure. Any ideas? :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 sounds like it might be mate if your car isn't holding its power, if your battery is only 3 years old it should be fine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 just to be sure check your fuses. I've made assumptions and it has only been a fuse that had gone ha ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiNK43 Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Yeah could well be or a duff battery. Can check the alternator. You can check voltage of battery should be around 12v. Then check again with engine running if alternator is running voltage will be more like 14v Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 some good info there jake! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 Thanks. I took a quick look through the fuse sheet yesterday and didn't find one specifically the alternator so decided to check them properly later... which will be today after work. But i'll check the voltage when i start it up today... either with the spare battery i've had charging overnight, or then the road service. Luckily i just upgraded my insurance to cover track days, should cover roadside assistance as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 Ok so the spare battery i had charging overnight was up at 12.1 volts so i gave it a shot. Nothing. Checked the supposedly empty Optima, was 12.7 so that should be ok? But didn't start. Roadservice got me on my way and i charged the Optima at work for the whole day. Went up to 13.5 but when i tried it with a load tester, it wouldn't hold power. Out of options good, weak or bad i got the last one. And wouldn't start without auxiliary power.Once the car was running again i checked the battery with a multimeter. I was getting about 14.5 so i guess the alternator is working. Stayed steady even when given revs. So that's ruled out for now. Somehow my battery has just gone bad but how and why? It's relatively new and a quality one. I checked it again with a so-called "intelligent" charger and it just said error so i guess it's a goner. The spare battery though started to charge with that one so there's still hope.But i don't want to end up with two useless batteries so there must be a problem somewhere i need to find. The battery clamps have been a bit loose so i properly cleaned and adjusted them so now they clip tight. Checked the engine earth. All fuses also. Everything seems fine... any suggestions? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayhoath83 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Sounds like you have a power drain in there somewhere. Do all electrical functions in the cabin work properly eg turn on/off as i had this in my volvo n it turned out to be the courtesy lights in the doors staying on permenately draining it over night . Mabe urs is the same somehow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 that's a tough one mate! as said above it might be something draining your battery, but if its only just been happening recently something must have triggered it. as you said you cant have 2 duff batteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gel Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Me thinks you're dealing with two duff batteries ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.