Member Since: 02 Nov 2006
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 68
electrical problem
hi all. Am on holiday in france and had red battery light come on few days ago and stood with completely empty battery after approx 20 min slow driving in forest. Had battery recharged so could return to the house. Bought charger and am due to help from here able to monitor battery voltage in screen. Had car checked at local (75km) lr-garage. They say alternator output is ok, but they could not check battery. Voltage was then 12.5v, after recharge and drive. I hoped i could make it home with the car, but battery voltage is now 10.5v after a drive. I am afraid i get stranded if i drive to dealer again. Charging hardly works. Any tips? Would it help to top up battery? With demineralised water or battery acid? If the car runs but battery is dead, will it keep on running untill switched off? Any help greatly appreciated. Regards, thomas
20th Jul 2010 6:16 pm
bambi
Member Since: 10 Apr 2009
Location: south yorkshire
Posts: 2059
Hi Thomas, when the battery dies the vehicle stops, i would say that if the alternator is charging then your battery is dead,
1, trickle charge
2, replace if poss.
3, try batt aid tablets and trickle charge.
a fast charge at high power only tops up the highest charge level cell, a slow trickle charge brings up the levels in each cell so they are equal.
20th Jul 2010 6:46 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72789
Sounds like you need a new battery. How old is your car and is it still on its original battery? They seem to decide to die at between 3 and 5 years. If your car is younger than 3 years you should be able to get a new one under warranty in France.
20th Jul 2010 6:53 pm
thomash
Member Since: 02 Nov 2006
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 68
car is 5 yrs old. I think the battery has to be replaced, but my main concern is to get to garage and not get stranded on very hot motorway with 2 small kids. Could topping up be a temporary solution?
20th Jul 2010 7:02 pm
bambi
Member Since: 10 Apr 2009
Location: south yorkshire
Posts: 2059
Topping up and a trickle charge may help, but if plates have degraded then nothing will help except replacement.
20th Jul 2010 7:20 pm
Tawny Owl
Member Since: 22 Oct 2008
Location: Here and there
Posts: 1645
Thomas
The battery warning lamp is linked to the alternator and not the battery.
Possibility there maybe an intermittent fault with the output of your alternator . If you can get hold of an amp clamp or multimeter you can check the output of the alternator with/without load on.
Could be battery just not holding charge but a knackered battery wouldn't bring on the battery light
With a knackered battery it should be ok to keep running , although I wouldn't put any heavy loads on the battery
Hope all goes well and you sort it and enjoy the rest of yer hols !!!!!!
20th Jul 2010 11:18 pm
thomash
Member Since: 02 Nov 2006
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 68
Thanks a lot for your tips.
Made it home with the new battery charged overnight and keeping all electrics users switched off while driving.
Scary to see that the windscreen wipers lowed battery voltage when going 140 km/hr on the motorway... Glad it didn't rain much.
When all was switched off, even the screen of the satnav, it kept to 11.5/11.0V.
Today at my own dealer, they diagnosed the alternator was faulty after all.
Being able to monitor the voltage while driving, thanks to this forum, was a great help!
Don't think I would have made it home otherwise (not on the back of a recovery truck, that is ).
Regards,
Thomas
23rd Jul 2010 4:15 pm
Tawny Owl
Member Since: 22 Oct 2008
Location: Here and there
Posts: 1645
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