ongoing battery problems

Post by **billymaya** » 12 Feb 2007, 17:58

hi again still got an ongoing battery problem went away on hols for four days came back to find t25 wouldnt start think the crappy radio might of been left on. so hooked up power boost thing to jump start it (but nothing) part from the radio started working and dash lights flashed,so went and brought a battery charger as i thought the battery must be so low cant be jumped,its a battery tester built in as well,hooked it up just now and battery was reading 0% so plugged it in to mains started charging and within minutes battery was reading 100% ok so unplugged it put it back in the van only to find its not working anything??? should i leave the battery on over night charging? or is my battery shagged and i should get a new one? cant understand y one minute it was giving no power reading at all then after 2 mins of charging its reading full??? any help would be great

need to get the van going so i can take it into body shop to have some panels replaced

Post by **toomanytoys** » 12 Feb 2007, 18:12

I dont like those automatic chargers...
an ordinary charger left on for 24 hours may recover the battery.. but only if it isnt sulphated...

Maybe the charger is not working correctly...
But you say, the lights and radio came on.. what without the key in etc?

If you have a power drain it would be better to sort that too...

Post by **billymaya** » 12 Feb 2007, 18:20

im a bit worried if its saying battery full that if i leave it on over night it will cause a fire,altho it does have a safety feature to avoid this in case of over heating whilst charging,

the radio and lights came on whilst the power booster pack thing was connected to the battery when in the vehicle,but it wouldnt turn over,

it wouldnt be the starter motor seized would it? i hope not because that will be the third one gone wrong in 2 weeks surely i cant be that unlucky lol,

on the positive point on battery there was some light green substance bit like when batterys leak in toys and stuff would that indicate that its knackered?

another question also do i have to have 2 seperate batteries? ie a leisure battery and a van battery or could i just by a leisure battery and run both off of it?

Website · Post by **dingleyhythe** » 12 Feb 2007, 19:36

You almost certainly need a new battery if it was reasonably fully charged before you left it (a good one should still start after at least a month) OR you have a current drain - try disconnecting it and if the battery still goes flat the battery is defo shot. You need to use a trickle charger overnight to bring back a fully discharged one - these booster things are meant to get the engine going but rely on you driving quite a way after to get the battery charged up.

You can't use the same battery for leisure and starting for three reasons

1. If you use the power too much with the engine off you won't be able to start the van
2. Leisure batteries are not meant for starting and will be destroyed by the heavy load if used that way too often
3. Starting batteries don't last too well for leisure use as they are meant for short sharp bursts of power not continuous drain

Post by **Rozzo** » 12 Feb 2007, 19:57

in the first post he says he went away and left the radio on so the battery may well be ok. charge the thing overnight m8 and then see what happens. you always get the green crap round the battery, clean it off and vaseline the terminals to prevent it. most battery chargers on a flat battery read low at first, then go high and slowly come down as the battery charges up but they are measuring the charging current not the battery condition.
just stick it on charge overnight as your charger will reduce the current accordingly as it charges up. mind you don't smoke near it as the fumes that bubble off are explosive.
hope this helps
julian

Post by **Rozzo** » 12 Feb 2007, 20:00

forgot to say,, loosen or remove the caps off the battery while its charging then rplace em before you try it.

Post by **billymaya** » 12 Feb 2007, 20:15

hey guys thanks for the advice so far,i spect the battery did run down by aving the radio left on,ill clean off the green stuff and put it on charge over night to see what it does, ive read about loosening the caps now me being thick is that the 2 bits that you can lift to top up the battery with distilled water?

Post by **Stefvan** » 12 Feb 2007, 20:33

Take it to your local Halfrauds they will test it under load for free.. and yes the tester sometimes says "battery ok"

Stefvan

Post by **Rozzo** » 12 Feb 2007, 20:45

billymaya wrote:hey guys thanks for the advice so far,i spect the battery did run down by aving the radio left on,ill clean off the green stuff and put it on charge over night to see what it does, ive read about loosening the caps now me being thick is that the 2 bits that you can lift to top up the battery with distilled water?

yeh thats em m8, take em off cos the battery will bubble gas as it charges.
best of luck with it.
julian

Post by **billymaya** » 13 Feb 2007, 17:31

good news i lef the battery on charge in the garage over night and put it back in the van and hey presto she started up,which is good coz i can now taken it over to the vw place for a quote for some panel replacment, thanks to all of yer for the advice on the battery