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dead battery?
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vintagekatie



Joined: 17 Jul 2009
Posts: 28
Location: norfolk

PostPosted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 7:13 pm    Post subject: dead battery? Reply with quote

Just tried to start my Capri after it had been out in the snow for the last few weeks and the battery was as good as flat althought he clock is still working and the dash lights come on when the key is turned - tried to jump start it from my pickup but all that happened is its spun quickly for about 5 or 6 seconds and then faded although the pick up was reving at about 2500 (petrol engine) - does this mean that the capri's battery has turned up its toes and died or does it point to something else - proberbly obvious to most but I've not encountered it before
Thansk
Tim
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victor 101



Joined: 03 Apr 2009
Posts: 446
Location: East Yorkshire

PostPosted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 7:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It certainly sounds like your battery has given up, no amount of boost will overcome this, buy the best battery you can, I had to replace the one on my Bentley a short while ago and bought a Bosch with either a four or five year warranty and it turns over better after a month than it used to after a couple of days, I also bought a cheap one for my CRV and come winter it just about turned over.
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MVPeters



Joined: 28 Aug 2008
Posts: 822
Location: Northern MA, USA

PostPosted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 9:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You do need to be sure the clamps on the jumper cables are tight & clean enough on the terminals to allow a FULL current flow.
In essence, you're trying to move the good battery into the dead car.

Often the clamps will only allow a minimal current - this will work to charge the dead battery, but it will take a while.
Ideally the jumper cables should be as big and as secure as the battery leads on the cars, & they usually are not.

I'll bet if you swapped batteries the Capri would start!
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Nic Jarman



Joined: 05 Oct 2008
Posts: 1031
Location: Stoke by Clare, Suffolk

PostPosted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 11:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Check the body/engine connections from the battery.
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bob2



Joined: 06 Dec 2007
Posts: 1727
Location: Malta

PostPosted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 10:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

you could always take the battery off and charge it over night, leaving for about 12 hours should do the trick, see whether it does charge or not, I'd start from there if you find that the battery is the culprit, and best bet to check this would be by putting the pickup battery in the capri.
If it still does not start with the pick up battery then you have some other trouble, if it is only making a clicking noise when you turn the key it might be the solenoid, if all the connections are checked and found to be ok.
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vintagekatie



Joined: 17 Jul 2009
Posts: 28
Location: norfolk

PostPosted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 9:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

thanks for responses, charged battery, cleaned all connections with wet and dry, reassembled, and she fired up as good as new and has held a charge ever since so i guess the battery just needed a good old top up after all the cold starts!
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baconsdozen



Joined: 03 Dec 2007
Posts: 1119
Location: Under the car.

PostPosted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 4:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A lot of the jump leads on sale are hopeless for starting anything where the battert is flat.It really is a case of buying the best you can,heavy thick copper cables and really strong clamps.
I've seen some imported things where the thin aluminium cables are simply pushed into the end of the clamps which are then squeezed shut probably with a pair of pliers.They get hot as soon as any real current is put through them.
You get what you pay for.
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Finch661



Joined: 19 Feb 2009
Posts: 163
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

PostPosted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 12:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i had the same issue with my mini. the car could only be started using a jump pack, especially in the morning. i fitted additional earths tot eh car (and cleaned up the old ones), fitted another starter motor to it, and so on. I would charge the battery up, then i would get about 3 or 4 revolutions then it would die. In the end i bought a Bosch 063 battery, for about £110. Well worth the money. my last battery was £40, and just wasnt up to the challenge. Dont scrimp on buying a battery.

As said before the bosch batteries come with a 5 year warranty, and if you know someone with a halfords trade card, you can get upto 40% off Razz
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47p2



Joined: 24 Nov 2007
Posts: 2009
Location: Glasgow

PostPosted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 3:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It might be worth considering a battery conditioner if you don't use your car often during the winter months
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Nic Jarman



Joined: 05 Oct 2008
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Location: Stoke by Clare, Suffolk

PostPosted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 6:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Remember, don't leave batteries on concrete floors, it kills them.
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 8:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nic Jarman wrote:
Remember, don't leave batteries on concrete floors, it kills them.


yeah? tell me more...

R
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Churchill Johnson



Joined: 11 Jan 2011
Posts: 359
Location: Rayleigh Essex

PostPosted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 9:06 pm    Post subject: flat battery Reply with quote

Remember do not leave a battery to go flat for too long this can ruin the battery by sulphation of the plates and unless you have a charger that can destroy this and it will not always work it's a new battery, also and this may seem unlikely a dead battery can reverse it's polarity this happened to me when checking a combine harvester a few years ago for a no start and when trying to boost start it from a large battery charger all i got was a load of sparks when connecting the leads the sort of thing if trying to connect the wrong way round, unfortunately a battery is often fitted and forgotten how many people check the water level,check drive belt on the dynamo or alternator and the connections for corrosion.
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MVPeters



Joined: 28 Aug 2008
Posts: 822
Location: Northern MA, USA

PostPosted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 12:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nic & Ric

There's some truth to the concrete floor thing. It may be an 'urban legend', but in my, & others, experience batteries do seem to go deader quicker on a concrete floor. I've always kept any spare batteries on a wooden shelf just a few inches above the floor & so far they've always remained usable.
I don't know if it's the coldness of the floor or what - & I don't think it's ever been electrically proven, but I do believe it!
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ukdave2002



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4100
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 9:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rick wrote:
Nic Jarman wrote:
Remember, don't leave batteries on concrete floors, it kills them.


yeah? tell me more...

R


I suspect the science is that a discharged battery will be much more susceptible to freezing, and a concrete floor will be the best place in winter to encourage stuff to freeze, once a lead acid battery has frozen it can be damaged beyond recovery.

Even if a battery doesn't freeze sulphation of the plates will start once the battery charge drops below about 75% of full charge, so leaving a battery in the coolest place in a garage with out charging it, will encourage sulphation, this will after time put pay it.

Dave
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Nic Jarman



Joined: 05 Oct 2008
Posts: 1031
Location: Stoke by Clare, Suffolk

PostPosted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 11:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know Yuasa Batteries have done some research into this but I believe the outcome was uncertain. I did hear that uneven temperatures may be the cause but who knows? I managed a large car parts shop in Harlow and batteries were always kept on a pallet.
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