Warren S Smith Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 I have a dead battery as a result of my previous car standing without being driven for a while. Is there any way to recover it so that it will accept and retain a charge? Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1400rs_0of30 Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 I had the same situation a few months back, after reading blatchat the norm seemed to be before purchasing a new one, just recharge and see if it retains charge again. Mine did and therefore saved me some cash. Sean The original 1400 K Series Roadsport Prototype My Caterham Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 From experience of selling batteries and solving problems I would do as suggested above and recharge it, only using a cheap 4amp charger over a period of about 8 hours, if you can remove the filler plugs safely do so, sand down the lead terminals to get a shine making a better contact letting the battery except the charge, once you have charged the battery turn of from the mains first then remove the battery charger and leave the battery to settle for at least an hour to let all the gases escape making it safer, replace the tops and restart your car, a local trusted battery centre should be able to load test it for you, it should read 12v and around 10.5 to 11v under load and hold that for 5 seconds, they should also be able to test your alternator output with the same device. Simply sanding down the battery terminals before selling a battery has more than halved our returns and complaints over the last two years as proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre Gillet Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 The battery of my car is five years old. I read 12,75V just after reload, and then it decreases to 12,40V after one day on the car (not being used). I reload it every week for 3 hours at 3 A, without disconnecting the leads. So no real problem except that I have to reload it every week (the car is used only at weekends). Should I buy a new one to make sure I have no problem while I travel during the summer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 Half charging a battery from flat i.e. three hours is not enough to keep it healthy, it must be fully charged to do the job effectively, this also goes for storing of the car for winter, charge fully before leaving, batteries do not like the cold and do not perform to there best when cold and will loose charge quicker if stored cold so the advice to anyone storing a battery on the garage floor is to keep it two inches away from the wall and on a piece of wood fully charged. The age of a battery does not matter, it is a case of how it has been treated. When a battery is flat or low on charge it can not be load tested giving an accurate reading and needs to be charged first, sanding down the terminals realy does work. I have two 102amp hour batteries I use for my boat and camper van and garage lighting etc, had them both 8 years and still going strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre Gillet Posted May 10, 2002 Share Posted May 10, 2002 Thanks Phil. Whether the Rover immobilizer drains some current, or there are some leaks in the loom has always intrigued me. In the last 12 hours voltage went from 12,45 to 12,30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted May 10, 2002 Share Posted May 10, 2002 Immobilizers are designed to take very little off the battery and unless a battery is low on charge or faulty the immobilizer should not effect it. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRIS CLARK Posted May 10, 2002 Share Posted May 10, 2002 I have a slight drain to earth via the hazard light warning flasher relay. We are talking milliamps here, but it all adds up! Not really sure why it does this. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff W Posted May 10, 2002 Share Posted May 10, 2002 I have recently purchased a CSI Airflow Battery Management Conditioner & Battery Tester and can recommend it. It is mains powered and can be left permanently connected to the battery when the car is not in use as it constantly monitors the battery voltage. As soon as it falls below a pre-set level the unit pulse charges the battery at low current (450 mA max) until it is fully charged. The latest versions come with a lead that can be permanently hard wired onto the battery, the other end terminating in a polarised socket (can be connected one way only) which mates up with a connector on the charger output lead. I wired mine thro' a hole in the bulkhead and just left the socket protruding into the car under the dash. Price was £43.99 inc P&P and can be ordered direct from Airflow on 01635 569569 or wait for next years Kit Car show (they were on offer at last weeks show at £35!!) I was sick as a parrot of course. Hope this helps. wink.gif wink.gif H7 CAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilsjuke Posted May 10, 2002 Share Posted May 10, 2002 If you have a total flat battary that has not been use for some time it will have become sulphated (gumed up)the time that you would need to recharge such a battary is dependent on the amp hour of the battary and the rate of charge so lets cut the crap and tell you that the battary man where i use to work allways put all (dud )exchange flat battarys on low charge for 36 hours then let them stand for 10 hours then retest. We allways hade a good xmas on used battary sales to car fronts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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