Any thoughts?
We had the battery go flat a year or so ago on our car due to a device being left plugged in for a couple of days. Since then occasinally get a 'low battery' warning when it's left on with the CD player on for a few minutes, but no actual troubles.
Came back from holiday (car not used, took taxi to airport), drove to Waitrose (about 2 miles), stalled once along the way (got used to driving an automatic), left the wife and kids in the car with the cd player on, and when I came back (no more than 15 minutes), battery was dead, and had to be jump started.
I reckon that batteries that have gone flat are best off just being replaced, any thoughts?
Battery cost seems to be £65+. (Battery type is 096.)
And what's this stuff about 'calcium' batteries? Is that meaningful or marketing nonsense?
Edited by Pugugly on 04/01/2010 at 12:05
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stalled once along the way (got used to driving an automatic), left the wife and kids in the car with the cd player on, and when I came back (no more than 15 minutes) battery was dead <<
No way running the in car stereo would run down a battery in 15 minutes, even if it is in bad condition.
I'm not sure what you mean by "low battery warning" (I assume you mean the wee red light that looks like a battery next to the speedo. This actually means the battery is being insufficiently charged.
There may be a problem with the alternator (which charges the battery), or an internal fault with the battery itself.
If the battery is 5 or 6 years old I'd replace it anyway with whatever the recommended type is. If you still get a flickering light occsionally while driving you need the alternator/drivelbelts looked at.
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The car's LCD display says "low battery". I don't think there's an alternator problem. No flickering.
Possibly the car's lights were on as well, I don't really remember - Volvos do have daylight-running headlights.
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but again leaving the lights on for 15 minutes shouldn't run it down? How do you know the alternator is OK?
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>>The car's LCD display says "low battery".
As a low mileage driver I would find this feature very useful. I don't have it on my 7 year old Mazda.
Is it common on more recent cars?
Clk Sec
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The quickest way of finding out if its the battery or alternator is simply to take it to your local place that sells 'em and they will check it using a meter. If you don't trust those sorts of places just get a second opinion. Your local friendly garage could do it as well.
Can't see any point in messing around when its so simple to check!
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You mention it's a Volvo. Is it a P2 (S60, V70 or S80) by any chance ?
Have you had the Alarm siren checked out ? If the battery in this is dead, the network in the car draws a current trying to communicate with the component it cannot find.
Also suspect area is the central locking and interior light circuit.
These cars take 15 minutes to shut down after switching off, you then need to connect an Ammeter and start pulling fuses to find the culprit.
Edit: Ammeter is better than Voltmeter for tracing current draw.
Edited by gmac on 04/01/2010 at 13:37
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There may be a problem with the alternator (which charges the battery) or an internal fault with the battery itself.
A nice quick and easy way to check your alternator with no tools required is as follows :-
Wait for it to get nice and dark, get the car warmed up, get the car facing a wall or garage interior etc, with the engine idling, switch on the headlights, foglights, fan, heated rear screen and any other elecrtical accessories you can think of, ie creating a significant electrical load.
Then give the car a few revs, and you should see the lights getting bright and then dim again as the car settles back to an idle if the alternator is working okay.
If the alternator is bad, you may get a flickering red light on the dash, as well as no brightning of the lights, or possibly even flickering of the headlights.
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Have you charged it up manually, i.e. using an external charger? Modern car charging circuits are very conservative, to avoid fluid loss from overcharging, and a good overnight charge will help increase the reserve. Also check the fluid level anyway, as garages almost never do, in my experience.
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"I reckon that batteries that have gone flat are best off just being replaced, any thoughts?"
Agreed. In my experience once they let you down once that's it.
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to my knowledge lead acid batteries "dislike" being completely discharged.
hence once it has been absolutly fully run down, it may well suffer long term impairment.
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Hmm. I would have to say in 30+ years of motoring, I've accidentally flattened a few batteries but have never needed to buy a new one. Most recently, my daughter's Ka was broken into last August and recovered to the Police compound for finger-printing etc. When I collected it, the battery was completely dead - probably the interior light had been left on. It was jump started and hasn't given any trouble since. Replacing the battery would have seemed an unnecessary expense, on top of the contractor's charge of £200 for towing and storage and £60 for a new side window.
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Hmm. I would have to say in 30+ years of motoring I've accidentally flattened a few batteries but have never needed to buy a new one.
It depends. Deep discharge can caused nasty long-term damage including cell-reversal - you may be lucky - or unlucky.
I remember laying on a beach 10+ years ago and suddenly remembered I'd left the map light on in the car back at the airport. Two weeks later, I returned to find BCP had already jump-started it once to move the car to the exit area. By the time I got to the car the battery was dead again.
An hour's drive around the M25 and all was well... for about three months. Then one day when the temperature dropped below 5 degrees the car wouldn't start. Same thing happened the next morning.
Battery (and car) were 9 months old at this point. Battery was now dead as a doornail - thankfully Ford replaced it FOC!
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This is easy- take it to your local garage or tyre/battery depot and ask them to load test the battery-it takes about 2 minutes and then you KNOW if the battery is good or not.
thats it.
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No-one seems to have answered the original question - are calcium batteries a worthwhile buy?
From reading this forum, for some cars they are absolutely essential eg the Focus, and probably other fords. If the car came with a calcium battery as standard, I think I would always replace with the same.
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No-one seems to have answered the original question - are calcium batteries a worthwhile buy? From reading this forum for some cars they are absolutely essential eg the Focus and probably other fords. If the car came with a calcium battery as standard I think I would always replace with the same.
This is absolutely correct, you have answered your own question. Not putting calcium batts on a car which has an alternator designed for them can cause all sorts of problems in tyhe mid to long term, such as a very short life of a standard albeit cheaper lead-lead battery. I noticed also the other day that euro car parts do some unbeatable prices on Ca batts as I feel we may soon need one for our Focus. I do not work for Euro Car Parts.
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I put a calcium battery in our 1993 106 diesel - 2 years ago. No issues and works very well. Normal batteries die after three years as it is used only for short journeys..
As for calcium battreies giving issues.. never heard of it.
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From reading this forum for some cars they are absolutely essential eg the Focus and probably other fords.
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Having RTFM I knew I needed a calcium battery and when my battery failed I and needed an immediate replacement, I had to in the end get one from Ford.
My information from the Bosch site says Mondeos from 98 need these batteries as the charging process was changed at that date.
I suspect the previous battery was the original but I had it five years before replacement so the first one was probably 8/9 years old.
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As for calcium battreies giving issues.. never heard of it.
I dont think anyone is saying this, what we are saying is that fitting a 'normal' batt where a Ca Batt is needed causes problems. The other way round is not an issue.
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We nearly always fit Bosch Silver if the customer will pay for it. Yuasa if they want something a bit cheaper. Cheap batteries are a waste of money if you intend keeping the car more than a year.
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"Smart" charging systems must have a calcium battery but calcium batteries can be used with all charging systems right back to three brush dynamos.Some battery manufacturers are changing to calcium 100%.
Edited by jc2 on 06/01/2010 at 09:37
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My battery from a long established Ford specialist was a Varta ( Bosch made ?) and I also fitted one to my daughters car.
I was offered, by a major tyre fitting chain, a battery for £45 which I turned down.
IMO quite a challenge to educate the rest of Joe public to get the correct battery not just one that is the same size as the dead one.
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Henry, I'm thinking about getting a new battery for my Mazda 6. It has now gone flat twice due to my son switching on an interior light and me not noticing.
Last time I had the car serviced, the dealer was telling me that the factory supplied batteries in my car (it's still on its original battery, a 2005 55 reg 2.0 petrol) are notoriously feeble. It is a 60Ah battery.
I don't know much about electrics and the like, but I'd like to get a heavier duty battery. what do I need to consider when making my choice?
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I bought my battery from the following: very good service. I recommend them.
www.performancebatteries.co.uk/find_battery/cars#b...o
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Thanks. They are recommending a 70Ah Varta battery which looks just the job.
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