Vauxhall Corsa C (2000 - 2006) - 05 1.2 Flat battery

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Mon 15 Feb 2010 17:42
05 1.2 Flat battery - dennis55
I have a 55 plate Corsa 1.2 and the battery is always flat. I know Ive been told to replace it but is there something else which causes a flat battery as opposed to the obvious battery replacement?. I have been having to use jump leads to start it recently, even after a good run the car wont start the following day. ould there be something which is like trickle draining it, or is it the battery which needs replacing.

Kind regards Denn

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 15/02/2010 at 19:46

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Mon 15 Feb 2010 18:06
Flat battery - Falkirk Bairn
Is it a sealed for life or can you add distilled water?

If plates are not covered the battery will not charge - plates will buckle and then you will need a new battery
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Mon 15 Feb 2010 18:18
Flat battery - AndyTheGreat
Once lead acid batteries have been drained completely flat a few times they are pretty much shot.

The most likely reason the battery is flat the next day is because its not taking a full charge in the first place. On a flat battery sulphate cyrstals form on the plates, which do not dissolve back into solution when the battery is charged again.

Other problems are disintergrated plates as FB pointed out - sometimes caused by the rapid re-charging causing hot spots buckling the plats or even short circuits.

Save yourself a whole load of hassle and get a new battery.
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Mon 15 Feb 2010 18:20
Flat battery - dennis55
Im not too sure about that, I shall take a look tomorrow when daylight. Thank you for the reply.

Denn
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Mon 15 Feb 2010 18:23
Flat battery - piston power
when locked up boot light and glove box lights can and do come on draining the battery over night, also faulty alternator and various other things. (take bulbs out)

Start at basic first if battery is shot replace, is it charging? have it checked.
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Mon 15 Feb 2010 19:03
Flat battery - diddy1234
If possible get hold of a multimeter with amp meter (£4.99 from maplin cheapest).

Disconnect the positive battery connector then connect the multimeter between the battery terminal and the disconnected battery terminal.

Do not turn the ignition on but see what the current figure is (something below 0.05amps is good for powering things like radio memory and clock time etc).

If it is above this figure then you could do the following.

Take each fuse out in turn and then replace and see if the amp meters figure drops below 0.05amps.
Once diagnosed then it is a matter of finding out which fuse is for what (most cars do label on the fuse panel what it is for these days).

Sorry its a bit long winded but it is the only way to diagnose what and where the actual issue is.
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Mon 15 Feb 2010 19:16
Flat battery - AndyTheGreat
To add to diddys post, if you have a multimeter you can also check that the alt is charging the battery. Its as simple as putting the meter on the DC volts setting (probably a 20VDC on the dial) and putting the probes on the batt while the engine is running. You should see a voltage of somewhere around 14v - 14.5v.

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If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?