battery charging problem question

Get a DVM from Maplin etc for a few quid and measure the battery voltage. With the engine stopped it will be something like 11-12.5 volts depending on state of charge. With the engine running and alternator working you should see something around 14 volts.

thanks for that, but with the battery not holding a charge im not going to get anything?

thinking of taking it to kwikfit to check out....

You would be better off taking it to a auto electrician.

Dave

In fact, rather than go to kwikfit you would be better off standing in a public place and asking passers-by for help. Far more likely that you would find someone with the right skills that way...:-)

Chris

I'll keep this simple: If you have a battery charger, then charge it for 12 hours and see if the car starts ok. If it doesn't, go and buy a replacement battery. If the car does start after charging, suspect the alternator. Is the alternator belt nice and tight? If you do change the battery do it safely by removing the black wire first and reconnecting it last.

Chances are, with this cold weather its showing up an worn out battery and time to replace.

Don't go to Kwik fit. You will come out with new brakes and shocks fitted and a bill for £350.

Bucket

Correction: You will come out with new brakes and shocks fitted *badly* and a bill for £350 :-)

Chris

lol thanks

i am assuming they would tell me either if its the battery that needs replacing or work on the alternator...

will let you know how it goes!

if the battery is totally flat and i jump start the car it runs ok, this would mean the alternator is working ok wouldnt it?

Working, yes.

OK, maybe.

If you are intending to play around with cars a bit, others have advised you to get a cheap multi-meter, and I will repeat that advice.

If you want to try and diagnose the problem working blind as it were, then follow the other suggestion of fully charging the battery from a charger and seeing if it will start car.

One other thing, if you get the battery charged and it starts the car, but the next day it is flat again, re-charge it but leave the battery disconnected overnight. Reconnect and try to start. If it is OK, you may have a fault that is draining the battery away. If so, post again and we will try to help.

Chris

The message from snipped-for-privacy@googlemail.com contains these words:

Generally.

You're assuming a lot :-)