Battery Failure

lack of use, alternator fault usally a diode goes t*ts up and the battery discharges , damaged wring or just a faulty battery plate

It *could* indicate a flat battery and/or a defective one; off-charge, unloaded voltage is pretty meaningless.

However, both AA and RAC have sophisticated equipment that carries out a series of tests on the battery and charging systems automatically, producing a print-out of results including things like an estimate of the percentage of remaining life.

Although buying a battery directly from a patrol may be a bit more expensive than what can be obtained locally, it has benefits. If your locally-purchased battery fails when a long way from where you bought it, you may have a problem. The motoring organisation's one would be replaced (within warranty) wherever you happen to be.

Chris

A battery wouldnt go flat in a week if no drain was applied

If it is at 12.4V I doubt it is flat.

Off load voltage tests are meaningless if the battery cant produce enough amps then its bolloxed .

Turn on the headlights, full beam as well wind the heater fan up to full speed then check the voltage.

That gives you a better idea of the state of the battery

Which will be much lower under those conditions. I test a battery by fully charging it and checking the voltage over a few days. A good battery should not drop almost any voltage. A knackered battery will drop by as little as .1V a day but it will drop.

I have a pair of RV batteries which I charged to 110A last Wednesday, One has sat at 12.65V since then the other has dropped to 12.15 and I Have just took that one to the tip.

Yep, but the AA/RAC test will give you much more reliable information.

Chris

Will it? Their mechanics are on commission for battery sales.

The development of an easy to use and reliable means of testing that can be understood by non-technical people, was developed to prevent the sort of fraud you are implying over a decade ago.

I had a battery failure earlier this year. (Only mine was 11 years old!). The AA patrol was happy to test the system, show me the results, start the car, then follow me the three miles to Halfords to fit whichever battery I chose to buy.

As it happened he didn't have a suitable replacement on board, but told me that for the amount of commission they got, it wasn't worth the time it took in paperwork and re-stocking.

Chris

was it a calcium battery ?

I don't know about the AA but I did join them for the first time ever this year. On several occasions in the past when I have needed a car battery I have simply nipped round the back of Kwik Fit when they are closed and picked one up off their scrap pile and found nothing wrong with it so I know that such practises DO go on.

I settled for a battery from the AA after a HomeStart call, because I had a hospital appointment to get to. I have a charger, but the testing showed that the battery (probably 6/7 years old) was in poor condition (allegedly).

AFAIK, Kwik-fit have never been a supplier to the AA. (And I very much doubt they have to the RAC either.) They have had so many owners that anything is possible though- they are like the proverbial hot potato!

Of course, Kwik-fit's dubious reputation is well-recorded! However, the most likely reason for a usable battery to be scrapped is ignorance on the part of the vehicle owner.

BTW, I find it somewhat amusing that you are happy to imply that a hard- working AA patrol might indulge in a legally dubious practice, yet have no qualms about stealing something yourself. ;-)

Chris

If that happened any time during the last ten years or so, you should have been offered a printed 'ticket' a bit like a supermarket receipt that had all the details of the test on.

Chris

What makes you think that an AA employee has any different morals from anyone else?

Me? I wasn't the one who said 'Their mechanics are on commission for battery sales.', with all that implies.

Chris

Im not arguing that point, the AA/RAC do load test the battery

So your a thief then