Reply With QuoteWhats the car and do you know battery type?
Hello. I fitted a new battery from Halfords into my elderly father’s car a few months ago (not more than 6), and due to lack of use with shielding, he found it dead this week.
Can it be revived with a charger, or do we need to buy another? It wasn’t a cheap battery.
He rarely uses his care anyway (once a week for a 10 minute drive) even in normal times. It’s parked outside in a public place so can’t be left on a trickle charger.
Halfords didn’t / couldn’t offer any help by web chat.
Thanks.
Whats the car and do you know battery type?
A 16 year old Peugeot 307. I don’t know about the battery type except it was Halfords own brand.Originally Posted by Franky Four Fingers
I was just checking that the car wasn’t newer and likely to have stop-start tech which normally have different batteries fitted.
For a 16 year old car a trickle charger is fine- I can’t imagine an expensive 6 month old battery can’t be revived, take it off and charge it overnight
The more expensive Optimate and similar chargers have a "revive" cycle which will, if it is a normal acid-filled battery, automatically check and rectify any harm done to a battery that old. If you are passing through Manchester you are welcome to borrow mine!
Something like a CTEK would probably do the job. I have the MXS5 which will do the ride on mower, tractor, quad as well as my Land Rover. It has a reconditioning facility for discharged batteries and will trickle charge/maintain infrequently used batteries as well. It comes with a kit that attaches to the terminals which makes it easy to connect, so minimal messing around.
I've recently purchased one of these following the replies to this thread which you may find useful to look over.
I have one (trickle/revive) if you want to borrow it, I am south coast but happy to pop it up to a meeting place to suit.
+1 for Optimate. I’ve had a battery conditioner for so long I forgot what mine was but I just checked to see what my MX5 was linked up to and it’s this. I must’ve bought it 16 years ago to maintain the battery on my motorbike. They are brilliant and proving very robust.
attempt recharge with home charger.
if not work then take to garage and ask them to use the big boy industrial charger.
if not work then buy new one lol
Hi all, thanks for the replies.
He found the receipt - it was bought in Dec 2019 and has a 4 year guarantee.
Halfords said take it back and they’ll look at it (perhaps they’ll say ‘tough luck’ since it’s not been used for 2 months?)
Problem is that at 82 and with ill health and living alone, how the heck is he supposed to get the (heavy) battery there?!
He’s in Manchester. He has a small battery charger device he could clip on but he has to park the car away from his warden controlled flat, on a main road so it can’t be left on charge without him standing there with the car.
Anyway, thanks all!
Manchester? Whereabouts? Wonder if I can help.
If it’s not going to be used a lot you can get solar chargers that you can leave on the windscreen to keep it charged.
I’ve an optimate Solar one that keeps the bikes charged as I don’t have power to where I keep them.
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
All they’ll do is test it- if it’s flat they won’t get a condition test anyway and will just get a state of charge test.
Where are you based? I have a CTEK charger you can borrow in Marlborough, Wiltshire. This can revive even the most dead'est of batteries.
I have to use this every now and then on my Alpina B3 as I dont use the car very often. If my daughter uses the trickle charger on my Boxster, then the Alpina goes dead. Normally battery chargers refuse to charge a dead battery, but the CTEK brings them back to life with no issue.
Good luck
AA/RAC?
Is there anyone nearby who can jump start the car? If he has AA/RAC/Green flag they should be able to do this for him, as can any decent service person (there may be a local mobile mechanic who can do this). If he gets it started, he can then sit in the car for 30 minutes with the engine running, that should fully charge the battery.
This ^^^^^^^
But if he intends not to use the car for another few months then a trickle charger is the right option. OR
Simply ask him to set a reminder on his phone to start the car every week and run it for 5 minutes. It certainly will not the battery (or car) any harm.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Sat for 30 minutes with the engine revving won’t fully change the the battery, it will charge but not fully. It needs to be removed and charged if it can’t be done on the side where it’s parked. The cars 17 years old and sat for 30 minutes reviving it up is the last thing I’d do.
I just wanted to thank everyone for the advice and input.
Particularly thank you to unclealec who volunteered to go to my dads and fix the issue for him!
TZUk is a fantastic place!
I plan in the first instance to try and get the battery back to Halfords to see if they will replace it. Failing that, Dr Unclealec will be doing a house call!
Failing that, or inbetween, we can try and organise a jump start and 30 minute drive.
Thanks everyone!
+1. Do as suggested and you’ll damage the car.
Has he left anything on in the car even radio cassette or interior light? 2-3 months ago I’m guessing he’ll have had lights, heater and wipers on, possibly not getting charged more than drawing charge. Are you sure all doors inc boot have been closed? Does the car have an alarm??
Once he gets it charged (Fully) is he able to disconnect the battery and when next driving it reconnect?
Jim
No. It won't. It's a popular myth.
It will need charging properly.
Was in the trade, and can tell you the battery will need charging on a proper battery charger. Optimates and similar would take too long, and are designed to maintain a battery not charge it.
Last edited by oldoakknives; 17th May 2020 at 19:05.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
I have one of the Big Boys Optimates; it has a discharge/test/refresh cycle that does bring dead batteries back to life.
It wasn't cheap.
But I agree that an "ordinary" charger won't cut the mustard in this case.
Last edited by unclealec; 18th May 2020 at 08:20.
17 years years young car ... when was it last serviced and given an electrical check? Consider checking the alternator belt and alternator . If the belt is loose the alternator will not charge the battery. Also check the battery leads and terminals and ensure they're not corroded or loose. Check the obvious first before assuming the battery is at fault. And who fitted the new battery? Is it a sealed battery or one which might need topping up with distilled water?
dunk
"Well they would say that ... wouldn't they!"
If the batteries been completely flat for more than a week or so it is unlikely to properly recover.
I wouldn’t bother running the car to charge it as the alternator on a 17 year old car will need some charge to excite it so unless you leave the jump battery connected for 10 minutes or so then it just won’t charge, better to use a proper charger to try to recover it.
As to next time, if he can’t leave it plugged in take a look at solar chargers as mentioned above, whilst they don’t put out much charge they are always on the go - we used them to keep truck batteries charged when stood up over a Canadian winter where the batteries freeze if they go flat.
My advice would be to get some charge in it and take it back to Halfords for a check and hopefully replacement, also check for consumers left on putting some drain on the battery when parked - the boot light is always the most likely culprit, if you can’t turn it off just take the bulb out.
Providing the battery was in good health before, being discharged for a week won't prevent it recovering if charged properly.
Why was the new battery fitted? Is there a fault on the car which drained the original battery and has now drained this one? Is the battery healthy but simply discharged?
It will need charging properly on a decent charger, then it can be checked quite simply as to whether it is faulty or not. Modern test equipment, even the hand held testers, is very good compared to the old drop testers/file method!
Halfords will be well versed in testing the battery to see if it is faulty.
One of the solar chargers would probably be a good idea providing there is no fault causing a current drain on the battery.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
Hi, again thanks for all the replies!
Halfords tested it and simply replaced it without question or discussion. I’m not sure what they found on testing it.
Another vote for the CTEK - I bought one for my wife's GT86 battery that was as flat as flat could be - residual voltage 1.4v according to the AA man who found it would not hold a charge and said it had failed his test (he wasn't trying to sell me a battery because he knew it was under warranty).
The CTEK had to go through its cycle twice and took between 11 and 18 hours (not quite sure how long because it finished overnight) Now it seems totally back to normal. As my wife won't be driving much as she is largely working from home, I think this will be a godsend for keeping the car going.
ATB
Jon
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