Defective battery

[Ralphthemouth]

Hi guys.
Found the old girl wont start in the cold, so had the battery tested and it was found to be bad. It was from Sparesworld and had a 4yr guarantee, its only 3 years old and I am getting them to replace it. However, they are charging it for 24hrs before testing it and giving me a new one. If they test it after its been on charge all that time isnt it going to good? How will they know if the battery cannot keep a full charge? I dont think much of their service. Dont even have a 10mm spanner to lend to get the battery out the car. Let alone a frigging 6mm allen key.

 

[desertstorm]

There is a chance that it will show up to be good but how do you know you don't have any issues with the charging system on your car.
The alternator could be duff or there could be an issue with the car draining the battery.
What make is it ?
If the battery has a fault and a cell has gone down then it will fail a test even if it's been charged for 24 hours.
Best to stick with Bosch or Varta batteries. You can get them at pretty good prices from Car Parts Online, Spare Parts, Motor Spares from CarParts4Less.co.uk

Karl.

 

[Ralphthemouth]

So, I had the volt meter on and at the terminals with the engine running its 14.36v. What else can I check? I dont have the battery on the car as its in the shop and I have a loaner on for a few days, but it was 12.65v when engine is off. Ill check again tom morning to see what its at.
The original battery was a Yuasa.

 

[Mike B]

What did they mean by bad?If it was just flat it should charge up OK and it could be sometime before you know whether its holding the charge.Modern batteries are reliable and it could well be an electrical drain that's caused it go flat .How much did you pay ?A genuine 4yr one shouldn't be cheap

 

[AlexGSi2000]

Voltage sounds about right - if your alternator was at fault you would usually get the battery symbol show on the dash when driving.
Sounds like a weak battery to me - either that or you have something that is slowly draining the battery overnight.

 

[Ralphthemouth]

Ill check the voltage tom morning. It was £75 three years ago. They didnt specify what bad was. They just put a thingymajig on the battery and the little display said 'bad and replace'.

 

[Mike B]

Sounds more like a faulty battery otherwise it should have said charge

 

[stu_m]

if they just charge it then test it with a meter then it will show up good unless its dropped a cell

it needs to be load tested

a bad battery can show good but trying to deliver the starting power is a different story

 

[Ralphthemouth]

They tested the battery this morning. It was knackered. So they gave me a QH? brand....probably last a few years before going bad.

 

[AlexGSi2000]

Quinton Hazell - not the best, but like you say - it will do the job for a few years.