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I haven't used my car for about 2 weeks before today, and it's just been sitting in the freezing weather doing nothing.

Anyway, took it out this afternoon, and when I started it, it really didn't want to start. All the lights in the cluster were really dim, the Battery voltage was pointing at 9V and it took quite a few seconds before it finally fired up. Bizarrely my right door mirror didn't unfold either :duh:

Following this I took it on a 20 minute motorway run, and then another one back and every stop start was fine. Went out again this evening, no problems, until I got in the car to come home, and it did the same thing (having been sat in the cold again for about 5 hours).

I'm guessing the Battery must have got low having not been used for a while, will it charge itself back up now as I use the car, or should I invest in a Battery charger?

If so, does anyone have any recommendations for which one to get? I'm hoping it's not the actual Battery as I haven't even had the one I've got 2 years.

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It sounds to me like your battery is knackered. If batteries stay in a low state for a while they further degrade, so it's kind of a viscious cirtcle. The fact that your battery was ok after a drive but then after a few hours in the cold it was bad again, sounds like it's not holding its charge.

Oh, so after a few drives like that, even though they were short, the Battery should really have charged itself up again if it was healthy?

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Oh, so after a few drives like that, even though they were short, the battery should really have charged itself up again if it was healthy?

You said it was fine after your drove it, but after a few hours it was bad again. It's more a matter of the Battery holding its charge, rather than getting it charged up. If it is losing charge after just a few hours of being in the cold, that doesn't sound like a healthy Battery. Should be easy to get it checked out at a garage.

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You said it was fine after your drove it, but after a few hours it was bad again. It's more a matter of the battery holding its charge, rather than getting it charged up. If it is losing charge after just a few hours of being in the cold, that doesn't sound like a healthy battery. Should be easy to get it checked out at a garage.

Yep sorry to be dense, was just wondering whether such short drives should have been enough to charge it up again or whether it would need something longer? :blush:

Either way I'll try it again this morning in a bit, and if it's still weak I'll get a Battery charger (as it's probably something worth owning anyway) - Is it worth going for the really expensive one or do they essentially all do the same thing? Also do they plug in to the mains, or do you charge them up and then leave it with the car?

Black & Decker 1

Black & Decker 2

RAC

How do Battery warranty's work if I end up needing a new one? I'm sure it's not even 2 years old yet, and it's a Bosch one so wasn't expecting it to die so fast as the Lexus one (which is supposed to be too weak) lasted over 4 years...........

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Stevie's spot on with what he's saying. Maybe a faulty plate because of the cold or the sulphur is sticking to it and not returning to the electrolyte. Sometimes if you are lucky, a boost charge can clear this but generally if its got this bad then you'll probably find it will go again very soon.

The RAC one looks a good buy and the specs are very good. The B&D look the part but are slightly less spec.

Twice a year I take my Battery off and give it a good charge as the alternator never truly charges it fully. It seems to work (or I could just be lucky) but I've never had a Battery problem.

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Stevie's spot on with what he's saying. Maybe a faulty plate because of the cold or the sulphur is sticking to it and not returning to the electrolyte. Sometimes if you are lucky, a boost charge can clear this but generally if its got this bad then you'll probably find it will go again very soon.

The RAC one looks a good buy and the specs are very good. The B&D look the part but are slightly less spec.

Twice a year I take my battery off and give it a good charge as the alternator never truly charges it fully. It seems to work (or I could just be lucky) but I've never had a battery problem.

Thanks Geoff, I'm glad you said that probably would have gone for the B&D one as it looked nice :lol:

Hopefully a good charge will bring it back to normal :)

go for a drive longer than 20 mins - try an hour then see what happens, if the battery was really low then 20 mins wont do anything.

Yep I was thinking this, that's I wasn't sure whether it would be enough to charge it back up. Problem is I mostly do very short journeys so that's probably contributed to it overall so maybe the regular Battery charge as Geoff says is a good plan.

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my car often sits for 3 or 4 weeks and i get the same faults as u- dim dash lights etc but i go 4 a long drive and its fine after that. if i do a 20 min drive it will start again but if left 4any lenght of time then no chance.

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go for a drive longer than 20 mins - try an hour then see what happens, if the battery was really low then 20 mins wont do anything.

Yep I was thinking this, that's I wasn't sure whether it would be enough to charge it back up. Problem is I mostly do very short journeys so that's probably contributed to it overall so maybe the regular Battery charge as Geoff says is a good plan.

Ahh - right. I'd assumed Everything was fine, normal journeys, etc. and now all of a sudden it started this overnight.

Yes then - give it a good charge by driving. I would still look at a charger though and give it a good charge a couple of times a year.

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Ahh - right. I'd assumed Everything was fine, normal journeys, etc. and now all of a sudden it started this overnight.

Yes then - give it a good charge by driving. I would still look at a charger though and give it a good charge a couple of times a year.

Yeah no everything was fine 2-3 weeks ago, then I haven't used it over the last few weeks and it's been struggling this weekend when I used it again. I was wondering as I mostly do short journeys, that it's not going to get a chance to charge back up again if it has gone flat.

It does actually seem ok this morning, but will get a charger and give it a charge as I don't want to get caught out by something I could have prevented :)

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will have to see what mine's like after 6 weeks of standing on the driveway!!! should be interesting!!! think i may have a problem on my hands when i get back home, lol!! ahh well, got a trickle charger so that should sort her out, lol!!

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Well I got a charger on Sunday afternoon, not sure how accurate it is, but the gauge said 40% when I plugged it in. Either way it's all charged up now and hopefully all will be well.

Btw, will I do any harm by leaving the Battery off the car for a few days? Just that I'm not using it, and leave early and get back late so can't be bothered to put it back in this cold..........

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