evil.soup

iTrader: (1)

I need a little help, well, opinions anyway. Went out last Saturday to start the car after a week sitting in the garage and the battery was dead

I charged the battery and tried it Sunday morning and it started first time as normal. I ran it around town for about half an hour with everything switched on to see if the battery is charging then switched it off and she fired up first time without hesitation so i dont think its the alternator. After this, i parked it back up and left it until Wednesday afternoon to see if its holding charge, it started, but didnt fire up as quickly as it would normaly so i am guessing the battery is on its way out. What do you lot think??

Its booked into CVC on Wednesday and its still under warranty so im not too concerned with the outcome, i just dont like the unexpected

Thanks in advance lads and ladets

Ian

chrisger

Hi Ian,
I was having a similar problem with my 2004 wrx, had two batteries changed under warranty. This did not cure the problem. The advice I had, which seems to work, is to drive with sidelights on as this provides a quick charge for the battery. Hope this helps
Chris

Gazz300

I am on battery number 3 on my 2005 WRX as well. Have you got a Tracker fitted? If so its probably this that is knackering the battery. If not as Chris says drive with the sidelights or something on as there is a split charging system that only charges when needed but is known to cause issues. Or you can arrange with Tracker to have the unit modified to decrease the shut down time of the unit.

The Stitcher

iTrader: (12)

hi mate you wont charge a battery up full with just running the car around for an hour or so, this it why it might have struggled to start the second time after a day or so, lots of people have battery problems at this time of year and this weather, plus if you have an alarm/ imobilizer ect this will wear the battery down very quick when the car is not in use for a while

bossurk

i had same trouble 10 days after my 15.000 mile service phoned c,vc and spoke to paul (service maneger) to see if they check battery levels when doing service he said yes .i told him i had problem starting my car he asked me the last time i started the car i told him that i put the car straight in the garage after comeing from c.v.c he told me that you should start your car up every 7 to 10 days in the cold weather because the alarm and tracker drains the battery i never had any trouble before the cold weather so i try and start the car up regular if i can . but i would invest in a trickel charger if you (like me dont use the car often) i think i paid about 15 quid from argos for it (c.v.c did say that they would change the battrey if i keep getting problems under warrenty)

wrx,sti

iTrader: (2)

The cold weather drains a weak battery

"Taylor"

iTrader: (2)

Funny you should all be talking about this. I had to change my battery this wk after the car failed to start one morning. Had it tested first and they said it had a short circuit in one of the cells. Apparently the Impreza battery is quite specialist in that its a smaller than usual 60 amp battery with, think this is right, 500 amps cranking power. One thing i learnt is to shop around, unless your covered by warranty obviously. First price i was quoted was £74 and this wasn't a branded battery either! I eventually got one from Spares world belive it or not, after trying all the motor factors! Its was £50 with a 4 year warranty, so thats good enough for me.

turboDean

iTrader: (4)

Mine's gone again, would be fine if it was an everydy car, but after a week it flat, bought the last one from a battery depot near Ystrad Mynach for £36, been on there years, but would of probably lasted a lot longer if the car was used reguarly

Silver Scooby Sport

iTrader: (15)

You need to treat yourselves to one of these...

CTEK MULTI XS 3600 Z1456205

turboDean

iTrader: (4)

I would use some sort of trickle charger, but my garage hasn't got power to it

Silver Scooby Sport

iTrader: (15)

You can get solar powered chargers as well Dean maybe something like that mounted on the roof out of sight would be worth looking into ?

turboDean

iTrader: (4)

There a flat above my garage . Gonna have to buy a decent battery like an optium red/yellow top or something i think.

evil.soup

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the advice lads!

As for the tracker, i have one but it isnt active at the moment and it wasnt a problem last year. Also i allways tend to drive with the side lights on and i have left it for over 2 weeks in the past with no hesitation at all on start up. Maybe its just the battery coming to the end of its life after all, after looking in the warranty book its only covered for 2 years anyway so it seems it is quite a common problem.

Thanks again, any more advice is greatfully recieved

evil.soup

iTrader: (1)

Turns out it was just the battery, thank god, replaced under warranty

turboDean

iTrader: (4)

Glad to hear it was nothing serious.

Took my battery back to the place i bought it today, it's exactly 2 years old , but they checked it with some sort of tester and it said it was healthy just needed charging properly.
So they offered to charge it over night for me with there charger

Chip

I did 6 months ago and no problems since

Chip

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Probably a discharge tester, good toys and indicate how quickly the battery discharges under load.

A while back I read that Newer Sccobs have a system of intelligent charging. The battery will only be charge when things like the lights are on, after ignition or the Voltage drops to a certain level when the car is running I'l, try and find it again.

evil.soup

iTrader: (1)

Mine would have been 2 years old in about 4 weeks and wouldnt have been replaced It must be common since it doesnt have the normal 3 year warranty