Battery, dead? 6 months old?

[John Mack 286]

I'm not keen on leaving a charger on over-night either, best to be around :thumbup:

See what happens after a days charging.

John.

[Derskine 11]

I'm not keen on leaving a charger on over-night either, best to be around :thumbup:

See what happens after a days charging.

John.

 

Thanks for all the help mate :thumbup:

[Slipdiff 0]

hi steelrax

 

batteries don't like being left for any length of time doing sod all. Ideally keep 'em cool (but not stupid cold), and regular trickle charging every week or two is a good way of trying to keep it in as good a condition as possible; this is what battery producers/wholesalers will do all the time.

 

recharging the battery is best done with a good charger (tho these aren't cheap but cheap chargers are really kinda poo) as a good charger will gently discharge the battery and then recharge it fully. You'll be looking at near to £100 for a good 'un so borrow someone elses! i do! My friend 'recovered' the 2 batteries on his misubishi canter recovery truck by using a good charger recharging overnight every other night for about 3 weeks. This might sound excessive but new batteries are £300!

 

Anyway, try this. recharge your battery as you have been, refit it, and using an assistant to crank the engine, connect a DC voltmeter and check the voltage across the battery whilst engine is cranking. If voltage drops below about 10.2 volts whilst cranking, strictly speaking, the battery is not good. It might start the car, but you run the risk of the battery letting you down especially if it's cold.

 

ideally, the best thing you can do is get the battery tested using a proper digital battery/alternator tester. these can check charge level, voltage, condition of individual cells; it's the way forward. multimeters only give you a limited picture and aren't really enough to do a proper check. lots of garages now have them as batteries are now much more critical to the correct operation of modern cars equipped with various electrical systems (ABS, ESP, injection systems etc.) and these testers are perfect to check batteries, even for our classics!

 

hope this helps... if you've got a warranty get a new one!

[bortaf 83]

This is with the charger disconnected, it seems to be charging okay now, definitely more power, still not enough to start it though, I don't want to leave it overnight however as I'm scared it might explode! I will charge it during the day tomorrow and until late tonight :thumbup:

Still confused about my gauges though,

Thanks for all the help though!

 

Every time you try to start the car you are draining the battery again and doing it harm and going back to square one, just charge it for 12 hours min and then try again, the temp gauge will not move till there is temp in the water, 0 is usually the bottom stop of the needle not the start of the markings on the dial ;)

[Derskine 11]

hi steelrax

 

batteries don't like being left for any length of time doing sod all. Ideally keep 'em cool (but not stupid cold), and regular trickle charging every week or two is a good way of trying to keep it in as good a condition as possible; this is what battery producers/wholesalers will do all the time.

 

recharging the battery is best done with a good charger (tho these aren't cheap but cheap chargers are really kinda poo) as a good charger will gently discharge the battery and then recharge it fully. You'll be looking at near to £100 for a good 'un so borrow someone elses! i do! My friend 'recovered' the 2 batteries on his misubishi canter recovery truck by using a good charger recharging overnight every other night for about 3 weeks. This might sound excessive but new batteries are £300!

 

Anyway, try this. recharge your battery as you have been, refit it, and using an assistant to crank the engine, connect a DC voltmeter and check the voltage across the battery whilst engine is cranking. If voltage drops below about 10.2 volts whilst cranking, strictly speaking, the battery is not good. It might start the car, but you run the risk of the battery letting you down especially if it's cold.

 

ideally, the best thing you can do is get the battery tested using a proper digital battery/alternator tester. these can check charge level, voltage, condition of individual cells; it's the way forward. multimeters only give you a limited picture and aren't really enough to do a proper check. lots of garages now have them as batteries are now much more critical to the correct operation of modern cars equipped with various electrical systems (ABS, ESP, injection systems etc.) and these testers are perfect to check batteries, even for our classics!

 

hope this helps... if you've got a warranty get a new one!

 

Thanks for that, I think it will be okay, my battery charger is beyond useless :thumbdown: I have bought another one, albeit not a massively expensive one.

 

 

Every time you try to start the car you are draining the battery again and doing it harm and going back to square one, just charge it for 12 hours min and then try again, the temp gauge will not move till there is temp in the water, 0 is usually the bottom stop of the needle not the start of the markings on the dial ;)

 

I didn't know this, the tank barely has any fuel in it, so this is probably the reason its displaying nothing.

Thanks!

[V8IAN 0]

is it a wet battery or a Gel Battery, with the wet battery, have you checked the electrolyte level?? if its a Gel, they are a bugger to get to recharge after going flat,

I would be tempted to try another battery, off your Daily?? that will eliminate the battery or the car,

Fresh engine, there are a few pitfalls with fitting a new engine, and what is it, have you moved the battery to the boot?? is the engine a known engine, is the timing ok, have you changed the gearbox, fit the wrong box and you can nip the engine up tight, can you turn the engine over by hand with a socket on the bottom pulley??

[Derskine 11]

is it a wet battery or a Gel Battery, with the wet battery, have you checked the electrolyte level?? if its a Gel, they are a bugger to get to recharge after going flat,

I would be tempted to try another battery, off your Daily?? that will eliminate the battery or the car,

Fresh engine, there are a few pitfalls with fitting a new engine, and what is it, have you moved the battery to the boot?? is the engine a known engine, is the timing ok, have you changed the gearbox, fit the wrong box and you can nip the engine up tight, can you turn the engine over by hand with a socket on the bottom pulley??

 

The engine seems okay, I have not had it running yet but it turns nicely and I've replaced most of the gaskets on it, pretty much all of them except the head gasket, its a standard 1500 mated to my standard gearbox, and it turns over fine, I have roughly set the timing as outlined in the haynes manual but I haven't been able to strobe time it because I've not had it running, (yet).

Cheers

[V8IAN 0]

See if it turns over with the coil disconnected, having too much advance will sometimes cause the engine to fail to turn over,

Another thing to try, run a jump lead from the battery earth terminal to the block, making sure you have a good contact at both ends, its worth now clipping the other jump lead onto the starter motor live terminal, making sure its only touching the terminal, now flash the other end onto the live. if nothing happens, you can guess its the battery, I hope you have checked the electrolyte level in the battery,

[Derskine 11]

Fuel gauge is working perfectly (I got the sender the right way up!)

I've decided I'm just going to send the battery back, no point in dwelling over a naff battery when I can just get a shiny new one!

[canadian_Mk3 9]

See if it turns over with the coil disconnected, having too much advance will sometimes cause the engine to fail to turn over,

 

This is very true. but some engines, like the one in my Mk3, like too much of an advance or else it runs like crap. And it has a weak starter. When I put my brand new battery in it and turned the key, it was turning over very slowly, and I was :thumbdown: . Then she fired up and I was :thumbup: . Its something ive gotten used to

[Derskine 11]

This is very true. but some engines, like the one in my Mk3, like too much of an advance or else it runs like crap. And it has a weak starter. When I put my brand new battery in it and turned the key, it was turning over very slowly, and I was :thumbdown: . Then she fired up and I was :thumbup: . Its something ive gotten used to

 

I don't think its anything to do with the timing, there hasnt been enough cranking power to get some fuel from the tank up to the carb, I think the problem has to be the battery, or a dodgy connection from the battery to the starter, I will check these today.

 

Thanks

 

Edit - I seem to get a sudden burst of power which just dies off after half a second.

Edited February 9, 2012 by Steelrax

[dgo 67]

I don't think its anything to do with the timing, there hasnt been enough cranking power to get some fuel from the tank up to the carb, I think the problem has to be the battery, or a dodgy connection from the battery to the starter, I will check these today.

 

Thanks

 

Edit - I seem to get a sudden burst of power which just dies off after half a second.

 

You do say at the beginning you've done an engive swap. Could you have a dry engine? Have you tried turning it over with the plugs out? Squirt just a little oil down the plug holes if needed. Should turn over nice and fast, get fuel up and oil pressure too

[Derskine 11]

Have just tried this, still the same :smashcomp: its definitely the battery, there's nothing else it can be, unless the starter motor's dud but its not because it was working like new when I removed it.

[Derskine 11]

Battery still giving problems though she backfired today! progress is progress...

[dgo 67]

Battery still giving problems though she backfired today! progress is progress...

 

Did you change the battery for a replacement then and it's still a problem?