TRD3000GT Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 Ok recently Ive noticed that my battery does not have ANY grunt... I also spent £180 on it so Im a bit pissed of say the least! I have an Exide Deep Cycle.. If I leave the keys in the ignition after about 10 minutes the car will barely start! Clearly this is not ideal and needs to be fixed ASAP... the first things that pop to mind are the alternator needs to be looked at? Could the brushes (I think thats what they are called) need replacing ? Or is it the NEW battery... If its the new battery its going to go back and IM getting another one as I have a 4 year warranty! Any ideas where to look first? Matt Harwood is around on thursday to install a new alarm so he should be able to help as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoboblio Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 A tip that txdgav gave me when I had battery / alternator probs with my other car.... buy a multimeter (about £5 from maplins) and get a reading from the battery when the engine is off (easy). Think this should be about 14.2 if it's healthy. Then start the car and the voltage from the battery should go up - because the alternator is providing it with extra charge. If the voltage decreases when the engine's running then it's almost definately a knackered alternator. Can't help you with the bushes inside it etc, but for £5 can save yourself a lot of hassle replacing parts which may be fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRD3000GT Posted September 12, 2005 Author Share Posted September 12, 2005 Ive got a volt meter on the Battery terminal that reads 12.5 - 12.8 volts with engine off and about 14 volts with engine on... But after 10 minutes of the lights being on the car barely starts.. Its something I looked in to... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShox Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 dont you have to stick a new batt on charge over night before its ready to roll... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbeh Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 £180!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRD3000GT Posted September 13, 2005 Author Share Posted September 13, 2005 Yea I know... I wanted a REALLY good battery that would outlast the car and would always hold a very good charge! This recent problem has put a bit of a damper on the situation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 The race world won't touch those batteries with a barge pole, the fault you describe is very common. Buy a decent Jap or German (Bosch?) battery, and you save money and gain reliability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRD3000GT Posted September 13, 2005 Author Share Posted September 13, 2005 The race world won't touch those batteries with a barge pole, the fault you describe is very common. Buy a decent Jap or German (Bosch?) battery, and you save money and gain reliability. Do you think its the battery Chris? If it is I might get my mony back and do what you suggested... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terminator Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 A fully charged battery will measure around 12.6 - 13.2 volts with the car off. With the car running, you can measure the battery voltage at idle with lights, and accessories off. Most cars will charge from around 13.2 to 15 volts. If you have a poor connection at a battery post, you may not be charging, there will be a voltage difference between the post of the battery, and the terminal when something on the car is drawing current. The more current, the larger the voltage difference. A connection may look fairly good, yet still have a voltage drop. I thought I had battery problems with my lifetime battery, it turned out to be a bad post connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 Certainly sounds like it's the battery, but also have the drain on standby checked, it could be something like the alarm drawing a lot of residual power. I never have any trouble with Bosch or Panasonic batteries. Genuine ones from Toyota are very reasonably priced too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRD3000GT Posted September 13, 2005 Author Share Posted September 13, 2005 Matt Harwood is around on Thursday.. Do you think he could help me with the problem? Dianosis would be great? Im thinking Im gonna need a new battery or a new alternator.. Im leaning towards a duff battery Matt is also installing a new alarm.. So any draw problems should be sorted out if they exist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 I got me a cheapy £45 diesel battery.... holds a silly charge and seems to last ages even with my alarm being a heavy drain unit since it isn't fully... The battery is rated at 70aH with 315a cold cranking... might not look pretty but it certainly holds it right... Gav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk-rich Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 i had a exide deep cycle and it was crap ! now got a optima red top, very pleased with it, also it really turns the motor over quickly due to high cranking amps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRD3000GT Posted September 13, 2005 Author Share Posted September 13, 2005 i had a exide deep cycle and it was crap ! now got a optima red top, very pleased with it, also it really turns the motor over quickly due to high cranking amps Im guessing as the battery is not even 3 months old that I can get my money back if it has in fact failed and then purchase another sort of battery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk-rich Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 if i were you i'd get my money back and get a red top like i have ! i've got the number of a dealer if you should want it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRD3000GT Posted September 13, 2005 Author Share Posted September 13, 2005 Ive heard some bad things about Optimas as well... Apparently someone on here had a complete faliure and the battery just stopped giving out any sort of juice while on the move and the car died... Pretty dangerous as opwer steering went and everything turned off :thumbdown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk-rich Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 can't comment on that, but i've certainly been very impressed with mine upto now, streets above the exide crap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpie Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 I see you swapped the Halfrauds battery (£50/55) for this £180 one. IMO - The soop is known to eat batteries so, I class this is an annual expense of £55 for a new one. I have read of Matt H using Optima units at £££ and they are still no better. This year is my first year with a Halfrauds one (Better than Mr T's so far) with the 4yr G/tee so, will see if they swap it each year for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRD3000GT Posted September 13, 2005 Author Share Posted September 13, 2005 I guess by the sound of it Im going to have to go and get my money back and pickup a nice german made battery... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpie Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 I have used a Bosch before in another car which, was great! But, since they don't list the soop in the flip pages, you might need to measure the battery tray WxD and then the height to use the stock clamp when looking... My soop came with a Panasonic (from new) and only died 7yrs later Mr T's batteries are a lower spec that Halfrauds and I had to change mine after ~1yr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Terry S Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 My tiny battery has been spot on, not started the car since Bovingdon till last night and she is on the button. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanK Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 Ive heard some bad things about Optimas as well... Apparently someone on here had a complete faliure and the battery just stopped giving out any sort of juice while on the move and the car died... Pretty dangerous as opwer steering went and everything turned off :thumbdown I've also heard bad things about the Optima batteries but had a yellow top and red top on my FTO for 3 years without a single problem and a couple of mates have also had them for some time with no problems? The red top is a very strong battery and holds charge very well, even if its been sat for a couple of weeks in the cold! Ive got a fairly standard looking battery in the supra at the moment but if that ever fails, ill be buying a red top to replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 I've just had a new battery fitted by Phoenix, dead cell in my old one. Mark supplied a Bosch one and it fitted my UK prefectly other than a 20mm shorter on height. Put a wood 'packer' in for now but will make something more permanent. He charged £55 fitted and this Bosch one comes with a three year warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpie Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 Paul, can you post the part/model number ? This will give me a good start at looking which size... power & physical to look at. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonB Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 Deep cycle batteries are designed to provide a reasonably low current for a long time, for running ICE for example, rather than proving a very large current draw for a short time (like turning the starter motor). There's no point in having one unless you're planning on running the stereo for ages without the engine running at shows etc. Just buy a calcium one from Halfords, 50 quid or so. Can't see the point in paying hundreds of quid for a battery, the Halfords one has much higher than standard cold cranking and capacity anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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