bmWay

Hello Guys,

I checked previous Battery issues forums here, and found out that there can be really multiple reasons, not sure where mine fits in...
So my battery is about 1 year old (110ah Varta), replaced the old one, which lasted for about 5- 6 years.
Everything was perfectly fine, no complains.
Left the car for 3 day's, without driving or entering it. Yesterday evening (on 3rd day of stand still) got it to the car and picked something up, closed the car . This morning when about to go to work, the car didn't open from the key, central lock button. So i opened the drivers door with the key, turned ignition on and nothing, not a single sign on dashboard, battery went completely flat.

My clue, yesterday the car didn't go into "sleep mode", but never happened before.
I might still have warranty on the battery, i think 2 years. And i guess the best scenario to replace it, will try doing so ( if i find the receipt )
To jump start, the best is connecting directly to the battery form the boot right? Or connectors under bonnet will do too?

But i need to find out also the reason, could you help me out if anyone has some good idea, what might happened?

Theo

Another possibility, especially considering the age of your car, is that the alternator doesn't function properly anymore. If the battery wasn't charged on your last trip with possibly some night cold it is very plausible it's dead in the morning.

You can check it yourself, just be sure to test it for a longer period, since failing alternators have a tendency to charge intermittently before cutting out altogether. The first reads thus may be OK but after that this could change.

Good luck.

bmWay

Right, could be, but i owned the car for 4 years, and this is firs time, didn't even had it last winter, and it was much colder.
So, you advise to charge the battery, drive for a good while, and then leave it again for 4- 5 or more days?
What about the battery itself will it recover such recharge? I know it's very bad for battery stability, once it goes flat, or once it's not a bog of a deal?

mmitev

I think the first to do is try to replace the battery under warranty - it has suffered damage already and will not recover 100%.

Second, what Theo said is correct - very often the problem is with the alternator which stops charging only now and then and causes the damage, but when checking it actually works. The best solution I've heard of (without trying it or being a specialist) is:
a) Connect a diagnostics computer to the car and drive around to see how the alternator behaves over time
b) Open the hidden OBC menu and see there at what rate the battery is charged, again over some time, e.g. on a longer trip

That way you can point the fault at the alternator, if indeed it is faulty

bmWay

Okay thanks, i will try first to get the new battery, hopefully i can succeed, not sure about the conditions, i am sure the rules&conditions presented cleverly.
Sadly i not have windows laptop and cable to connect to the car, to run these tests myself, so the only way friend of mine mechanic.
I will come back later on, and report the progress.
Thanks again for your help guys.

micloi

Did you let the ECU know that you changed the battery, by registering it, when you did so last year so that it changes the way it charges it?

bmWay

Hi,
and yes i did, but not straight a way, probably after 4 months or so...
i haven't checked how it's charged after that point no.

bmWay

So, yesterday one of mine friends came around to help me to bring to life my car.
We measured first the voltage on Battry and it was 11.76 or something, so jump starting would be difficult, because the correct voltage has to be minimum 13- 14.
I took out my battery, placed friends spare healthy one, and it was it, car started straight a way, left running for 5 minutes, then quickly but back m own battery. After another couple of minutes, measured voltage on my battery and it went to 14.3, which is good. Drove car for about half an hour, and Today morning car started strong as before.

I will take the car Today or tomorrow to a garage will check how dynamo is charging the battery, and i need to find out if my dynamo/ alternator is version 140A or 170A

mjojom

Hi,
I had similar problem to yours. My alternator was charging only intermittently so guys who checked could not found the problem. Until it completely stopped. once car started check with multimeter on battery terminals, it should give you around 15V. if it does not 13V below your alternator is the problem.
here is my little how to:
I have ordered used alternator from the eBay. As soon as it arrived, I took the thing apart to clean it up. I found out that the electronic board including brushes is contained in easily detachable plastic. What else could go wrong with alternator? I decided to only swap electronic board and brushes instead removing whole alternator.
Anyway,
You start with removing top engine acoustic cover, you do not need to unmount alternator at whole!

On the first picture, you pull out wires no.1, and detach 2 and 3 by losing the nut. Number 4 shows plastic cover that needs to be removed to cassette containing converter and brushes.
On the second picture, you can see how the plastic cover holds on the alternator, you just need good size screwdriver to lever it out.
The third picture shows 3 screws you need to undo (size 7), and pulling up, you easily detach whole plastic cassette containing converter and brushes.
Number 4 shows where the brushes are. Just slip new cassette in and do the process in reverse.
Whole thing from opening of the bonnet to closing it took less than 30 minutes!
I know this is not difficult job, but pictures could make easier for you to locate what you need to unscrew without taking out the whole alternator.
Point being, I cannot imagine rotor and stator going bad, this are non contact items. if alternator not making noise, I doubt that bearings are bad, so you are left with converter and brushes. Why pay for new alternator, + fitting? I have done it on side of my street within 30 minutes.

luigi524td

After having to replace my battery a second time* and confirming the alternator was working as it should, I told my SA to also replace the IBS. It's a critical link between the battery and the alternator - I'm not sure how "intelligent" it really is and the cost was less than $100 ... if it eliminates one more inconvenient battery issue it's well worth it (to me). Maybe someone out there knows if there is a specific technique to verify proper IBS function - Probably something a dealer or experienced and well-equipped indy with the proper computer set-up and know how should handle.

* First time was when the car was relatively new but sat un-driven for 4 months. Second was when the car was 4+ years older, driven fewer than 10k miles per year, and we were hit with a very cold winter weather streak during which the car was parked outside and not driven 3-4+ days at a stretch. The battery would test "ok" 3-4 times in a row ... then, on the 4th test show 11 vdc. Diagnosis = bad cell / intermittent internal 'short'.