Battery problem?

[MikeyH]

It might be better to give it a longer charge then and go along to my local battery place and get it tested before I waste my money.

Get yourself an intelligent maintenance charger, mate. It doesn't have to be an all singing and dancing one (although the cTek ones are very good). I have a Screwfix special which cost about £20 and does a perfectly good job. You can stick it on the car whenever you like; it won't overcharge the battery.

I am convinced they prolong the useful life of any battery.

I’ve got one bought from Halfords last year and it’s the same, it shows the charge in bars like a phone. Is it okay to charge with the battery connected?

 

[Pondrew]

Is it okay to charge with the battery connected?

Yes!

 

[MikeyH]

In that case I will put it on for a long charge in the morning and see how it goes. And give the wife a rest :rofl:

 

[smorris_12]

If one is careful, 10 years is easy. Think my 320d was 12 when the battery went. My mother's 33k, 53 plate Fiesta only got a battery after much sitting in lockdown, and that was 17 years old.

A neighbour of mine still has the original Mercedes/Yaesu battery in his C180K at 15 years old. Although since it's just dropped 2 valves, I know which I'd rather be replacing!

 

[MikeyH]

Well, my wife wasn't happy about me keeping it going and we might end up stuck on the moors without a phone signal so she went and bought one for me today. She was worried as it didn't slowly stop working, it just died. Sometimes its best to just let them get on with it and keep your gob shut tight. :rofl:

 

[smorris_12]

TBH, she's not wrong. I imagine the average life of a summer sports car battery is probably 5 years. Lead acid batteries don't like being ignored or left flat which is a very common usage pattern compared to day-to-day.

 

[MikeyH]

I am going to take Pondrews advice and give it a charge every now and then and hope this helps it last longer. Although TBH I shall most probably be dead myself by then :headbang: