Went to start my car the other day, its a 2002 STI wity a varta 60ah battery which looks pretty new.

Car was dead and would not even try to start and alarm bleeped.

I assumed the battery needed replaced so disconnected it and every time i did that the alarm kept going off so put the terminals back on.

I then went and bought a new battery as the old battery was only showing 11v when disconnected.

Left the car for a week by the way without starting it in the first place, should be ok for 600 hours if the battery is anything to go by running at max of 0.1a

Does that sound like a dodgy battery or dodgy alternator as dont want same thing happening with new battery?

How can i check if too much voltage is draining or do general check for correct voltage?

Also if it happens again, how can i charge the battery without the alarm going off as is embarrassing?

 

My car's been struggling a bit lately.
I had to give a jump start to get it going today.
At first I thought I needed a new battery, but I reckon it's just the time year.
If you think about it, In the winter you use your heater, rear demister, you use yours lights more and you'll probably have your stereo on, so it puts a strain on your battery. Especially if you don't do many miles and it never gets chance to charge up.

 

exactly what happened to me..

 

It's happened to me twice now and each time I've had to reset my clock, radio presets, graphic equaliser

I'll just have to give it a good drive to get it charged, or failing that use a battery charger.

 

I drive 20 mile journeys so its not that and cant take the battery off to charge as alarm goes off.

Anybody else

 

bttt^^

 

Checked voltage on my new 65ah battery tonight

12.3v before i started it after 2 days of sitting not been started
14.6v full load while car is running
14v after taking it for a spin with no load, car still running
12.8v ignition off

Does this sound normal or is something draining the battery as dont wanna risk going out to another dead battery?

 

My car was dead after a two week holiday. This was due to the alarm. Could just be the same for you? As some have said, this time of year does work the battery hard.
Rob

 

anyone?

 

trackers and alarm both will drain the battery in two weeks if the car isn't used. funny how alarm goes off when disconnecting battery not had that happen but mines a classic alarms may be different.
ken

 

think its a security feature of the newage sigma cat1 alarm.

Car was only left for a week without starting.

Anyone know if the voltages on my new battery sound ok?

 

The 14.6v and 14v readings sound similar to mine, the readings are from my PSI3. When I first start it's at 14.5 - 14.6 v and when I idle after a run it hovers around the 13.7 - 14 v mark. That's a bosch 60aH jobbie. It is currently sat at 12.6v. Been on thr drive for about an hour now.

Mine is annoying as I left it for about 4-5 weeks in the summer and it started 1st time. Now it drains after a few days.

I've just left it with the alternator un-plugged for a couple of days to make sure the rectifier pack hasn't been damaged when I took the alternator off to fit the oil pressure switch for my gauges.

I've also fitted gauges and a PSI3, but I can't imagine them draining the battery and I've checked the earths which are good.

Halfords are doing a jump starter for £40 at the moment, thinking about getting that, although if I connect my charger for about 10-15 minutes that seems to do the job while I'm on the drive.

 

It is really annoying isnt it, my new battery was sitting at 12.2v after leaving for a few days driving therefore dropping half a volt over 2 days.

I have the rac trackstar installed and have been told to get them to replace their board as runs for 6 hours after switching the car off and drains the battery big time, they have a board that stays on for an hour after you switch off.

If that doesnt fix things i may replace the alternator, if that doesnt solve things then god knows.

 

I don't have the a tracker fitted, but have heard that the alarm can drain the battery anyway. I would suggest that given you are getting over 14v with the engine running that the alternator is fine. Also if your alternator was knackered the car would use the battery power whilst driving and would probably last no more than about half-an-hour( experience tells on this one). My next two tests are, alternator disconnected, the rectifier bridge will be a series of diodes that convert the AC to DC. If one of the diodes is knackered it will leak current and cause the battery to discharge. If this makes no difference then I know the alternator is okay. Next will be to leave the battery disconnected for a few days and monitor the current. Luckily I don't use the car except for play so I can get away with this. If the car battery holds its charge then I know something is draining the current, so next step is leave the car without the alarm set, and if that makes no difference start leaving things disconnected one at a time until I find the source of the drain.

When that's sorted I can change the plugs, brakes and pads. Fit the de-cat and find the problem that is causing me to run low boost, cheap over-size top-mount to fit and then the inlet pipes to check. All other potential sources of air leaks changed with SAMCOs.

So much for reliable japanese engineering.

 

i know something is draining my battery as my old one give in last week and i replaced for this new 65ah one and has drained .5v in 2 days, so something is not right.

I have been told they have a smart alternator which you need to drive the car with side lights on for 45 mins to charge alternator, which i have done which didnt make a difference.

I can leave the terminals off battery as my alarm goes off when disconnected.

May have to reosrt to driving it every night to see if this charges it a bit

ps what car you driving, im driving a 2002 sti?

 

I've got MY01 WRX, so the same smart alternator.