Flat battery

[charles]

and on a cold & frosty morning?

[The Natural Philosopher]

You will have replaced it already As being totally f****ng dead

Has anyone ever SEEN a 'totally open circuit' lead acid in their LIVES? I suppose pigs MIGHT fly...

[John_j]

I got the reverse. The last 3 cars were bought new and the original battery lasted much longer than the replacements. I didn?t buy the cheapest available as a replacement. And the last two cars never did sit in any showroom either. Both were special order for me. The second last one with that model very hard to get so I had to accept the color I could get. The latest one I wanted bright yellow so that one was a special order for me and it never sat in any showroom at all. Fresh off the boat from Korea.

[Bert Coules]

Should there be an "un" in there somewhere? Or should one "make" be "break"?

Thanks,

[Bert Coules]

Ah, thanks.

[Bert Coules]

Update:

After seven hours of charging, the LEDs are indicating 3A (down from the initial 5). I'll let it run another hour and then try the lights test.

[The Natural Philosopher]

That shows a reasonable state of charge. I think I have one of those charger. The end point is one and a dim 2 IIRC....

[newshound]

LEDs, oh a modern one! Sounds like it will do up to 6 amps, should drop to 1 amp once charged. Might take 24 hours to recharge fully if it is a big battery and completely flat. Should be charged enough to start in half a day, but for health of battery I would recharge it fully on the charger.

As others have said, I'd say safe enough to close bonnet loosely over cable and try to make sure from cable routing that it is not too obvious. The battery is probably more valuable than the charger!

Make sure the cable clamps don't touch the bonnet when it is down!

[Bert Coules]

I think I'd regard the absence of leaked acid as being a better state of affairs than its presence.

[newshound]

The battery might be getting a bit old and tired, then, especially as it is not particularly cold now.

[ARW]

I always used the bump start and relied on the alternator.

[Bert Coules]

It's two years old and still under guarantee, though I don't know if that would cover the charge draining through lack of use.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Has anyone ever had this happen on a car? Only time I've known it was in a battery charging area in a garage, where the hydrogen could be trapped in. Long before the days of H&S. Today, it would be properly vented. I'd hope.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

So you've got a faulty battery *and* an extremely crappy charger? ;-)

[Bert Coules]

How about taking the car for a drive once it's charged enough to start? Against the regulations, but I could actually buy some groceries and essentials (gambling that the car would start again once stopped, I suppose). I would really rather not leave the charger and (especially) the mains lead out all night, even in my quiet back street.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Just a few weeks ago before all this started. I'd just fixed the alternator so was paying special attention. But then I've never has starting problems with it ever, after the shortest journey I'd ever do.

[Dave Plowman (News]

If it's been left flat for years, possibly. ;-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Most modern batteries are semi sealed. They condense back any 'acid' or acid fumes into the battery rather than let it escape. Hence never needing topping up. Decent makes have been like this for over 20 years. Many also have a vent pipe to route any hydrogen away from the engine compartment. Not that a decent charging system allows it to gas much anyway.

Corroded terminals are really a thing from the distant past.

[Robin]

You don't have to charge it fully in one go. So how about (a) take the charger off tonight and (b) put the charger back on in the morning?

[Bert Coules]

Oh, OK. I didn't realise that would work. Thanks.