so the car has always had an issue with a loose terminal. Today after long drive car cut out in driveway when i was unpacking car. Alarm went off for ages, over 30 minutes which i am assuming drained battery! Anyway. Had a mate come over and the loose terminal is fixed but battery flat. after a while of trying to charge up battery, it finally kicks over. then stopped on its own. we gave this a go again. and it kicked over and this time i managed to get it on the road. stayed on the road for 20 minutes, using as many electronics as poss. (lights, radio, wipers).turned them all off before turning off car. tried to restart car. wont start. Its not the terminal because i can turn key to first gage and all electronics are working.but a bad alternator has been mentioned. i dont know much about that part. how can i test out without the car running!.(dont actually thinks thats possible). or perhaps its that i shouldve let the car run a bit longer. Oh and when we fixed terminal we noticed that there was acid leaking from battery. who knows how long its been like that. batters is dated 9/2011.
a.woodrow,
Apr 17, 3:27am
Why would you turn everything on when you got it running! And if you have a battery leaking acid you need to replace it.
hamishcookie,
Apr 17, 3:30am
Battery toast
jussa,
Apr 17, 3:31am
i was told that when you turn everything on it makes the thingymabob (gawd the part name escapes me) work harder, thus helping the charge.oh i cant remember how it was explained to me.lol.and yes battery is going to be replaced tomorrow. but need car to run to go get battery. unless of course it's the battery that is the problem. car will kick over with a charge/leads but wont turn back on when stopped.
a.woodrow,
Apr 17, 3:35am
Sounds like it's just a stuffed battery. When you say the connection was poor, was that the battery terminal or the battery clamps that was the problem!
jussa,
Apr 17, 3:46am
this is my partners car. and hes played around with it a bit. so as far as i know. the battery was ill fitting for the battery clamps (im assuming the clamps is the connection from car to battery) so he shaved down some of the battery terminal (assuming battery terminal is the silver knob that sits up on battery ). sorry im rather clueless but slowly getting my head around this all. him shaving this down to fit clamp over terminalit wasnt holding charge cos there was seperation which was filled with this blue powdery stuff that allowed current to run through it. But when car puttered out today the neighbour came and had a look and wiped off all the powder leaving a 'gap' between terminal and clamp. so mate drilled a hole through that silver knob and fitted in a screw which worked a charm. and car terminal is not the issue. I know this because when connection was loose you couldn't turn key to first gage to activate windows etc. but once it was screwed in you could. the car (when i turned the key) sounded like it wanted to kick over, but wouldnt do so until we had leads on and car running for a while. after 10 minutes or so car would kick over .
jussa,
Apr 17, 3:48am
and he is bloody away and hes taken my car and i have to try and fix this all by myself. and do it as efficiently as poss.i dont need car til thursday really so i can spend time tomorrow getting battery.
ceebee2,
Apr 17, 4:37am
Easiest check for charging system i.e. alternator is : when you turn the key on(No cranking) does the red battery light come on! Next if and when the car starts does this lamp go out (Not even glow dimly) If the answer is yes to the first and yes to the second but no to the third then the alternator is OK. You do not drive around with "everything on" to charge a battery.whoever told you that is wrong.it will take ten times longer to recharge fully. Another test for the battery is to toot the horn.sounds crazy but if the horn is crisp and loud then the battery is OK. If not then something is faulty.either battery or wiring to or from the battery. If you have roadside insurance or AA cover call them out to sort. Surprising how many people forget.
jussa,
Apr 17, 7:13am
thanks for all the info guys!
solarboy,
Apr 17, 12:55pm
Like ceebee2 said, you DON'T turn everything on charge your battery faster. It will make the alternator put in more charging current to the battery but that just compensates for what all your turned on stuff is drawing from the battery so it'll charge no faster than if all accessories are turned off and the alternator charges at a lower rate - after an initial maximum effort 'cos the battery is so low after just having cranked the car to life - that's the heaviest work the battery has to do. The blue stuff on the ( I'm picking + terminal ) and the spaces you mentioned will definitely not help the starter get the battery current it needs but as you've found the screw helped .A good well tightened clamp ( on the battery terminal or post )will help a lot but on a new battery as your leaking one is toastYou need to find out WHY it's leaking - as it's only 7 months old it should be in it's prime but it presumably must've been moving around - should be securely clamped in position - and worn through on a sharp edge or something similar. Make sure whoever fits the new battery checks for damaging protrusions first and gets the polarity right .That's RED terminal to + and black or blue to - terminal in case you do it yourself as you've admitted you're a novive auto-electrician . If the battery is connected in reverse you've got more trouble !Good luck.
msigg,
Apr 17, 7:12pm
Just buy a new battery for $120 then that eliminates that. when your lights are on rev the engine and see if the lights go brighter, if they do then its charging. Or call into a battery shop and get a load test. Simple .
intrade,
Apr 17, 7:45pm
the chaarging system is fine. i dont know where you get your logic from to turn on as mutch stuff as possibile when you know you have got no power left in your battery.Your battery was flat it takes over 1 day to charge a battery with a charger. Your alternator makes like 40 amps that would have been the power to charge your battery , But you used all the power the alternator produced by turning on all electrical things sucessfully draining away what ever power the alternator has produced . leaving no charge for the battery . I dont know where you get your logic from to turn all that stuff on on a flatt battery . Its like turning on all watertaps in the house when you know you got no water in your tank.
jenny188,
Apr 17, 8:03pm
Some people should not be allowed to own pets or cars. While boyfriend is away, if I was you I'ld look for a new one.
vic008,
Apr 17, 10:16pm
Alternator test once told to hold small screwdriver at back of alternator center and should feel a small magnetic pull if working
olsod2,
Apr 17, 11:03pm
holden vy ss drove car 25ks into town stopped at service stationfueled up went to start car would not turn over.got a jump start drove to auto sparky checked out battery ,alternator nothing wrong driving home alternator light came on cut out lights, radio then car.AA came out started car, ran like a dream ended up alternator had faulty diode.replaced with new alternator which we had already purchased not had any more trouble
kevymtnz,
Apr 17, 11:40pm
try borrow someones good battery if problem persists look at starter
jasongroves,
Apr 18, 12:54am
Jump start vehicle. Drive vehicle to nearest auto electrician. Take someone with you to sit it passenger seat so you can leave car running while you pop into electricians reception to kindly ask for someone to take a quick look. If you don't have someone to take with you, no worry as the sparky will no doubt have a portable jump starter on site. Once they have found the issue, they will be able to either replace the battery on the spot or give you a quote for repairs if needed.
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