battery dead, charged and dead again

[carpy33]

Gents, my 2001 T2 has been running fine without any issues on start up etc. The car was left for around 2 weeks as I didn't need it however when I went back to it the battery was dead. The immobiliser wasn't flashing and the doors wouldn't unlock with the key press. Jump started the car, took it for a drive, switched off and dead again. This time the instrument panel did light up however the needles lifted up a couple of times before coming to rest in the normal position.
The battery was charged overnight, placed back in to the car and everything was fine. The instrument panel did flicker again however started without issue. I have just been back to the car and it's goosed, nothing not even enough power to do the central locking.
anyone got any ideas apart from a new battery????

 

[Mav96]

first thing is to have the battery checked, if ok check alternator is charging the battery ok, if both are ok than you probably have a serious drain, maybe a short, i see you are in east sussex I can check the battery & alternator if you are near to me ?

 

[jims-terrano]

Charge the battery, reconnect to the truck and ensure it starts. Disconnect the battery and then leave over night. Test again if still starts and leaving it over night before would of flattened it then there is a good indicator that you COULD have a drain. Also test with a multimeter and see what volts you get with engine running and not running, theres also several other threads on a similar theme to yours that were posted quite recently.

 

[Sweety]

With all this cold weather we've been having everyone's batteries are having a harder time of it & as yours wasn't driven for 2 weeks i'm not surprised your battery was flat as it just needs 1 cell to start going down. I would charge the battery & get a drop test done on it to see if there are any dead cells:augie then check the charging rate of the alternator which should read around 14.2v. It takes a few miles to recharge the battery as so many amps are sucked out just starting these engines up. If mine hasn't been used for 2 days I take it for a 5-6 mile run to get the battery fully charged again because if I was to just start it up & let it tick over for 5 mins it won't restart again this time of year & my battery is a year old but in the summer don't have this problem

 

[carpy33]

first thing is to have the battery checked, if ok check alternator is charging the battery ok, if both are ok than you probably have a serious drain, maybe a short, i see you are in east sussex I can check the battery & alternator if you are near to me ?

Mav96 I'm in battle so very nearby to you. I don't have a multi meter so can't check the battery or alternator currently. The battery does have one of those indicators which should normally glow green however even after the battery was charged it wasn't showing green. I thought the Mrs had left the lights on to be honest, she got the blame anyway.

 

[jims-terrano]

You need to go shopping, a bunch of flowers and then sneak in a multimeter

 

[briggie]

you live near the genious commonly known as rick ( solarman 216 ) ....... I think a visit is in order

 

[AlexD333]

you live near the genious commonly known as rick ( solarman 216 ) ....... I think a visit is in order

Yu, Rick certainly did have a multimeter if not damaged from the floods, battery is a good possibility. What did you charge the battery back up with? And for how long?

Easy test with multimeter :thumb2

 

[carpy33]

you live near the genious commonly known as rick ( solarman 216 ) ....... I think a visit is in order

Lol, have already visited the one we call MASTER down in the south. Think a visit could well be in order as I also have a fuel leak which is driving me insane as I can't find it???

 

[carpy33]

Yu, Rick certainly did have a multimeter if not damaged from the floods, battery is a good possibility. What did you charge the battery back up with? And for how long?

Easy test with multimeter :thumb2

Alex, charged the battery for a good 12 hours and it was showing as fully charged but as said before the green light wasn't showing. I don't think the battery is that old either.

 

[jims-terrano]

If you are talking about the little round clear plastic thing on top of the battery is doesn't glow, it has more of a green tinge to it. Not really very impressive and I don't think it's conclusive either

 

[carpy33]

If you are talking about the little round clear plastic thing on top of the battery is doesn't glow, it has more of a green tinge to it. Not really very impressive and I don't think it's conclusive either

That will be the one, size of a pea and my one is showing black at the moment which indicates that the battery is goosed. Would a drain show up as a fault code? My ML isn't on so I'm guessing I don't have any faults????

 

[Sweety]

No a battery drain won't bring up the MIL, there is just a high chance this cold weather has finished off the battery, my local car parts shop had around 100 batteries on his shelf a couple of weeks ago but only 8 yesterday & said he's never sold as many

 

[AlexD333]

Yes black indicates replace

Red indicates charge

Green indicates good.

Before you fork out for an expensive purchase it would be good to confirm with a meter but I think you have hit the nail on the head there :thumb2

Oh and if it does turn out to be battery don't buy a cheap one...

You know what they say

Buy right and buy once :clap

 

[AlexD333]

No a battery drain won't bring up the MIL, there is just a high chance this cold weather has finished off the battery, my local car parts shop had around 100 batteries on his shelf a couple of weeks ago but only 8 yesterday & said he's never sold as many

Just a thought although not heard of it on a terrano, the jaguars act very strange when the battery is running low, from eml lights to headlamps remaining on to units not functioning atall.

The jags are running on a fibreoptic circuit with about 6 modules all in line, if one misbehaves you can guarantee you will get problems with the rest.

Be grateful we run chip fat fryers :lol

 

[Sweety]

Just a thought although not heard of it on a terrano, the jaguars act very strange when the battery is running low, from eml lights to headlamps remaining on to units not functioning atall.

The jags are running on a fibreoptic circuit with about 6 modules all in line, if one misbehaves you can guarantee you will get problems with the rest.

Be grateful we run chip fat fryers :lol

That sounds like a Vauxhall with a good battery etc as their electric's have a mind of their own:lol:doh

 

[briggie]

cold weather kills batteries too

 

[panelbeater]

an easy test to do,at night turn head lights on see how bright they are start the truck lights should go a lot brighter,listen to engine with bonnet up,turn all headlights on,you should get bright lights and hear the alternator work harder slows the lump down a bit,put on main beam turn on rear heated screen and it should not change anymore.
i got a 95a terrano battery on bay 3 year gt £69 delivered,no trouble starting in the cold after 3 weeks non use.

 

[rustic]

My Mav has a small drain when stopped, and over three weeks if left, it can have a great affect on the charge, with my mav just starting. The battery is just about a year old now, and I won't leave it without a weekly charge with a multi stage charger now.
A battery left with less than 80% charge for any length of time, will rapidly sulphate, so that all the CCA that you thought you had will never be all available ever again.

So if we go away for more than two weeks, I disconnect the earth on the battery, place in an insulated plastic bag.
When we get back, connect it up, set the radio code and reprogramme the stations and sorted. The ECU sorts itself out. Now mine doesn't have a Nissan NATS alarm, now these can be a pig to reset, so be aware.:augie

Now, I have the advantage, that my Mav is in the garage, with a door to the utility room, so I can check the charger regularly. Also when left, we can leave it unlocked, so no problems with security or the alarm that I installed from day one.
You also have to consider modern cars left at airports for three weeks or more, a small solar panel will ofset some or all of the discharge, if parked outside lol.

The discharge is from the ECU and control electronics, the radio memory and the alarm. That's before any discharge from salt deposits or other muck across the battery terminals.
It all adds up, eg 50mA is just over 1 amp hour per day, so three weeks holiday will be around 20 Ah which could be 25% of a new battery, and 50% or more of an old naff battery.
Now if your discharge is more... then you can see why the battery is at risk.

Now why don't they make sun roofs using a solar panel... :nenau
Price I guess...:augie

 

[perelaar]

solar panel roofs do exist - on a Fisker Karma

See one regularly on the slog to work, a very nice car it is! Tesla Model S as well, even nicer. But oh so pricey.