Ruined battery ?

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Sun 12 Aug 2001 16:51
Ruined battery ? - Jake Harrop
I have an 'entertaining' '91 BX 16v which is currently burning a rather large hole in my pocket. Latest thing to go wrong is a reluctance to start - I've changed leads, dizzy cap and plugs and hoped that it would now burst into life at the merest hint of the key being turned in the ignition (as my old corolla used to), but to no avail - I still have to crank it for several seconds before it catches and finally explodes into action.

The only thing I can think of is that the oil may be a little on the thick side (and rather old by the look of it - I've not had the car long but it doesn't look like it's been changed in a while) ie. 20w50, could this be a contributing factor ?

Finally - sorry to be so windy on this, my first post, but I have just returned from a 3 week trip abroad and surprise surprise, the old girl refused to start when I first tried her. Managed to get a jump start to get her going, but the 10 min drive back from the long term parking wasn't enough to charge the battery sufficiently to provide enough juice for a re-start once I got home (despite the engine being fairly warm). The next day I got another jump start and decided to go for a 45 min drive to get the battery charged. I must have covered in in the region of 35-40 miles, but upon parking up and trying a fully warm re-start the battery seemed just as flat as it was before; hardly enough to get the starter motor to spin at all. So, my question is: has leaving the battery uncharged for (possibly) several weeks knackered it so that it doesn't hold any charge, or rather, my alternator is duff and isn't charging the battery ?

All advice appreciated,

Jake
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Sun 12 Aug 2001 16:57
Re: Ruined battery ? - David Woollard
Jake,

Yes it is possible to kill a battery in the maner you describe. A test across the battery terminals with the engine running will prove if the alternator is OK.

David
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Sun 12 Aug 2001 17:08
Re: Ruined battery ? - Jake Harrop
God, if I had even half a brain I'd be dangerous - I'll get my multimeter out when I get home from work today. Any idea what sort of readings I should be looking for from a heathy alternator then ?

Ta

Jake
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Sun 12 Aug 2001 19:54
Re: Ruined battery ? - Jake Harrop
Well, just been out in the rain, managed to get the thing started (another jump start) and measured the voltage across the 2 battery terminals - 13.6 volts. Is this normal, or is it overcharging indicating an alternator prob ?


Thanks

Jake
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Sun 12 Aug 2001 19:54
Voltage info. - David Woollard
Jake,

Have a look at the previous thread "BX charging fault - 11/07/01", use Search to find it.

If you read the posts the subject is well covered including an excellent link to a website with all the battery info you could want.

Regards,

David
BX Columnist
Citroen Car Club
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