Vauxhall Vectra CLub 16V - Dead Battery?

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Tue 3 Jan 2012 09:45
Vauxhall Vectra CLub 16V - Dead Battery? - aaronmcl

My car hasnt been used in about a week and when i went to start it yesterday there was no life in it at all, no lights, central locking wasnt working and it wouldnt turn over. After a jump i was able to get it started but even if i turned the steering wheel slightly the headlights would dim and it would lose power - the BAS light even came on and the power steering went, driving straight seemed to be ok.

My question is, does this sound like just a dead battery or might there be something more serious wrong with it?

Many thanks in advance.

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Tue 3 Jan 2012 10:06
Vauxhall Vectra CLub 16V - Dead Battery? - Fernando P

It could either be discharged because something was left on like the boot light, or because it is on the way out (a plate is defective) and it is not holding the charge for long. Solutions: 1 Charge it up and see how it performs. 2 Charge it up and have it drop tested to check if a cell is defective and if so replace it. The best option is 2 if you can readily do this.

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Tue 3 Jan 2012 10:35
Vauxhall Vectra CLub 16V - Dead Battery? - aaronmcl

Thanks for the reply.

So you think these symptoms would be contributable to the battery and not something else?

I dont have a charger or tester so i was just going to buy a 2nd hand battery to test with...

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Tue 3 Jan 2012 10:46
Vauxhall Vectra CLub 16V - Dead Battery? - dieselnut

Check that your battery terminals & cable conexion to the body are clean & tight.

Could just be a poor conexion.

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Tue 3 Jan 2012 12:29
Vauxhall Vectra CLub 16V - Dead Battery? - aaronmcl

Thanks both for the suggestions, sounds like it should be cheap to fix.

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Tue 3 Jan 2012 18:51
Vauxhall Vectra CLub 16V - Dead Battery? - Peter.N.

connect a voltmeter across the battery with the engine running, it should read a bit over 14 volts, much less and you probably have an alternator problem, if the voltage is OK and its still going flat I would suspect the battery.

Edited by Peter.N. on 03/01/2012 at 18:51

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Wed 4 Jan 2012 09:03
Vauxhall Vectra CLub 16V - Dead Battery? - aaronmcl

Well i replaced the battery and all is well again, so thanks again for your help!!!

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