Dead car battery

[Ironfist]

While i was away on holiday for a month the car was never started so i knew i was coming back to a dead battery or possibly a battery with a bit of charge.

When i came back the car battery was completly dead (even the alarm was not working) so i had to jump start the car with one of those portable units (which i've used before). The car started straight away and so i drove it around for a while to give it more life. After a few days, with each day driving the car, the car would struggle to turn on so i decided to do the proper thing and take the battery out and charge it.

Once i had charged it for 14 hours i placed the battery back in the car and the car still struggled to turn on so on the following day i thought i'd drive it around for 2 hours non stop so that the alternator would charge the battery.

Even after the 2 hour drive it still struggles to turn on.
Ive got a capacitor for my stereo and i think when i first got it installed, they said you had to charge it up?

So the question is, is my battery screwed for life and i have to buy a new one? or is it because the capacitor keeps sucking the battery dry while i start the car even when the stereo is not turned on?

thx

[supersamEK]

i had this exact same problem, but i just gave up trying to figure out what was going on so i bought a brand spanker and now is all fine again. It's too much of a pain in the ass having unreliable battery.

[Mr_will]

the older your battery is, the worse it will react to having been drained completely in the first place.

did you top up the water levels, and open the caps to let it vent when you recharged it?

in many cases once a car battery has been fully discharged it will never perform particularly well again, and its much better to replace it than risk being stranded, especially if you dont have nrma membership. on that note, they will bring you a new battery and install it for you for nothing, if you purchase it from them

[dsp26]

when you recharged it, how mny amps did it charge?

same thing happened to me and it doesn't charge past 6amps. dies within a week of no start. also the indicator on the battery never goes to full cahrge regardless how long i leave the car running.

as with any battery, some of the conductive plates are dead and can't hold a charge. replace it straight away or do what i'll be doing and call it in for warranty :D

[Duesta]

same happened to me after 5 weeks + of not starting it, battery wasn't holding it's charge. just get a new battery, and it will fix the problem. like others have said, its not worth the headache trying to figure out what else it could be, and having an unreliable battery.

[Ironfist]

Thanks for the replys

I don't know if i can open these vents or top up the water. There is this thing on it though were it says if it needs charging, but that's about it.

It charges at 4amps

I'm giving it one last charge tonight and if that doesn't fix it i'll purchase another battery.

thx

[nedgeworth]

Firstly how old is the battery?

[Spunkymonkey]

if the battery is a few years old you might as well change it...handy hint for next time if you are going to be gone for a few weeks, just disconnect your battery and lock your doors with the keys. Any battery will drain after 4 weeks.

[Ironfist]

Yeah the battery is 3.5 years old. What a pain, it was working perfectly before i left.

I just put the battery back in again after the indicator said that the battery is good and when i start the car it still struggles to turn on so i'm about to go buy a new battery.

thx

[Nuttz]

lead acid batteries dont like going flat. They will NEVER be the same again, no matter how many times you try to charge them.

[chunky]

get a new 1

[Slow96GSR]

It's called "deep cycling" and you will never have a fully charged battery again unless you have a battery that can handle it, like an Optima or SVR. Better to just get one of those if you take a lot of long trips.