is my battery dead

16bit · Postby **16bit** » Thu Jan 10, 2019 4:07 pm

hey guys.

i haven't started my car in about a year. i have had it on trickle charge for about 48 hours.

there is some life in the battery. when i turn the key to 1 before start, lights come on etc.

however when i go to crank it I get a few light clicks, not cranking or turn over.

is it time for a new one?

i don't have a voltage meter fyi.

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Thu Jan 10, 2019 4:17 pm

The symptoms suggest it's flat.

As for dead, to my understanding trickle chargers are really slow to charge, since they're designed to be on near permanently.
Compared to a regular charger, which will charge a battery in anything from 2 hours to a day or so.

I'd buy a multimeter and test it, can get a cheapy for $10 https://www.jaycar.com.au/low-cost-digi ... m/p/QM1500

You can leave the battery on charge for a few more days and see how it goes, but to be honest if it's sat totally flat for a long period it's probably dead.

bruce · Postby **bruce** » Thu Jan 10, 2019 4:27 pm

How old is the battery?
If it's a few years plus a year of being idle, I'd say kaput.

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Thu Jan 10, 2019 4:48 pm

Yeah, try puting in on full charge - tried trickle recently on a two year parked old 12v battery - just wasn't cutting it. Left it for two days on full with a break overnight & it cranked. How long it will last is another matter.

Wolfgang · Postby **Wolfgang** » Thu Jan 10, 2019 4:59 pm

Take it to an auto electrician, they can test if it's still good and they can charge it for you.

KevGoat · Postby **KevGoat** » Thu Jan 10, 2019 5:00 pm

Rejuvenation of old batteries seems to work best for me when the battery is out of the car or at least has no connections on it. I use a 0.8amp CTek but most of the modern chargers work well, just make sure it has a desulphating mode. From complete flat can take several days. On some batteries I've found that by charging overnight then disconnecting next morning then starting over again works well. This starts the desulphation over and by doing this several times over say a week, I've reclaimed several batteries that appeared completely stuffed and wouldn't charge.

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16bit · Postby **16bit** » Thu Jan 10, 2019 6:35 pm

the battery is about 5 years old i would say.

i will keep on trying to charge it for another day or so and see how it goes. thanks everyone for the help!

i think i may need a multi meter anyway.

JBT · Postby **JBT** » Fri Jan 11, 2019 10:05 am

https://www.jaycar.com.au/low-cost-digital-multimeter-dmm/p/QM1500

StanTheMan · Postby **StanTheMan** » Fri Jan 11, 2019 10:28 am

does your charger also do normal charging?

Its taken me 2 solid days of charging for a seriously flat battery on a normal charger. would probably take weeks for the trickle.

you live in Ultimo?

I'm in Leichardt. let me know if you want to borrow it.

16bit · Postby **16bit** » Fri Jan 11, 2019 12:11 pm

hey guys update.

i got a multi meter and its currently sitting at 9.6v after about 3 days of charging on a trickle charger. its a cheap one that is only a trickle charger.

while the charger is on its 10.1v.

its probably going to take at least a few more days to get it up. whether it holds a charge or not is another story.

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Fri Jan 11, 2019 12:24 pm

Just a thought.

another way to charge it, a bit quicker, is to jump start the car and just go for a drive for a couple of hours. (obviously without stopping, and without lights on etc)
The alternator outputs ~14volts and a lot more amps than most cheap battery chargers, so can do the job a lot faster.

trickle chargers really are more designed to be a "top up" thing rather than a start from scratch charge, and since it's only putting out 10v I dont think it will every actually get it to 12v (tbh, it sounds like your trickle charger may have circuits in it to make it just try and maintain the input voltage, rather than bring it up to the usual 12/13v of a car battery)

16bit · Postby **16bit** » Fri Jan 11, 2019 12:48 pm

that would be a great idea only the car is not registered so can't really do it.

i am going to jump it on the weekend to move it so I might just leave it running for a while.

i would go for a drive around the block even but about 50m from my house is a cafe frequented by the fuzz.