Jump Start Every few days - battery or other hidden issue?

[Scotty88]

Hi All,

hopefully someone may have had the same experience that i am about to describe and could assist in any technical manner.

i have a 2000 Reg MGF

recently i purchased a new car battery, as the old one was tested and was not holding charge (dead), there was a notification to replace the alternator as well as when testing with the correct meter etc the alternator was not performing and the volts were slowly dropping. this was also replaced a couple of weeks later.

so i now have a new battery and a new alternator but yet i have to jump start the car every few days????? i will be going back to get the battery tested even though it is new just to make sure.

however, could there be any hidden problems with internal wiring etc that people may be aware of?

strange thing is this was never normally an issue with battery drain or not as quick at least on 4 year old batteries

any help or guidance on possible issues / testing would be greatly appreciated

regards

scott

[flyingbanana]

Pull your earth off the battery and remove from body work, clean up both ends if any corrosion and refit. I did this as I had a similar problem with car sat for a few days and now I don't.

[RSR92]

Another possibility would be the state of repair and/or tensioning of your alternator belt - if you've got access to a multimeter you could do the standard voltage tests to see if there are any issues in that area

[Scotty88]

thanks both for the reply.

in the last month i bought a new battery and had a new alternator fitted as well.

i will try and clean the earth and hope that works, otherwise i fear there is something else that may be simple causing the issue that i cannot see


thanks again

[Bazzajay]

I had a similar problem a few weeks back. Having used the car the day before I went to use it the next morning and the battery was lifeless, it wouldn't even activate the central locking.

I removed the battery, the car's outside parked on the road, and put it on charge. It was so flat my modern charger wouldn't work. So, to the back of the shed and out with my old, trusty, trickle charger, which I bought in 1962. That did the job and fully charged it overnight.

I cleaned the terminals and connectors and replaced the battery, it's worked well ever since. I'm still mystified as to why the battery completely discharged overnight.

[RSR92]

Cleaning connections is a good idea too...my positive terminal was so grimy that the clamp wasn't holding the battery terminal correctly and that caused me a few gremlins as well as slight issues with holding charge but nothing as bad as yours seems

[Scotty88]

yes i am going to be trying all of the cleaning connections, removing and cleaning the earth. the thing that confuses me most is botht he battery and the alternator are only a month old or so!

thanks again people

[Scotty88]

Hi Again,

i have removed cleaned and re-connected the earth cable but am still getting the same issue, i jump started the car last night and went out for a drive for about 30-40 mins, yet this morning the car has no life to start..............................this is becoming very frustrating.

so if anyone has any other information on the possible issue it would be greatly appreciated.

as mentioned before the battery is new (and so is the alternator) but think i will go back down to halfords for them to test the battery again to be sure before any other electrical problems.

thanks

[Bazzajay]

It's also worth checking the wiring to the bonnet and boot lights. The wiring can become damaged over time causing them to short-out and the lights to remain on. I would be inclined to check the boot wiring first as it seems to be the most vulnerable.

This seems to be a common problem now most cars have central locking. Why the manufacturers don't put the locks on the bodywork and so obviate the need for the wires to the boot lid I don't know. It seems such an obvious solution. Cheaper to manufacture too, as they'd save a good deal of wiring.

[RSR92]

Scotty, have you cleaned the end of the earth and live that attaches to the battery terminals?

As I said before I had a very vey similar issue with a charge drain and it was due to the live cable not being on the live terminal properly, don't ask me how but it was causing some sort of situation where the live was constantly taking charge from the battery

A clean up of the screw holding the live wire to the terminal and the terminal itself allowed me to tighten it to the terminal a lot tighter and this resolves my issue of the battery losing charge.

I'm not an electrician so I don't the how or why I just know that this fixed my charge drain issue

[Mike H]

For the home mechanic, my inclination would be, as Bazzajay suggested above, to check the wiring around the boot hinge. Whilst apparently visibly OK on external inspection, internal fraying or breaking of the wiring and/or insulation has caused many apperently peculiar faults with different connections shorting together or to earth. Peeling back the outer sheathing/insulation will reveal the wires in the loom and it may be apparent what the problem is, or point to point continuity/earth leakage testing may be required to confirm or otherwise all is OK at this known weak point. I've had two previous issues on my old '98 F at that point, when the car was less than ten years old.

Failing that, it sounds like a visit to a trusted dealer or auto electrician.

(FWIW, my car lives away from home in an unpowered garage, and I can leave it for anywhere between 4-6 weeks before I start even thinking about whether it will start).

[talkingcars]

New components have been known to fail so check they are performing properly, also check all earths and positive connections.

Check the drain on the battery after switch off, there will be a small drain for a few minutes but should be almost unreadable after about 12 minutes.

If there is a drain locate it by checking hidden bulbs such as boot and glove box.

Then check circuits by pulling fuses, seeing if there is a change between pulling each one.