battery drained - how ?

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davidej
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Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2017 2:51 pm
MGF Register Region: East Anglia

Re: battery drained - how ?

Post by davidej » Sat Dec 30, 2017 3:04 pm

I bought an F this summer. I only use it occasionally and until today it always started fine. But today the battery was absolutely flat - perhaps i didn't close the door properly or something like that.

How can I check everything is off when I put it in the garage? - a light is usually obvious unless it is under the bonnet or something.

An isolator sounds a good idea but requires you to open the bonnet each time and reset clock, radio etc after re-connecting .

What about one of these battery conditioners/ trickle chargers? I would rather not have to leave the bonnet open each time I plug it in so how could one wire in an easily accessible socket? With older cars, you used to be able to use the cigarette lighter socket but these are only connected when the ignition is on

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Reckless Rat
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Model of Car: 97 1.8mpi in BRG
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Re: battery drained - how ?

Post by Reckless Rat » Sat Dec 30, 2017 7:24 pm

You can buy a battery conditioner on Amazon for less than £25. Leave it coupled up all the time you're not using the car.
Go for the Black & Decker BVD090. Just bought one for a neighbour.

Geoff.F
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Re: battery drained - how ?

Post by Geoff.F » Sun Dec 31, 2017 9:55 am

My Accumate came with a 2 pin connector on the end of the lead and 2 fly leads. One with 2 clips and the other bear to plumb in under the bonnet.There is adequate gap to run a lead under the front of the bonnet.
Geoff.F

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janelilley
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MGF Register Region: Thames Valley
Model of Car: MGTF 135
Location: Slough

Re: battery drained - how ?

Post by janelilley » Sun Jan 07, 2018 4:30 pm

I bought a TF six months ago with a newish looking battery but I haven't driven it much in the last month and found yesterday that the battery was dead. I put it down to lack of use and the alarm going off a few times in the very high winds last week and leaving the stereo fascia plugged in. Used a power pack to zap the battery back into life, ran it around for about 45 minutes, checked it restarted okay and thought no more about it.
This morning, we went to set of the Sunday Scramble in Bicester and it was dead again. Did the same thing with the power pack, it started straight away and so we set off (with power pack in boot just in case) thinking it was cold and just hadn't been run enough yesterday.
2 junctions up the M40, the red battery light came on on the dash so I figured the battery must be shot.
Fortunately we weren't that far away so drove back home and swapped cars to get to Bicester. When we got back this afternoon, I got straight online to find out which battery to replace it with and found myself confused by what I read, so thought I would take a look at what was recommended in the Workshop Manual and from multiple suppliers.
After some research, I found the battery I had in the car when I bought it was an 075 model, which doesn't tally with the info from elsewhere.
I was unsure what to replace with but found Rimmer Bros had a useful listing for batteries. They were advertising the 027 model for cars with PAS, which mine has being a late TF and the 075 for non PAS cars - I suspect the 075 might have died quicker because its for a car without power steering like the older MGFs.
For anyone else wondering which battery to use, I went for the 027 AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) battery as these are apparently better (though admittedly a little more expensive) that wet cell if the car is not used regularly as a daily driver.
Tanya (www.tanya.co.uk) were by far the cheapest when I compared with the likes of Euro Car Parts. (2/3 to 1/2 the price for most of the common ones on offer - a Bosch S5005 is £156 at Euro Car Parts and Tanya have the same one at £79!)
Hope someone finds this message useful :)
:D
MG TF 135
Mini Cooper Countryman
plus an occasional drive of hubby's MGB GT Jubilee

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Neil Rushton
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Model of Car: TF135
Location: East Lancs,border with Yorkshire

Re: battery drained - how ?

Post by Neil Rushton » Sun Jan 07, 2018 5:34 pm

I fitted a Duracell 075 battery as recommended by Tayna most important I think is CCA (cold cranking amps) one of the problems with AGM batteries is that if they run completely flat you struggle to get them to recover (allegedly) a TF not used needs to be on a CTEK or Optimiser really, as I've said before our 10reg TF can last about 3 weeks if stood & not connected to the CTEK. Always check when buying a battery that the alternator is changing ok first.
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janelilley
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue Aug 15, 2017 7:30 pm
MGF Register Region: Thames Valley
Model of Car: MGTF 135
Location: Slough

Re: battery drained - how ?

Post by janelilley » Sun Jan 07, 2018 5:55 pm

Thanks for the info Neil. Its taken me about 2 hours of scouring online to find the right one today.
I went for an Exide Stop Start with a CCA of 600 and 60Ah. This is the model that Tanya recommended for my model of TF - the 027. The 075 I am replacing has similar ratings (61Ah / 600CCA) - an Exide Premium model - so not much difference in performance. I have no idea how long the old battery has been in, but the alternator was looked at a few weeks ago by my mechanic when it was given a really good service and inspection and all he had to do was tighten it, so I doubt that has anything to do with the problem. The battery light is intermittent so it seems to be charging periodically - it restarted fine after being stood today for 5 or 6 hours in the freezing cold, but seems to die overnight. These newer type AGM batteries are recommended for very cold / damp conditions or infrequently used motors so it should be ideal for my weekend driving. If its rubbish, I'll repost with an update - 3 years guarantee whatever happens so all should be fine.
:D
MG TF 135
Mini Cooper Countryman
plus an occasional drive of hubby's MGB GT Jubilee

bigmac
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Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2010 9:28 pm
MGF Register Region: South Coast

Re: battery drained - how ?

Post by bigmac » Mon Jan 08, 2018 4:07 pm

i have an 096 battery taken out of my zr diesel. does anyone know if this will be a direct fit in my Tf ? any electrical issues ?

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Reckless Rat
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Model of Car: 97 1.8mpi in BRG
Location: South of France - in the Gard.

Re: battery drained - how ?

Post by Reckless Rat » Thu Jan 11, 2018 7:31 pm

Special offer this week in Lidl - https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/Non-Food-Offe ... cleId=9575

Get in!

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talkingcars
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Re: battery drained - how ?

Post by talkingcars » Thu Jan 11, 2018 11:05 pm

Reckless Rat wrote:Special offer this week in Lidl - https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/Non-Food-Offe ... cleId=9575

Get in!
Great for a quick charge, rubbish for battery life.
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