problem starting car

[dc5ian]

right i hadnt sartarted my car for 2 weeks, but took it out tonight.. started fine, drove around 30 miles to pick the significant other up.. i left the car lights on for 5 mins while i went into her flat to get her, and when i came back to start it up it wouldnt..it was like the bat was dead, i managed to get a battery charger on it for 15 mins and the car started, but drove home with the engine managment light on.. is it a dead battery? would that cause the engine managment light on?

 

[markie]

could be battery or an alternator problem,best idea would be connect a multimeter to the battery to make sure your alternator is charging the battery, if it is it would point towards the battery.

 

[dc5ian]

i put a meter on the battery, the battery was pushing out 13 amps

 

[markie]

alternator is working then looks like the battery has some dead cells
is it a sealed battery?

i put a meter on the battery, the battery was pushing out 13 amps

 

[dc5ian]

started 3 times this morning no probs, no engine mangement light on either.. the battery is the original, on a 04 facelift.. it still could be the alternator as when i took the reading i had a battery charger on it.

 

[markie]

you wont geet a true reading with the charger on it. best to have the car running with the lights and heater,heated rear window on and see what your meter reads then.

started 3 times this morning no probs, no engine mangement light on either.. the battery is the original, on a 04 facelift.. it still could be the alternator as when i took the reading i had a battery charger on it.

 

[dc5ian]

yeh i no, i just put the meter on it to check if i had enough power to start the car... i didnt wanna keep trying to start the car and wasteing time.. i was in a hurry and need to leave asap... i will take it to tgm and get tom to have a look, i need a mot anyway.. thanks for your help

 

[C&S Evo7]

alternators are mega money, I have a 2nd hand one if needed.

 

[dc5ian]

ok cheers.. its running fine now.. very strange.. i bought a power pack just incase it does happen again.. can 5 mins of leaving the car lights on without the engine running drain the battery?

 

[madrab]

sounds to me like the battery is on its way out, very similar problem to mine, 60 odd notes from halfords, you notice the difference

 

[Zen1]

ok cheers.. its running fine now.. very strange.. i bought a power pack just incase it does happen again.. can 5 mins of leaving the car lights on without the engine running drain the battery?

Yes, I did exactly the same myself the other day. One of my main beam lights failed last week and in trying to find the fault
i had the lights on for maybe 10-15mins without the engine running.

Turns out, moisture got into one of the electronic ballasts which i dried out and managed to get working.

Next morning....car would'nt start due to a flat battery.
It's a small capacity battery in the teg (20AmpHour) so doesn't take much to drain it.

It's been fine since jumping it with a powerpack only once.

 

[dc5ian]

ok cheers.. its running fine now.. very strange.. i bought a power pack just incase it does happen again.. can 5 mins of leaving the car lights on without the engine running drain the battery?

Yes, I did exactly the same myself the other day. One of my main beam lights failed last week and in trying to find the fault
i had the lights on for maybe 10-15mins without the engine running.

Turns out, moisture got into one of the electronic ballasts which i dried out and managed to get working.

Next morning....car would'nt start due to a flat battery.
It's a small capacity battery in the teg (20AmpHour) so doesn't take much to drain it.

It's been fine since jumping it with a powerpack only once.

ur most prob right.. just cant belive that leaving the lights on for 5 mins would do that..