ARRRGHHHHH....bloody Flat Battery

[Langy]

And the curse of the shitty Battery has finally visited me,

went out this morning at half Three to drive to work and upon 'starting' the car....'read that as attempting to'.... i was greeted by the classic 'starter motor click', and a multitude of flashing dashboard lights, as well as, service Stabiltrak, service anti theft system, battery saver system activated,

so after a few expletive words... I've deduced that i've got a shagged battery, not bad i suppose, i'm still running on the original battery.... but why can't car give you a bloody warning when the battery is shagged?

so it looks like a day of tracking down and changing a battery for me...on the plus side...i've got a day of work now...YAY !!!

just checked the battery with a multimeter and i'm getting a 'resting figure' of 9.82v...so yep she's shagged..

found this... i presume it will be good enough..

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs-blades-batteries/car-batteries/yuasa-5-year-guarantee-hsb110-silver-12v-car-battery?request_type=bestseller

is there anything i need to do once i've fitted a new battery, apart from the standard..open/close windows ?

is it worth checking the alternator ? and more importantly is it as simple as getting the car started and testing the battery (whilst its running to check what power it's showing?)..ie i presume it would be around 12 to 14 v when the car is running...and 12 when its turned off ....

[marko301]

On the up side, at least in didn't let you down in the middle of winter when it's freezing. I'm pretty sure don't need to do anything other than the windows thingy after changing the battery. It's no different to the normal disconnect the battery for 10-20 minutes procedure.

[umfaan]

..If you do go to Halfords , they will give you a full test of all the charging system for free.....so peace of mind your alternator etc, is working...….

[Langy]

just tried Jumping it using the wife's 1.0 (3pot ecoflex) Corsa.... (talk about bone ideas..)

the tiny battery wouldn't even keep the dash lights on long enough to try it...ha ha ha..

(in hindsight the fact that the corsa battery is a 40mha battery and the Insignia is an 85mha battery should have flagged the i'm not gonna be strong enough to even turn the lights on thing in my head..)... but i'll suppose we'll try anything in a crisis..

[Langy]

Crisis solved... £115 later and she's Alive!!!!... (that's just over £800 shes's had spent on her over the last three weeks...she's worse than a bloody woman..)

Wasn't half as daunting swapping it over, you hear all manner of folks saying they get loads of codes pop up when they swap the battery over...but touch wood I've had none, other than the window up/down thing..

One thing i have noticed is that the new battery is slightly longer than the original OEM one, and thus the battery retaining clamp doesn't fit into the mounting hole...but i'm going to pack the gap with some thick foam to stop the battery moving around..

Any how..

Here's the battery charge level when i checked it this morning..


And the new one fitted..


And whilst the engine is running at 'tick over'..


By the looks of it there's nothing wrong with the alternator, it was just a case of the battery being knackered through age...

Now it's time for a brew before i give her a wash and wax....

[Langy]

..If you do go to Halfords , they will give you a full test of all the charging system for free.....so peace of mind your alternator etc, is working...….

i might nip down later just to get peace of mind...

[marko301]

All sorted for the winter now.

[Langy]

freshly washed and waxed...

a good layer of Autoglym resin polish and a top coat of Fusso coat Dark....

[marko301]

Looking good! but go get some pics taken with a field or something behind you.....I'm liking those wheel nut covers. Are they chrome?

[Langy]

No mate, they were the old ones i had painted with Tamiya X-11 Chrome Silver modelling paint... A nice and cheap mod..

[Howy]

Glad you sorted before the winter as battery prices go up,mine did warn me of low battery and a few weeks later told me to change key fob battery!
Car looks good btw