Battery failure??? Urgent help...
 

:-( Hi Guys,

The engine starting has been a bit "laboured" for the past few days and this morning it wouldn't turn over, just rapid clicking of the relay (I guess) :-( :-(

I have the chance to get the alternator and battery checked at ATS, new battery charged not cheapest (£116) but I have the chance to drive to Shropshire in an A8 +++ or a Fiesta 1.25 :ROFL: on Friday afternoon.

An thoughts?? What should I look for FAST!

Robert

The clicking will be the solenoid on the starter engaging and disengaging as the battery can no longer provide enough current to turn the starter.

If all was well upto this point and the battery is 4 years or older, then just replace the battery. The battery can suddenly fail, happened on an old car of mine, I drove somewhere with no problem, got out and 10mins later the car was completely dead.

For some reason, modern batteries do seem to be prone to sudden failures. I've had it on the '8 and my wife's mini. I'd agree, if it's more than 4 or 5 years old and has been OK until recently, get the alternator checked and, if it's OK, just get a new battery

Brilliant, quick help! Thanks!
 

Thanks guys, so reassuring, will chop battery and drive through to Shrewsbury in my A8! (Got AA just in case...)

Robert+++

Next question...
 

Error, so how do I get car to drive to garage, is it safe to use jump leads to start? :Confused:

Or should I buy a trickle charger?? I don't believe the solar charger from Aldi will put enough charge in... :ROFL:

Oh, and what's this "coding the battery to the car" lark I have read about here, does that mean D2s too or just lithium batteries??

Cheers again! +++

Robert

Battery coding is not applicable to D2's. Just plug and play.

Poor battery condition can produce error codes (usually low voltage, out of range, or intermittent faults), so a code reset is a good idea. Not critical.

Jump starting:
Best option is to use one of those micro LiPo jump starter packs. I've got three now!
Using jump leads is ok provided you have a spike protection box on the lead.
If the car runs ok after disconnecting the leads, the alternator is probably ok anyway.

Half time score
 

Hi again,

I like it when Forum users follow up with "what happened next"... :D

Good call with the little lithium batter pack, my saintly pal Dave called round after my 8pm shift to loan me his venerable Clarke trickle charger (20 y.o. if it's a day) and show off his lithium pack.

Couldn't remember where the battery was! Started and got engine well warm, sounds really good! +++

To celebrate I will drive "through middle earth " back from Shrewsbury, Peak District. M ways going, don't want to keep my pal waiting.

I'll probably never do this journey again. Certainly not to my Stag do (mk1) , deeply rural Wales hotel with mi Midland Pals, with my youngest Son in a V8 through the Peak District. :love:

Lucky guy and SWIMBO supportive too! This is gonna cost me! :ROFL:

Robert

5 year guarantee - recommended
 

I had the 'pleasure' of having a replacement battery fitted recently, as the old one had started to cause similar problems. This was all done under the 5 year warranty from Harry Halfords. Original battery was £130 for a Bosch Silver and this was replaced for free with a Yuasa Silver instead.

I did wince at the initial cost (said the A8 owner lol) but the 5 year guarantee persuaded me to fork out the extra, and I'm glad I did. It's perhaps worth taking the time and effort to check the chassis rail connectors too if you can be bothered, as I was met with a dead car leaving work one day and that was something the recovery people couldn't fix at the side of the road. These connections get fuzzed up over time and need a good clean and reseating. This resulted in a slight click or nothing when trying to start the car. It was only after a new starter motor was fitted that the garage realised that the chassis rail connectors were to blame. Hey ho, I got a free starter motor gratis as they couldn't be bothered to remove it.

Just following up on this what type and size battery do people recommend for a late D2 S8? And where from (e.g. a chain or online)?

I think mine ought to be replaced (preventively). The one installed at the moment is a Unipart one, so obviously a replacement anyway, with a 4 year warranty label but I've had the car over 4 years (and no receipt). :ROFL:

When I picked the car up it had a flat battery (jump started OK) despite having had a test drive a couple of days earlier so I always expected to replace it, but it's never let me down in over 4 years!

All my messing about testing the digital TV tuner has run it down again. A quick 30-minutes on a charger got it started so not dead. But I left it charging overnight (admittedly not a huge throughput charger - max 8A) and the "health indicators" on both the battery itself and charger unit still show it's not fully charged. Shows over 13V though after disconnecting the charger.

I don't think swapping it over will be a problem; I did it on my old S8 easily enough and it all looks the same.
(Edit, looks like it need a generic type 019, such as Bosch S4 013 or S5 013. Halfords sell Yuasa I think.)

http://www.thebatteryshop.co.uk/yuas...019-8566-p.asp

This is the one I put in mine which is the same make as Audi now recommend through TPS. I got mine through TPS in the end as they kept sending me texts to my work phone saying how wonderful their battery deals were so I phoned up and challenged them, they did this same battery in the end for about £96 including vat but that was about a year ago! This company linked to are pretty good price wise, especially if you are passing Swindon and can collect +++