Dead battery help please :o(

[naylor04]

Just got back from me hols to find the battery on me car is as dead as fcuk, the battery is 18 months old , my question is can it be re-charged from dead ? its totally flat, no light on dash nothing. I dont have a charger but if it can be done i'll start asking me neighbours.
I dont wanna spend money on a new one if it can be charged, i need my car for work tomorrow too

[billgatese30]

hi mate sorry to hear this....what did you think of puerto banus?

incidentaly, mine started first time

[Jamesb318is]

happened on mine a while back when i left my side lights on all day, push started it, went for a few m-way drives and now its fine again.

I think if they go absolutely flat, ie- zero charge even if you tested it with a voltmeter, then it wont recharge. Give it a chance first!

[Brianmoooore]

You certainl haven't done the battery any good by completely flattening it, but they usually come back with a good charge.
Don't be surprised if it won't accept any charging current for an hour or two, after you connect the charger.

[naylor04]

Well i thought it was totally flat, no lights on dash ect.....but when i turn the key (one click) my petrol gauge slooooowwwwly starts to move, ive got it on charge now so fingers crossed, hmmmmm hadnt thought of push starting it, how do you push start a car ? never done it before
If it all fails i'll buy me another from gsf in the morning,

[naylor04]

its been on just over an hour and the needle hasnt moved yet (fingers soooooo crossed), i'm gonna leave it on till the morning 7am ish and take it from there, if its not moved by then gunna avta gitmeh an noo battree
The one i have at the mo' is 12v 55 amp, i'm looking in the gsf brochure and they only do 45/50/60/64/66 ect...... should i go for the 50amp or the 60 as they dont do a 55amp. ?
If i go for the cheaper option ie 50amp will this still be ok ?

[Brianmoooore]

I always like to fit the biggest battery that will go on the tray.
Total waste of money most ofthe time, but once in a while, pays dividends.

[Jamesb318is]

It should be ok, but if not, I THINK a 60amp should be ok, may be slightly bigger in size though.
As long as you stick close to what youve got, it'll be ok, but as yours went flat i'd go bigger if poss.

To push a car you just get in it, ignition on, whack it in 2nd, clutch down, get a mate to push it to as fast as poss, then drop clutch. The power of the wheels turning turns the engine and so on. As soon as it fires, drop the clutch + dont stall it! You're not supposed to do this on cat equipped cars though, as i think the unburnt fuel produced damages the cat.

[Brianmoooore]

An independant, small tyre/battery place should be the cheapest bet for a new battery.

[naylor04]

Thanks guys for all your quick replies, i'll let ya'll now how it turns out, i'm
going to top up the bat' with distilled water too once charged, see if that helps.
Once again guys CHEERS !!!!!!

[Brianmoooore]

If it's low on water, top it up now.

[naylor04]

Cheers Brian, just topped it up now, it took a fair bit of water, 300ml .
I boiled a kettle earlier and used the water that was left.

[naylor04]

UPDATE :::::::::Ive just been out to check the progress of the battery on charge, hmmmmm the needle still hasnt moved
"Ohh" i say to myself "theres a 15amp fuse in the front of this charger and the sticker above it says 20, i pull out the 15 amp fuse and guess what ? It had blown, so ive replaced it with a 20amp fuse and hey presto
my battery is now on charge and the needle has moved about halfway !!!!
Its took me 3 and a half hours to work out why the damn this wasnt charging !!!!!
Its not my fault its my neighbours charger, i'll have him when i see him i'll tell yah !!!
So my mood has picked right up, its all i needed on the first day back from my hols i can tell you.
Anyhoo more updates to come

[Jos]

Charging and 'holding charge' are 2 different things, the test will be to see if it can deliver any current

It should be ok, but it will have shortened the life of the battery, you should recharge batteries from 50% or higher on a low current setting to maintain their life expectancy.

[naylor04]

Hiya Jos, i'm keeping my fingers crossed all will be ok in the morning. I charged the bat' up overnight and put it back on the car this morning, it started after a couple of coughs and splutters (not bad seen as i havent driven it for 3 weeks) and all seems fine.
I drove to work (30 min drive @ 55mph) and was fine, started it up again at 12:30pm still ok and then again at 4pm.
I'm thinking it was my alarm/imobilser that drained the bat' over the past 3 weeks and not starting it up at regular intervals.
Fingers crossed for te morning !!!!!!!!!!!