Can a modern car battery fail abruptly and completely?

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jeffnz

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#1588813 9-Jul-2016 14:20

if the battery was down to 3 volts and was able to be charged up and used again I doubt it's the battery, given batteries lose up to 10% of there charge per month to get to 3 volts would take an age.

Need to tst for parasitic load and work from there plus get someone that knows what they are doing to check your battery becuse other wise you haven't fixed the problem.

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Rikkitic

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#1588848 9-Jul-2016 14:41

As I said before, the battery looks like new, none of the usual road dirt or corrosion at all. I found a sticker on the side with the numbers 6-14 on it, along with a notification that the warranty would be void if removed. If the numbers are a date, then the battery is just two years old, which pretty much matches its appearance.

The car has now been sitting three days since the battery was recharged. I haven't driven it, other than just starting it once and moving it around the house. Each day I have checked the charge and it seems to be holding. Starter turns over and lights are bright.

Assuming the battery is okay, I see only two possibilities. The first is that a sticky solenoid didn't switch off, as in the airco example cited above, which drained the battery, though I have seen no sign of that. The other is that the boot light didn't go off and that drained the battery. I have wondered about it before. In spite of careful searching, I have not been able to find the switch that controls it so I can't test it. When closing the boot, the light stays on up to the point when I can no longer see inside. The switch must be on a hair trigger at the very least.

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jeffnz

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#1588849 9-Jul-2016 14:46

Rikkitic:

As I said before, the battery looks like new, none of the usual road dirt or corrosion at all. I found a sticker on the side with the numbers 6-14 on it, along with a notification that the warranty would be void if removed. If the numbers are a date, then the battery is just two years old, which pretty much matches its appearance.

The car has now been sitting three days since the battery was recharged. I haven't driven it, other than just starting it once and moving it around the house. Each day I have checked the charge and it seems to be holding. Starter turns over and lights are bright.

Assuming the battery is okay, I see only two possibilities. The first is that a sticky solenoid didn't switch off, as in the airco example cited above, which drained the battery, though I have seen no sign of that. The other is that the boot light didn't go off and that drained the battery. I have wondered about it before. In spite of careful searching, I have not been able to find the switch that controls it so I can't test it. When closing the boot, the light stays on up to the point when I can no longer see inside. The switch must be on a hair trigger at the very least.

if the battery is still charged I think you are correct.

A lot of people think a flat battery is a warranty because this is the easiest answer however as I said if it isn't the battery then you have either not fixed the problem or paid or got a new battery that wasn't required.

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robjg63

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#1588869 9-Jul-2016 15:42

Rikkitic:
As I said before, the battery looks like new, none of the usual road dirt or corrosion at all. I found a sticker on the side with the numbers 6-14 on it, along with a notification that the warranty would be void if removed. If the numbers are a date, then the battery is just two years old, which pretty much matches its appearance.

The car has now been sitting three days since the battery was recharged. I haven't driven it, other than just starting it once and moving it around the house. Each day I have checked the charge and it seems to be holding. Starter turns over and lights are bright.

Assuming the battery is okay, I see only two possibilities. The first is that a sticky solenoid didn't switch off, as in the airco example cited above, which drained the battery, though I have seen no sign of that. The other is that the boot light didn't go off and that drained the battery. I have wondered about it before. In spite of careful searching, I have not been able to find the switch that controls it so I can't test it. When closing the boot, the light stays on up to the point when I can no longer see inside. The switch must be on a hair trigger at the very least.

The inside light and boot light have the same timer delay on the diamante from memory. So if you hopped in the boot and shut it (not recommended unless you have someone to let you out) you would probably find the light doesn't go off for 20 or 30 seconds. Much like the inside cabin light.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

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