LowerclassLupo Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 My battery keeps going flat in a very short space of time. I wanna know if it could be something else could be the problem before I buy a new battery. Today I drove the car to work at 8.50 the car was parked from a 30 minute journey. At 2pm I drove 5 minutes to the shop and back.At 5pm I tried to start up and got nothing.. Not even a turn over just a quiet electrical wine. I leave nothing on such as lights or radio. Just a new battery needed?I have a converted gti lupo (not sure if the battery was upgraded) and I have two subs with amp.What battery will I need to get if this is the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2 Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 could be the battery? unless something is draining it... measure your 'off' current with a meter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrboo Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 Take it to halfords and have a free battery and alternator charging test done. At least that will tell you if it is defo the battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowerclassLupo Posted February 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 would I measure that with a multi meter and what should it read? But Halford is about 45 minutes from me and if I've driven that distance it would show charged anyway wouldn't it? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrboo Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 Not if your alternator is bad, also they can test the capacity left in the battery not just whether it is charged or not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowerclassLupo Posted February 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 Ok, thanks. I'll have to go and see if my local one does it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dblock Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 (edited) would I measure that with a multi meter and what should it read? But Halford is about 45 minutes from me and if I've driven that distance it would show charged anyway wouldn't it? Thanks.If you got a multimeter use it. See what your voltage is before starting car. It should be 12.8ish and then see what it is once the car is started. It should be 13.8-14.4ish volts once started. If it is then your alternator is good. But you drove 30mins. I would guess your alt is fine. How old is the battery? It is either a dead battery or a drain. Are your amps 100% turning off? Edited February 21, 2015 by Dblock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowerclassLupo Posted February 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 Ok brilliant, I will measure it tomorrow. I don't know how old it is, would it say on it? My amp has a blue light when ignition is on and that goes off when the keys out so I assume so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowerclassLupo Posted February 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 The voltage with the car off when it wouldn't start was 10.1 and when I had jump started it and it was running it was 14. I've taken the wire out of my amp and see what happens in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 The voltage of your car was just 10 when it was off? **** that's very low. That's eitherA. Battery is dead as a doornail.B. Something is draining your battery very quickly.But your alternator sounds fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dblock Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 100% agree with skezza. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowerclassLupo Posted February 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Yeah, that's what thought. It wouldn't turnover at the 10.1 voltage nothing when I turned the key. The amp must be still on when the key is out, that's the only thing I can think. Again this was about 4 hours after it had been driven.. We'll see tomorrow morning.If it is the amp, why would it still be using power when the keys not in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Because turning the key off doesn't kill the battery does it? Which means the wiring is wrong somewhere. The ignition should trigger the amp to switch on but also to switch off.Fix the wiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowerclassLupo Posted February 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 I see what you mean but turning the key does power up the amp because with the key out there's no noise from the subs and there's no light on the amp. If there's no noise and no light, how's it using power? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 I see what you mean but turning the key does power up the amp because with the key out there's no noise from the subs and there's no light on the amp. If there's no noise and no light, how's it using power?It's not. Dead battery or wiring fault elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dblock Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Well either way your battery is gubbed. Replace it. Then check the volts. Check again in 15-30min intervals and see if it's dropping. If it isn't then battery was just dead and needed replacing. If it goes down then you have a drain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowerclassLupo Posted February 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 Battery gone again this morning. I was hoping taking the amp out would sort it. New battery on payday Friday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dblock Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 Well at least you know what it is. Eurocarparts usually have good offers on batteries or carparts4less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 Buy a reasonable battery, don't cheap out and you could get 10-15 good years out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dblock Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 Bosch s4/s5's are great batteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stator Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 Buy a reasonable battery, don't cheap out and you could get 10-15 good years out of it.Unlikely if your car is already 15 years old My last Fiesta the brand new battery lasted 2 weeks because I had to scrap the car. Wish I'd kept the old battery to scrap it with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 Unlikely if your car is already 15 years old My last Fiesta the brand new battery lasted 2 weeks because I had to scrap the car. Wish I'd kept the old battery to scrap it with well you don't scrap the car with a new battery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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