My battery is on it's way out (went flat the other day at the shops, left the lights on for about 10 minutes, jump started and got it home), but my mate with a VX has a battery charger and reckons his battery came good after charging it over night, and hasn't had to change it since.

Seems a bit too good to be true to me, but just before I go out and spend $xx on a new battery, has anyone else used em? Heard anything good/bad about them?

Suppose I'll need to buy a new battery regardless.

I'd get it checked, to see it's just the battery, and not the alternator.

The charger works, if the battery is capable of holding a charge.

Yeah, good idea.

I don't really want it be the alty, so I'll just charge the sucker up over night and hope the problem goes away in the morning.

:bowrofl:

like any battery, i think usually once it goes dead, aint gonna be much more go from there... similar to phone batteries i guess, not meant to run them dead these days.

theres a scientific explanation in there somewhere... meh google it :P

In lead acid batteries, plate sulphation is what kills them. Though, the Golf's battery is still the original one from 1996, they generally start dying after 2-3 years.

Yep, its f-cuked, didn't hold bugger all charge. Whacked it back in this morning, twisted the key, all I got was a half assed 'tick', then it all went dead.

Any suggestions for good batteries?

lol

In lead acid batteries, plate sulphation is what kills them.

Was a pretty good amount of white/blue powder build up on the positive terminal...

original batteries usually last a lot longer than aftermarket ones.

the missus brother had a battery that didn't want to hold charge. he hooked it up to a charger for a while and it came good. but then another battery he tried it on didn't have the same effect.

Any suggestions for good batteries?

lol
I've not had any problems with Bosch.

Yeah I dunno why it worked for my mate, though I think his wiring is f-cuked. He got aftermarket foggies installed a while ago, wires all over the shop, and every now and then the car just won't start in the morning. Charge the battery up overnight, and bang, he's ready to go the next day.

Although, from what I can tell, my TJ may have had the same battery for 6 years... not a bad effort...


I've not had any problems with Bosch.

You're a legend matey, cheers.

He's got a leaky current, probably the foggies, or stereo. It'll kill the battery off too.

does the battery have enough distilate in it (water?)

might have dropped a cell or something - so it might still hold the right voltage, but the amperage just isnt there to do anny good.

if you can - leave it on charge for a reasonable amount of time - like trickle charge for a couple of days.
i have had a battery come good once i did that - but it didnt last too long tho, i think i got an extra month out of it.

you can take the battery into supercheap where they do a battery test for you and they do a printout.
Also if you get a new battery have a look at a product called inox...we have some people who swear by it..also ads another year warranty to the new battery or something...
just be warned battery's have gone up because of lead prices. so what used to be 115 is now > 145 and has gone up again to >165 for a top of the range battery

Grab a voltmeter\multimeter and go to your car and do an alternator test which involves running your car with everything on (fan, heater, stereo etc) now go to your battery and hold the leads on the terminals.

Any reading below 13.6 is bad.

Grab a voltmeter\multimeter and go to your car and do an alternator test which involves running your car with everything on (fan, heater, stereo etc) now go to your battery and hold the leads on the terminals.

Any reading below 13.6 is bad.

Cheers mate, I really just think the battery is dead (besides, can't actually start my car yet... haha)

Like I said, 6 years is a pretty good innings. Just bought a new one ($139.95, 3 year warranty), will whack it on tonight, if I have any more drama's will test the alty.

6 years is about it for a battery.

However it also depends on how you connected the charger. If the connection between the battery and the cable is poor then the alternator will not be able to charge the battery correctly. So if you connected the battery charger to the cable clamps the same will happen with it.

The best way is to disconnect the cables from the battery and connect the battery charger directly to it.

A charger with an ammeter also helps as you can then see if it is actually charging.

Rob

6 years is about it for a battery.

However it also depends on how you connected the charger. If the connection between the battery and the cable is poor then the alternator will not be able to charge the battery correctly. So if you connected the battery charger to the cable clamps the same will happen with it.

The best way is to disconnect the cables from the battery and connect the battery charger directly to it.

A charger with an ammeter also helps as you can then see if it is actually charging.

Rob

Took the entire battery out of the car, large alligator clips firmly around each termninal. Thanks for the advice dude, but I think it's well and truly time to lay the old battery to rest.

New battery in, right as rain, just took it for a spin so the ECU can edumacate itself.

Can't find my ****in OEM CD player code anywhere though, so it looks like it's time for an aftermarkey head unit. Might as well do the front speakers at the same time.

Sigh, time to go shake the money tree again.

optima ftw

Like I said, 6 years is a pretty good innings. Just bought a new one ($139.95, 3 year warranty), will whack it on tonight, if I have any more drama's will test the alty.

Out of curiosity, what kind of battery did you go for? End up going with Bosch?

I had to replace the old "RAA Super Heavy Duty" a few weeks back, car stalling at lights, stereo not working, you name it. Went for a "MAXX Battery" which seems to do the trick, and does a damn fine job as well.

Out of curiosity, what kind of battery did you go for? End up going with Bosch?

I had to replace the old "RAA Super Heavy Duty" a few weeks back, car stalling at lights, stereo not working, you name it. Went for a "MAXX Battery" which seems to do the trick, and does a damn fine job as well.

Nah ended up quickly grabbing a Megatron maintenace free one, was in a hurry.