TR6 Charging issue

[Philip Evans]

Hi all, I'm looking for some advice please. I purchased a new battery in September which is now refusing to charge. I use a Ctek charger/maintainer from time to time and all was well but after a longer than usual spell of not using it the battery won't charge and I get an error light saying that there is a problem with the battery. I've attached a few photos which hopefully help. 

Any advice greatfully received. 

Thanks, Phil. 

[Batch]

Hi, I would contact your supplier, and ask for a replacement or refund. Given it is less than six months since you got it there shouldn't be any problem.

Dave 

[JohnD]

Read the CTEK instructions.   There is a "recondition" mode, which may help.

John

[glang]

Can you try the charger on another battery? It could be a problem with it or maybe the battery is too flat to even be seen as a battery...

[Clive]

Looking at this another way, why has the battery discharged in the first place? If there is a vampire device in the car draining the battery, and it has made the battery completely flat, the battery may not recover. But the supplier should replace under warranty. 

Once you get this issue sorted, you need to check what is going on, a battery should hold charge for many many months. 

And yes, do try the charger on another battery, they too sometimes go wrong. Ho hum.

[thescrapman]

One thing I have tried in the past is to connect the very flat battery in another car, then jump start the car from the good battery, give it a few minutes running then disconnect the good battery leaving the flat one in place. Then go for a long drive. Put good battery and jump leads in boot, and don’t stall it. The higher output of alternator and higher amperage compared to charger has recovered a few batteries.

I used my old Discovery as it had a 100A alternator

[glang]

ooooh jump starting gives me the willies these days with modern sensitive and expensive electronics! I worry that you can get voltage spikes and I believe theres car manufacturers now who have specialised procedures for just renewing batteries😯

Then the current draw of charging a flat battery in a car is potentially pretty high which puts a strain on the electrics and certainly isnt good for the battery. Obviously if theres no other choice you do it but better would be gentle recovery with a charger....

[G_Cam]

I have had two CTEK chargers pack up on me. Expensive and good when they work.
Perhaps pick up a charger from Lidl or the like - they have 6v/12v and 'recovery' as well as 'cold/winter' modes.. they are around £13 odd.. I have a couple and they are still working while my CTEK is waiting (in a big pile of other stuff) to be fixed/binned!
I also use a Battery Checker (Not the old fashioned big resistive load job).. these are pretty good and worth it just to prevent you from ending up down a fault-finding dead end (We have all been there!). This kind of thing: https://cpc.farnell.com/duratool/d03406/battery-tester-slalithium/dp/IN08754

looking at Why it drained is a great idea. (Clock/Radio/Alarm are the usual culprits!) Or to save time/effort right now you might think about fitting a cut-off switch like a Discarnect as you don't need to drill and mount it like you do an FIA cut off style one. This idea https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-accessories/interior-car-accessories/richbrook-dis-carnect-battery-immobiliser-249628.html There are lots of places you can buy them (Just remember NOT to place the fuse in the holder.. other versions have no fuse).

 

[Philip Evans]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I'm not able to try another battery so will look at replacement battery and charger. I think the horn circuit may be an issue and will also disconnect the battery from the car while charging in future. I'm based in Swindon incase anyone fancies popping over for a coffee and looking at the problem first hand! Cheers, Phil. 

[glang]

Just thought: are you trying to charge the battery still connected in the car? If so maybe theres a current drain and thats whats upsetting the charger. Try disconnecting the battery completely and charging...

[JohnD]

Philip,

Returning to your original post - I'm sorry, I didn't se it before! - your pics don't show the "error light" you speak of, probably because it's an LED that flashes (faster than we can see!) and wasn't picked up by your camera.

Do you refer to the errors listed in the CEK manual? Under "Steps 1, 2 and 3"?    "Sulphation" occurs in a very old battery, which yours is not, or one that has been discharged for too long (not a long time!)   As I mentioned above, the CTEK has a "RECOND" Mode, which may 'recondition' a battery in the second case.  It has worked for me!

  From memory, you access the RECOND mode by pressing the "MODE" button, but please consult the manual.   

How do you attach the CTEK?    The charger comes with a pair of leads that may be permanently attached to the battery terminals, with a connector to the charger lead, but it's not visible on your pics.   Best way to do it.   

And as suggested above, if your battery drains then suspect some load that persists after the ignition is turned off.   A Multimeter is a cheap and useful tool!  Set to Amps and place between the positive terminal and the positive lead to show if there is some current drain, and set to resistance will help you trace where it's going, through the loom.

Good luck!

John