Battery dead after 3 weeks of no use

[Bigmike62]

Greetings Gents..

Got an issue with my 09'Presara's Battery.

I'm at my friends place in Lithgo and had my car parked and not used for 3 weeks.. car wouldn't start this morning, had to get NRMA to jump start it...

Is this normal ? Or is the battery faulty ?

Cheers for any advice or opinions..🤔

Edited August 5, 2021 by Bigmike62
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[Dankoozy]

Put a multimeter between one of the battery clamps and the terminal on the battery, set to amps. Leave it sit connected for a half an hour or so then check the reading. You would expect it to draw some small number of milliamps with the ignition off. Don't try to start it or even turn on lights or anything or you could blow the fouse or the meter itself. 

 

Let us know how much current it's drawing. 3 weeks is not absolutely terrible but it isn't fantastic either.

Edited August 5, 2021 by Dankoozy

[campbeam]

A battery in good condition is going to hold its charge. I have got 2 project cars in the backyard. After sitting idle for the same number of weeks, the one with a newer battery started the engine without any issue. The one with the older battery will either be jump started or recharged.

I am also suspecting that the battery has been affected by the cold winter weather. If the battery is more than 3 years old then consider having a battery charger available for use.

https://www.mynrma.com.au/cars-and-driving/roadside-assistance/car-batteries/resources/how-does-cold-weather-effect-your-car-battery

[Bigmike62]

Thanks for answers Gents.. 

Battery is only 6 months old. It was brand new back then..

The weather here has been below zero many times, while sitting in a carport...

I drove it to Bathurst and back, a 55 minute drive yesterday, to charge it up.. after the NRMA left.

Now, I just started it with no problems..

NRMA guy did mention the weather might have been the culprit.

Also,I dont have any way of testing the battery, as I dont have a meter..

Cheers

Edited August 5, 2021 by Bigmike62
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[L4WL3SS]

Cold weather will affect the voltage. Driving the car wont charge it fully so get a trickle charger onto it.

Edited February 8 by L4WL3SS

[campbeam]

2 hours ago, Bigmike62 said:

Also,I dont have any way of testing the battery, as I dont have a meter..

Time to get a multimeter. A friend gave me one so he could have an excuse to go buy a nice new one.

If you do not have a multi-stage battery charger, then that is another worthwhile tool to have. C-TEK is a recommended brand. Not a great rush seeing that the battery is only 6 months old. Repco has them quite often on sale.

Interested to know the details of your battery.

[Tony Prodigy]

On 8/6/2021 at 12:47 AM, Bigmike62 said:

Greetings Gents..

Got an issue with my 09'Presara's Battery.

I'm at my friends place in Lithgo and had my car parked and not used for 3 weeks.. car wouldn't start this morning, had to get NRMA to jump start it...

Is this normal ? Or is the battery faulty ?

Cheers for any advice or opinions..🤔

Sorry to hear this Big Mike. A battery being only 6 months old shouldn't protest like that, but I know Lithgow is very cold this time of year. That said, I live in Western Sydney and it gets cold out here too and my Aurion battery is fine (3-4 years old now I think). I'd get the battery tested by the people who sold it to you mate. It's possible that it's starting to fail prematurely. I use Century Batteries and never have an issue with them. Best quality. 

Another good point raised was to put it on a trickle charger if it's left unattended for an extended period. I use and swear by C-Tek trickle chargers. I use them everywhere from my ride on mowers, motorcycles, and cars. The battery in my Garage Queen M3 is around ten years old and it still fires up. It's on trickle charge 24/7. C-Tek charges not only charge but condition the battery to keep it at optimum health.

[campbeam]

1 hour ago, Tony Prodigy said:

I'd get the battery tested by the people who sold it to you mate. It's possible that it's starting to fail prematurely.

Tony has raised a very good point. I had not thought about a very new battery failing prematurely.

I have temporarily used a small size 300CCA battery [not new but fully charged] in my Project Aurion and it started the engine with no difficulty. Admittedly that would have been mid-morning.

Definitely worthwhile to make the effort to get the battery tested.

https://www.centurybatteries.com.au/resources/battery-finder/fitment-options/26404

Looks like Century have changed their battery recommendations and warranty period within the last 18 months. I am sure that they previously only recommended the 55D23L MF battery and a 36 month warranty. It just happens that I do have the Century 75D23L MF battery fitted to my project Aurion and a Century NS70L MF battery [purchased June 2019] fitted to my registered Aurion.

As for the battery charger, I have the CTEK MXS 7.0 model. I have previously scrooged out and bought a cheaper brand on eBay which had to be replaced under warranty within a few weeks. After that experience, I later bought that CTEK MXS 7.0 model which is the most suitable for my intended useage.

[ZZT86]

@Bigmike62 Do you have an alarm fitted ?

[campbeam]

11 hours ago, ZZT86 said:

@Bigmike62 Do you have an alarm fitted ?

You have raised another good point. I had not remembered to consider a possible parasitic battery drain. Another good use for a multimeter.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=parasitic+battery+drain+test

[Tony Prodigy]

Not sure why anyone would need to install an aftermarket alarm because the Presara has a factory alarm which is good enough right ?

All our cars have a parasitic drain whilst they are locked and immobilised but this shouldn't cause a battery to die after 3 weeks of no usage.

[Bigmike62]

Gents, 

Factory fitted Alarm on my 09 Presara..

Taken it for a good drive the other day..starts every morning now..

Thanks for all the comments guys, I was disappointed, as the battery is only 6 months old..