Thread: Electrical/Battery Woes in 130 TD5

Sounds like it is fortunate that you have two batteries



You do not say how old the starting battery is - it could be simply that it has had it.

If both batteries are the same type, why not swap them (or the leads if they are close to each other) and see what happens

Hi Mike, when you know you will not be driving for a couple of days, try charging your cranking battery and have the switch on the USI-160’s In-Cab Module switched away from the LED.

This will put the USI-160 in SHARED mode and your charger will charge both batteries.

When the batteries have been on the charger for at least 10 to 12 hours, disconnect the charger and switch the In-Cab switch towards the LED. This will put the isolator in IGNITION mode and the batteries will separate when the battery voltage drops below 12.7v.

Also take the negative battery lead off your CRANKING battery and leave the batteries for as long as you can.

This test will rule out if something in the vehicle causing the battery to be drained.

Measure the voltage of both batteries the next day.

I would expect to see the AUXILIARY battery voltage around the 12.5+v and if your CRANKING battery is OK, it will be around the same voltage.

BUT, I suspect your cranking battery is stuffed and you will probably see a much lower voltage reading.

Now, even if you have a high reading on the cranking battery, say 12.4 or higher, leave the In-Cab switch set towards the LED and reconnect the cranking battery negative lead and then turn your ignition to “ON” but do not start the motor.

With the ignition in the “ON” position, again measure the voltage at your cranking battery.

If your battery is OK your new voltage reading should be no more than 0.1 or 0.2 volts lower. If the voltage drops to around 12.0v, turn your headlights on and see if it drops much further.

If it does, your cranking battery is stuffed.

Thanks Tim

I originally charged the battery with a smart charger - positive to positive and negative to earth on the cranking battery and this made the USI 160 click on and off very frequently - admittedly i didn't take note of which position the USI switch was in

I then disconnected the cranking battery and charged positive to positive and negative to negative and although the car was ok for a couple of days - it went back to not starting after 12hrs

The battery is probably about 4-5 years old and one of those no maintenance batteries - its not the original land rover battery.
Is there any way of telling if the battery is knackered just by putting a voltmeter on it?

The USI 160 is a great bit of kit and thank god for the jumpstart mode!

Cheers
Mike

Originally Posted by daxy

Thanks Tim

I originally charged the battery with a smart charger - positive to positive and negative to earth on the cranking battery and this made the USI 160 click on and off very frequently - admittedly i didn't take note of which position the USI switch was in

I then disconnected the cranking battery and charged positive to positive and negative to negative and although the car was ok for a couple of days - it went back to not starting after 12hrs

The battery is probably about 4-5 years old and one of those no maintenance batteries - its not the original land rover battery.
Is there any way of telling if the battery is knackered just by putting a voltmeter on it?

The USI 160 is a great bit of kit and thank god for the jumpstart mode!

Cheers
Mike

You can tell if its knackered by checking the voltage drop under load (as per Traxides post above). Alternatively, just get it load tested at a battery centre.

4-5 years is a long time in a battery's life - I'd almost guarantee its stuffed.
Agree the USI 160 is a good bit of kit - they even work under water...

Hi n plus one and a load test is fine for older Antimony type cranking batteries. If an antimony is stuffed, it shows up as being stuffed.

The same is not the case with Calcium/Calcium ( Ca/Ca ) cranking batteries.

You can have a stuffed, and flat Ca/Ca cranking battery, get a jump start and drive to an auto electricians and battery centre and have the battery tested.

It is common in many cases where just the charge the Ca/Ca battery gets while you drove the short distance is enough to cause the load tester to show the battery is OK.

Hi again Mike and 4 to 5 years is not bad for a cranking battery and this is also the time of years, when the temperature drops, causing ailing batteries to fail.

Let us know what you find out about your battery.