Low Battery Voltage

[101RRS]

Just before Christmas I had been driving around the city - stopping at various business and then moving on - after one when I tried to start the car the battery was so low that it would not turn over but had enough juice for the central locking and dash etc - yet 20 minutes before all ws good. The NRMA said the battery had died and I took it straight to the battery place and of course they aklso said it had died. I got a Supercharge Allrounder of the required size.

Since then not had any issues , no faults all going well. About a month ago I put one of those 12v meters that plug into a 12v socket. Now it shows between 12.2 to 12v when the car has not been run for a long while and as low as 11.6 if starting first in the morning with lights on. Today I checked the voltage directly at the battery and it was 12.4v and the meter showed 12.2v inside at the socket, so a voltage drop of .2v.

Start the car and it goes to 14.5v and then slowly drops over 10minutes of running to 13.5 and stays there - so that is all normal indicating the charging system is OK.

So with a standing voltage of the battery between 12.4 to 12v should I be going back to the seller of the battery with the issue?

Thanks

Garry

[loanrangie]

I don't think the alrounder comes in a suitable spec so I'd say its just not up to the task.

[101RRS]

I don't think the alrounder comes in a suitable spec so I'd say its just not up to the task.

Sorry - rechecked - not an Allrounder is a MF88H Supercharge Gold Plus - 900CCA, RC 160 and Ah 90.

This chart would indicate it is on average only about 60% charge.

170689

[loanrangie]

If you are still only doing short trips then it won't get enough charge to top it up,you'll need to put it on a charger at least once a week.

[101RRS]

If you are still only doing short trips then it won't get enough charge to top it up,you'll need to put it on a charger at least once a week.

Yes you are correct but I do that and it makes no difference. I think the fact that charging voltage drops within 10 minutes or so after start indicates that the battery is taking what it can.

[drivesafe]

Hi and the battery is most likely not the problem, your driving habits are the likely cause of your low charged battery. Your battery sounds like it is heavily sulphated.

You do not have to change your driving habits, but you do need to accommodate for them.

You need top desulphate the battery so it can actually take a charge while you are driving.

The best thing you can do for your battery, is put it on a charger, all night, and every night for a week, REGARDLESS of what driving you do during he day.

See what the settled voltage is after a week.

[101RRS]

Thanks - while most trips are local it does get longer trips of 400km or every second week or so. My charger has an automatic desulphate function and has not kicked in as yet on this battery.

I will try what you suggest and see what happens.

Thanks

Garry