Thread: Flat battery/start issues.

10 days and a cold morning should be no problem if everything else is OK.
I've got a D1 300tdi that can sit for 2-3 weeks and starts no probs.

2 probably separate issues here I think:
Firstly, the battery going flat, and secondly that it wont start from a jump start.
I've had mine completely flat with a dud battery but jump started instantly.

The not jump starting should be an easy one to sort out.
I'm assuming you've got a good set of jumper leads ie. have a decent amount of copper in them and don't feel noticebly warmer after your attempts to jump start. If you dont have a good set of leads you are wasting your time trying to jump start it, so disregard the following questions.

When you jump started it, did you connect the -ve jumper lead to the battery terminal, or the engine? If only to the chassis/-ve battery terminal, then you could have an earth lead issue. Try jump starting it with the -ve jumper lead directly on the engine somewhere to see if it makes a difference.
If it starts OK like that then you've got an earth issue (battery to chassis, or chassis to engine, or both).

If no improvement like that, check that the +ve lead on the starter motor is tight, and if possible, attach the +ve jumper lead directly to that and try again.

In regard to the draining issue, as a starting point I'd be isolating the traxide and other batteries to remove them from the equation while you troubleshoot further. Not saying that they are the issue, just a initial starting point to remove complexity/components from your electrical system.

Steve.

I find that most electrical problems stem from less than good earth leads. I would check (by actually undoing and cleaning) earth lead terminals and mounting points. You should have at least one earth lead from battery to engine block, one from engine block to chassis, one from chassis to body.
Also check the output of your alternator and that you have no shorts to earth where you shouldn't, good luck, Regards Frank.

Thanks for that info - First job this weekend will be checking the earthing then. A quick eyeball under the car this arvo showed me that one lead which goes to the transfer box via the chassis earth. It looks sound but I'll clean it up and reassemble.... Is that one lead (if in good nick) sufficient or should I run other ones?

Is it fair to say that if those leads were bad then the battery drain issue might not be as much of an 'issue' (ie. the bad leads might mean that the battery hasn't drained that much before it can't start it?) - or is that just wishful thinking on my part that fixing one problem might fix both!