Car parked in garage for the last week , go to start friday eve , no power to turn it over , get the aa out give me Booster charge starts first time . drive 3 hours Saturday no charge , use jump leads . drive 2 hours .Sunday no charge .use jump leads . Its showing 10 volts and a full 14 when running battery 6 years old , Time for a new one i suppose , no other faults , but i thought 10 volts would be enough to turn it over .

10 volts would suggest that at least one cell has failed in the battery. Get the battery down to Halfords (or the like) and get it tested (FOC), I bet it has minimal cranking capacity. At least you seem to have about the right charging voltage when the engine is running. Can you top up the fluid levels on the battery? I have used water collected by a dehumidifier in the past.

6 years is not a very good show for the battery. That said I replaced the battery on my 2001 Octy about 2 years ago, so I guess that managed about 7 years - of 120 miles round trips to work to each day (none of this stop/start supermarket town driving rubbish!)

Edited 27 September, 201015 yr by mbames

10 volts would suggest that at least one cell has failed in the battery. Get the battery down to Halfords (or the like) and get it tested (FOC), I bet it has minimal cranking capacity. At least you seem to have about the right charging voltage when the engine is running. Can you top up the fluid levels on the battery? I have used water collected by a dehumidifier in the past.

6 years is not a very good show for the battery. That said I replaced the battery on 2001 2 years ago, so I guess that managed about 7 years.

Thanks its the sealed for life type so can not top up , going to pick up new one at Eurocarparts tuesday , hope that solves it .

Mine gave up the ghost the other weekend and I think it was the original battery so had done 8 years in the car. It had been at a garage for a few days previous to that having work done and I suspect they may have left a light on overnight or something which was the final nail in the coffin.

BTW if you're ever over in France they do Bosch Silver batteries in Carrefour at bargain prices. One of the cars we took to the Ring last weekend had the battery give up the ghost while we were out there (done 5 years and 140k miles) so got it jumped to drive back to Dunkirk and picked up a Bosch battery at the hypermarket there, it was about £40 cheaper than Halfrauds.

Halfords are very expensive for batteries in my experience; try Unipart or a similar motorfactors, I found them much cheaper.

I got my replacement battery from Eurocarparts, think it was about 30% cheaper than Halfords

I got my replacement battery from Eurocarparts, think it was about 30% cheaper than Halfords

Yep picking up a Bosch silver at £76 with 4 year guarante

Yep picking up a Bosch silver at £76 with 4 year guarante

Trades even better.

FWIW, many of the sealed batteries can be refilled, you just need to remove the sticky label over where the fillers will be and then you should see them.

Trades even better.

FWIW, many of the sealed batteries can be refilled, you just need to remove the sticky label over where the fillers will be and then you should see them.

Pretty sure I have done this in the past, when I was being cheap and wanted to get a few more months from a battery (before the GF got her marching orders, lol!)

Pretty sure I have done this in the past, when I was being cheap and wanted to get a few more months from a battery (before the GF got her marching orders, lol!)

Fitted New Battery , starts first time . Bought from eurocarparts , best price overall and 4 years warranty . Hope it stays charged over the next few days . Will look into refilling OE one and charge use as a standby .

Trades even better.

FWIW, many of the sealed batteries can be refilled, you just need to remove the sticky label over where the fillers will be and then you should see them.

If you run a finger over the sticky label you should be able to "feel" the filler caps underneath. After about 4 years it pays to check levels even though it supposed to be maitenance free.

If you run a finger over the sticky label you should be able to "feel" the filler caps underneath. After about 4 years it pays to check levels even though it supposed to be maitenance free.

Had a look tonight after replacing with new battery , 4 of the 6 cells are showing none or very little water , most likely been going down some time now . Will top thyem up and see if it holds a charge , if so use as a spare emergency Batt . But your right , old type would have been checked monthly at least . Maintenance Free , untill they go dry should be in the handbook !!

tbh if the cells have gone that dry they are probably knackered.... still no harm in trying.

I got my replacement battery from Eurocarparts, think it was about 30% cheaper than Halfords

GSF are keenly priced too: one for the Lupo was about 40 quid IIRC- Bosch, 3 yr warranty.