Hi.

 

My new battery is draining a lot faster than I expected. There are no lights or equipment left on overnight in the car and no warning lights are appearing on the instrument panel.

 

I'm starting to suspect the battery itself, (a fairly cheap Lion calcium battery shown in the link below from Euro Car Parts) is the problem. I probably should have paid more attention to the warning on this forum about this battery.

 

https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/lion-027-car-battery-3-year-guarantee-444770271

 

My battery is probably losing  1-2 Amp hours per day while it's attached to the car - despite the fact I'm not using the car at all at the moment. It seems to take ages to fully charge, (I have a good quality, automatic, easy to use smart charger.)

 

I'm thinking about taking the battery back to Euro Car Parts and getting a better battery. When I bought the (supposedly) new battery a few weeks ago it had no covers over the terminals. Is this normal? Or would a brand new battery normally have terminal covers? Euro Car Parts claimed the battery was sold fully charged. (I find this very hard to believe.)

 

What battery charger are you using?

 

Many so called automatic battery chargers don't turn off but keep charging at a low level, and as soon as they get a bit of charge in them the charge rate drops to a very low level.

 

If a battery charger keeps charging a car battery that is fully charged, it will damage it.

 

Here's one example that looks like it's from the 1970's and best avoided as although it's marketed as an automatic battery charger it really is quite dumb as it's unable to detect when the battery is fully charged...and therefore keeps charging even when the battery is fully charged.

 

If you don't have stop-start, then this Varta would have been a much better choice than the battery that you linked to on eurocarparts.

Varta Battery 12V 63Ah D15 027

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251195560237?hash=item3a7c6c112d:g:~rYAAOSwaPdg0N~N

 

 

Edited 5 October, 20214 yr by Carlston

Hi.

 

I'm using a Sealey Autocharge 6.5 amp charger;

https://m.sitebox.ltd.uk/sealey-autocharge650hf-compact-auto-smart-charger-65a-9cycle-612v-lithium-osealey_AUTOCHARGE650HF

 

The charger continues to charge for hours, apparently without the battery getting full.

 

I contacted Sealey about this, explained I use the automatic settings and 'standard' battery setting and they claim it's normal for the charger to do this.

 

One of the slightly troubling aspects of this is I was trying to fully charge the battery about five days ago and it seemed nearly done. (At least 90% full - possibly more.) I left my car parked for about four nights, came back to finish the charging process, (expecting it only to take another thirty minutes to fully charge) and the battery appeared to have drained by at least 10% in four nights. Perhaps the display on the charger is inaccurate.

 

According to Euro Car Parts the battery was suitable for my car, (albeit it is perhaps a little small capacity wise.)

1 hour ago, 2006edr said:

The charger continues to charge for hours, apparently without the battery getting full.

 

I contacted Sealey about this, explained I use the automatic settings and 'standard' battery setting and they claim it's normal for the charger to do this.

This is entirely normal (even expected) behaviour for a home charger, tapering off the charge rate as the charge in the battery rises.

If it's a new battery and more importantly, still under warranty, I recommend taking it back to Eurocarparts and ask them to test it.

 

I had recently had a similar problem with a battery, 3 and a half years into a 4 years warranty. They tested it, found it faulty, and replaced it with a new one without any fuss.

 

That's what I call good service.

13 hours ago, 2006edr said:

 

 

My battery is probably losing  1-2 Amp hours per day while it's attached to the car - despite the fact I'm not using the car at all at the moment.

 

 

How do you know re 1-2amps ? Is there a parasitic load? Might be worth checking connecting in an ammeter - remember it will initially have a load until things boot up, pumps whir etc - then settle down. Obviously don't try and start with an ammeter in circuit.  Don't think your car has the usual culprit as it's the S model - as is mine!

 

I'd expect a new battery to have covers on the terminals etc - my Yuasa did when it was changed earlier in the year. Have you ended up with someone's removed old battery somehow?

 

Edited 5 October, 20214 yr by bigjohn

14 hours ago, 2006edr said:

Hi.

 

My new battery is draining a lot faster than I expected. There are no lights or equipment left on overnight in the car and no warning lights are appearing on the instrument panel.

 

I'm starting to suspect the battery itself, (a fairly cheap Lion calcium battery shown in the link below from Euro Car Parts) is the problem. I probably should have paid more attention to the warning on this forum about this battery.

 

https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/lion-027-car-battery-3-year-guarantee-444770271

 

My battery is probably losing  1-2 Amp hours per day while it's attached to the car - despite the fact I'm not using the car at all at the moment. It seems to take ages to fully charge, (I have a good quality, automatic, easy to use smart charger.)

 

I'm thinking about taking the battery back to Euro Car Parts and getting a better battery. When I bought the (supposedly) new battery a few weeks ago it had no covers over the terminals. Is this normal? Or would a brand new battery normally have terminal covers? Euro Car Parts claimed the battery was sold fully charged. (I find this very hard to believe.)

 

 

I've got this Bosch 12V C1 car battery charger. It cost about £35 including postage from amazon.de

 

It's a very modern battery charger and an led light comes on when the battery is fully charged. It will charge all 12V car batteries including the latest stop-start AGM models. There are no settings to set, so its as simple as it gets to use, and it won't overcharge the battery. Notice the four LED lights in the photo. Standby, Charging, Full, and ! if there are problems. The charge rate is 3.5 Amps which is close to the maximum charge rate that is recommended by the battery manufacturers for many of the typical car battery sizes and models.

 

https://www.amazon.de/-/en/189-999-01M-battery-charger/dp/B00RP3DEW6/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=bosch+12v+c1&qid=1633439463&qsid=260-8735091-6284542&sr=8-1&sres=B00RP3DEW6%2CB00EALQM9S%2CB005XVTW0A%2CB0924XTRV7%2CB00B1RH3KG%2CB0032BKLI0%2CB003VEILMG%2CB003JY81VO%2CB08GKYW5KS%2CB07MBFY5ZH%2CB003JY828G%2CB01N4F9YRD%2CB06XYPXVFC%2CB002B552QY%2CB07R2FGH4Z%2CB00FAMAB4S

 

 

Yuasa recommends a 3A charge rate for their 12V 50Ah AGM battery, a 4A charge rate for their 12V 60A AGM and 12V 70A AGM batteries, a 5A charge rate for their 12V 80A AGM and 12V 95A AGM batteries, and a 6A charge rate for their 12V 105Ah AGM battery.

 

 https://www.yuasa.co.uk/batteries/automotive/ybx9000-agm-batteries.html

 

Edited 5 October, 20214 yr by Carlston

Thanks for the input.

 

I've been trying to fully charge my battery whilst it's in the car using a portable power supply, (similar to the one shown in the link.) This has helped give me an indication of how much power is going into my car battery, (although the displays on my power supplies aren't particularly accurate.) 

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Enginstar-Powerstation-Generators-Motorhome-Emergency/dp/B08T6CQLKX

 

I don't think there's a parasitic load, it's just taking a lot longer than I expected to fully charge. It might have been the case that my car battery wasn't fully charged when I bought it new. (Contrary to what Euro Car Parts claimed.) I have a standard, budget multimeter. Is this suitable for checking a car battery?

 

The point about possibly having bought a supposedly new battery that had been returned by the previous customer because it was poor quality is a possibility I'm considering.

 

The battery charger I use was runner up in a well known publication, (possibly Which?) One of the reasons I wanted the charger I have is because it can be used with all types of lithium batteries. My charger seems to charge the battery for hours at under 1 Amp and at about 14.4 volts.

1 hour ago, 2006edr said:

I have a standard, budget multimeter. Is this suitable for checking a car battery?

 

You could use it to test the battery voltage, but if I was using a dumb car battery charger I would connect up a constant voltmeter possibly using something like this cigarette lighter socket with crocodile clips and with an LED/LCD cigarette lighter voltmeter plugged into it. You can then see what voltage the dumb car battery charger is charging the car battery at. However, I wouldn't try fully charging the car battery using a dumb car battery charger, because if you keep charging the car battery when the battery is full you will damage it permanently (and new car batteries aren't cheap):

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402994537554?hash=item5dd458a452:g:C1sAAOSwqglg7~37

 

Edited 5 October, 20214 yr by Carlston

2 hours ago, 2006edr said:

I have a standard, budget multimeter. Is this suitable for checking a car battery

Yes, at least if you just want to know what voltage the battery is returning/storing. No if you want to do a deep load test.

https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/varta/e44/

 

I bought this one cheap enough and powerful enough for the car. 

And this volt display

Thanks for your replies.

 

Finally managed to get it fully charged. Tested it with a multimeter. It was over 12.6V. My understanding is this is generally normal for a new, fully charged 12V car battery. it's under warranty for nearly three years. I'll keep an eye on it and if a problem occurs with it I might contact Euro Car Parts for an exchange, a battery test or a refund.