to ask for car help?!

[Merryoldgoat]

I’ll start by saying I don’t know about cars.

My car seems to be having battery issues. After it went flat twice in fairly quickly succession we got a new one 4 months ago.

I noticed after a few weeks occasionally the engine was a bit slow to turnover. Yesterday it was very sluggish at pickup up time although it had been fine for a week or so. This morning it started instantly. This afternoon it wouldn’t turn over.

Battery light and oil light came on.

I was serviced and had MOT just two weeks ago.

My husband thinks the battery needs charging

I think it’s something other than the battery

We have no car knowledge to base this on

The car is 19 years old

YANBU - time for a new car
YABU - see if the battery charges and it’ll be fine

I know very little about cars but heres my thoughts. Mot and service only do certain things so not helpful. Battery shouldn't be the issue if replaced. Could be starter motor? Best thing is to get garage to look at it and quote you. Shouldn't cost anything to do that.

Go back to who serviced it.

How many miles do you do on each trip? It may be the battery is using more power than its getting. Also, you could get the alternator checked.

How far are you driving it once you start it up?

It could be the alternator, that could be the reason the battery light is popping up as it's not charging the battery.

It could be that the journeys are so short that the alternator doesn’t have time to replenish the battery although generally it won’t need to run for long to do that. Alternatively it could be the alternator although normally the battery light would be on when the car’s running if it’s not charging. Any decent mechanic should be able to confirm or rule that out within a few mins.

Needs a new battery?

As others have said, if you are doing short trips, you are probably using more electricity from the battery than you are putting back in.

If that is the case, the battery will just need charging. It is highly unlikely to be a problem with the starter motor.

Laser battery/alternator tester

You could get something like this, rather than pay loads of money for a garage to diagnose. You could probably pick one up even cheaper from Amazon. The lights will tell you if it's charging and if it's not the red light will light up.

Thank you everyone.

I don’t drive it far - probably 5 miles a day - 2.5 each way for drop off and pick up to CM and once a week about extra 8m to office.

How long should I drive it to keep the battery charged up?

I would think it was the alternator. A battery won't last long if it's not being charged by the alternator.

5 miles a day is plenty to keep your new battery charged up, don't let anyone tell you differently! I have an excellent car mechanic behind me who says your alternator is fucked. You need to get the alternator output checked. Halfords will do that free or very cheaply.

You don't need to drive far or even very often. You just need the battery to charge when you do. DH had a car that he used once a fortnight. It's battery was fine.

Do you have a dash cam plugged in? If you have parking mode set on a dash cam they can use up battery when it's turned off. It drained my old car's battery (though the battery was long past it's replacement date anyway)

How long should I drive it to keep the battery charged up?

More than that, particularly in the winter when you tend to have lights, blower, heated seats etc on. The engine uses more power to start when it's cold too. The alarm also drains power when the car is parked.

I keep mine connected to a half amp battery conditioner when it is not being used, year round, because I had the same problems as you OP.

With a new battery you shouldn't really be having problems. Has the garage had a look at the alternator and the starter motor? They may not look at either during an MOT or service.

Though, saying that, 2.5 mile journeys are very short. Starting up and running a car requires much more power in winter than in summer - you're also running things like the lights, heating, blowers etc. which require a fair bit of power as well.

I would try and do a slightly longer drive once or twice a week and see if that makes any difference.

It won't be the starter motor as your car starts.

Sounds like the alternator. I'd go to a local garage if I were you and get them to check.

Do you have breakdown insurance with homestart cover? If so and it doesn’t start get them to come out - they’ll be able to tell you straight away if it’s the alternator or starter motor or something else.

Go back to who serviced it.

And say what? 😂

Thanks everyone - there’s a local mechanic I can try to help.

I think thar if it’s the alternator we’re going to need a new car is it’s not worth £500. Was hoping to get another year out of it but I’ll see what the experts say.

Do you have a dash cam? We've worked out our dash cam was constantly charging and draining the battery in our car x

Alternator is a suspect, yeah.

Whether to replace depends on what your new car budget is like. If you've only got old banger money you might be better off keeping what you know. If you can afford a decent replacement, spending on the old car is wasting what could be spent on the new.

No dash cam - no one wants my shed of a car 🤣🤣

We don’t have any savings for a car - we’d need to get a loan but we have the income to deal with that and expected we’d have to.

Our jobs are unlikely to be affected so a loan wouldn’t be too risky.

That said, neither of us are ‘car’ people so don’t need anything fancy. I love our current car though - it’s served us very well for 8 years.

If you have somewhere to plug it in, I'd suggest buying something like this and leave it connected while the car isn't being used.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Maypole-MP7402-Automatic-Trickle-Battery-Charger-12V/353356809141?epid=1161787934&hash=item5245b503b5%3Ag%3AUt8AAOSwDjFgBEKu&LH_BIN=1

Oh I have something like that in the shed I think.., 🤔