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-   -   Swift : Battery 100% Dead : What to do? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/21248-swift-battery-100-dead-what-do-4.html)

Guys you might want to check the electrolyte levels at a good battery shop.
Also have the voltage reading taken with the Car Off/ ON and with the AC.

Hi All,

I have read thru every suggestion made by Tbhpians.

As you all suggested once you Jumpstart/Push Start and then drive around for a while/30-40 kms, the battery gets charged.

What I want to now is, after this will the battery come back to full charge on driving the car later on? or do we still have to give it for charging completely? :Frustrati

bmw, i think its a better option to go to a battery dealer, give ur battery for charging and fix in a service battery or call AMARON ON 18004254848

Depends on the extent of the damage and the state of the battery before it got accidentally discharged (I am assuming it's a case of an accidental discharge like leaving lights on for a few days etc).
Get it checked by either Bat Mobile or Amaron servicing guys. They will come to you and tell you the status/condition of your battery. It's free service.
Normally, if it's back to normal then just ignore all this but do get the water inside checked.

If your battery is good shape, then it will come back to normal in your regular usage only.

I am not sure, but someone told me that getting a battery charged for 24 hours (2 days) with external power is equal to the charge that battery will have in 1 hour of normal driving.

And as I mentioned my battery discharged y'day, but only 15 minutes of driving/idling was enough to bring it back to normal for me. After that it was cranking normally, and later in the day I drove it a bit more to be on the safer side.

Ok, let me share my experience with a dead battery.

My car was bought in 2005. Last year in May 2007, I found my car battery (Exide) completely dead in the morning. No lights were left on, it was maybe because of the car security system malfunction, as the siren was beeping continuously but very faintly. The car could not be unlocked by the remote, it had to be manually unlocked. So I called the Maruti on road service and they jump started the car. They advised to keep the engine running for sometime and the battery will be recharged. No sooner had they left the scene, when the car stalled and stopped as I was trying to take it out of parking. The car would not start on its own. I called them again and they again jump started the car. They advised to keep the engine running for atleast 30 mins, even after that if the car refused to start, the battery is kaput and to get a new battery. So I kept the engine running for around 30-40 mins and when I tried to crank it after that, it would not start.

So feeling dejected about a fairly new battery dying on me, I started enquiring about new battery prices. Then I decided to give it a last shot, I removed the battery and took it to a battery shop. They were also not hopeful that the battery will not survive much longer, but anyhow I decided to recharge it. So they topped up the battery and kept it for charging for 2 days. I brought back the battery and the car was able to start, and its still going strong after 1.5 years and shows no sign of failing. The engine cranks normally at half turn.

So make sure that the battery is topped up and charged properly.

Thanks for the valuable info guys.:thumbs up

just was curious to know the answer as no one had touched the point. :D

My battery in the Swift is the OEM Battery (Exide I think) - It's gone for 46000 kms & 3.5+ years - no problems whatsoever.

However, yesterday night left the cabin lights on & had to use jumper cables today to start the car - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post2148433.

The battery guy advised me to try push-starting the car, but somehow I didn't try it - thank god :-)

Now my question is - does charging with jumper cables cause any problems whatsoever? i.e. will my car battery go bad because of this. I don't think but just wanted to confirm. In the US, I once had to use jumper cables on a nearly Automatic new car & the battery lasted for 4 more years after that.

Today, I had to charge my battery with jumpers for 15-20 seconds only before I could crank it & start the car - I assume the battery must not have been 100% drained - the radio was working even when the car wasn't starting.

I don't think that jump start involves charging the dead battery first. It just involves extracting enough juice from a good battery to get the car rolling. Once started, alternator takes over and begins charging the dead battery again. When you cranked your car after 15-20 seconds, it wasn't as if your battery got charged in that small time period to do the job for you once you cranked again. Instead, the required current would have been extracted from the good battery via completed circuit with your dead battery just standing-by, enjoying the show.

Battery doesn't discharge in a snap. Once the voltage starts to drop via fast discharge, say, through multiple cranks, then it usually loses interface charge and may come back to life again after few minutes. Slow discharge is usually permanent and demands a recharge. When the voltage drops to 10v or so, vehicle may refuse to start. But the battery can still deliver enough juice to start relatively low amperage devices like radio.

No, jump starting will not ruin the dead battery. If dead battery is passed it's routine life, then it will die again soon anyway, even after a forceful recharge. On the other hand if it has been accidentally drained, alternator should charge it back to its full strength again.

When you connect jumper cables, the weaker battery does not get charged from the stronger battery. It's just when you crank the engine, the weak battery gets some charge from the strong battery which helps start the engine. After that, it is the Alternator that charges the weak battery.

Your car would have started even after 1 sec on cranking the engine (i.e. the 15sec did not do anything for the weak battery.

Keeping 2 differently charged batteries connected will eventually drain the stronger battery. It does not mean the weak one is charged.

Electronics like radio, indicators use a very less charge; you could use the radio but not start the car because the charge in the battery was just sufficient enough for the low-powered radio.

What is wrong about push - starting a vehicle?

Hi

Read from the start. I was about to answer you but checked the starting of the thread and the answer is there in the first couple of posts. :)

Murthy

Your battery has served you well. It is time to get a new one. The main function of the battery at start up is to crank the starter motor. Once the car is in motion the alternator should help charge the battery. If you are having battery problems you must have the battery checked and it that is Ok then you must have the alternator checked. Problems with either will lead to staring problems. If your alternator does not charge the battery then jump start will work but you will have to jump start every time !!

As has been pointed out above, jump start does not charge your battery it only borrows the power to crank your starter motor from the doner battery. It is recommended that you quickly disconnect the jumper cables once your car has started. You need to drive for atleast 30 mins for your battery to get sufficient charge to crank the starter. Note that if you need to repeatedly crank to start your car, every crank will drain your battery !! After a drain out it is best to have the battery checked to be safe.

Rgds

I don't get it - why should I get a new one?

Hi Carboy

It is better to change the battery as it is already 3.5 years old. It won't last long and likely to cause problems unexpectedly. When the battery reaches the end of life it gets discharged quickly and can't hold the charge longer. If you don't use the vehicle for a couple of days you may face problems in starting.

Murthy