Battery goes kaput !!!

abdriver2000 · 9th April 2007, 16:48

My Indica XETA was fine until a week ago. The battery was not showing any signs of problems. The car would turn on in half a turn of the key.

Last night, when I tried opening the car through the autocop remote, there was no response. I opened the door with the key only to find a dead battery.

I went to Exide, and they said that the battery was fine, the specific gravity was good. Just there was no charge!. They will charge the battery overnight and give it to me tomorrow.

Any ideas why this happened? More importantly, how can I prevent this in the future?

Unfortunately, this happened about 2 weeks after the 1 year warranty is over.

I tried searching the forum, but could not find a post with the same issue as mine. If there exists such a post, please point me to it.

Thanks,
abdriver2000

low_bass_makker · 9th April 2007, 16:52

the exide battery are tend to behave like this....there is a thread about this discussion........

revtech · 9th April 2007, 17:39

this same thing happened to my exide batter in jan this year.it was working fine then suddenly one day my car just didnt start...poped the hood checked battery connections, all seemed k.took it to the battery guy and he said one of the cells died.

i was shocked to hear that cause the privious eveining it was fine.got it replaced and got a maintainance free battery From GM.

Rev
PS this happened after i installed my sub and amp so not sure if that has anything to do with it.and it was about 3 yrs old.

abdriver2000 · 9th April 2007, 17:47

low_bass_makker: Do you know where the thread is? I am not able to locate it.

revtech: My battery was only 1 year and 2 weeks old. There are no dead cells. My concern here is something may be causing it to lose charge quickly.

Any suggestions?

revtech · 9th April 2007, 20:05

check if your connections are okay.some times a loose connection may be the reason its not charging.

sreenivass · 9th April 2007, 20:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by abdriver2000

My Indica XETA was fine until a week ago. The battery was not showing any signs of problems. The car would turn on in half a turn of the key.

Last night, when I tried opening the car through the autocop remote, there was no response. I opened the door with the key only to find a dead battery.

I went to Exide, and they said that the battery was fine, the specific gravity was good. Just there was no charge!. They will charge the battery overnight and give it to me tomorrow.

Any ideas why this happened? More importantly, how can I prevent this in the future?

Unfortunately, this happened about 2 weeks after the 1 year warranty is over.

I tried searching the forum, but could not find a post with the same issue as mine. If there exists such a post, please point me to it.

Thanks,
abdriver2000

Please get your alternator checked immediately. When my battery was dead, alternator was found to be the culprit.

esteem_lover · 9th April 2007, 23:23

Did you fit any after market accessory recently ? if so, check how the wiring has been done.

pogusingh · 9th April 2007, 23:28

There can be 2 reasons
1) Either one/more of the cells had gone faulty
2) Alternator is not working properly and hence not giving proper charge to the battery

-POGU

Zappo · 10th April 2007, 00:14

This kind of sudden drain may happen if some wiring shorts... or else most probably if the alternator stops charging the battery. Check if the battery sign on the speedo console remains on even after the car is started. If so your alternator is not charging the battery. If that seems to be the case then you may need to visit the Tata Service Center. Since the car will have at least 1.5 years (18 months) of warranty they will repair it free of cost.

abdriver2000 · 10th April 2007, 11:12

I got the battery today after overnight charging. Will fit in tomorrow morning and see how it goes.

abdriver2000 · 10th April 2007, 11:15

BTW, does anyone know how much current is drained by the autocop during idle times?

Jaggu · 10th April 2007, 11:23

check wiring, in my case the autocop siren wire was spliced a lil and was grounding giving a small discharge and when left unused for a week the car wouldn start..

for dyi, use multimeter to see how much the discharge is when left idle by connecting it in series, make sure the meter is in current mode and the highest amp mode selected.

autocops discharge is minimal and in a regular battery should last for atleast a month, my guess

For this specific case, i suggest you ensure no shorting (minor/major) is happening as well as the charging is aok, point blank blaming the battery might not be the right approach

abdriver2000 · 10th April 2007, 11:31

Thanks Jaggu, I will use the multimeter tomorrow, when the mech comes to fix the battery. I will get the alternator also checked.

abdriver2000 · 11th April 2007, 12:10

The mechanic did not turn up for 2 days. I fixed the battery myself. Before putting in place I measured some voltages with my DMM and here are the figures:

Open circuit voltage: 12.87v (Exactly as mentioned in the user manual)
Charging voltage: 14.42v (Mentioned as 14.4 in the manual, this means there is no problem with the alternator)

Current consumption when car is idle: 1.08Amps. Considering that the battery is rated at 290Amps, this is a decent consumption. This is consumed by the Autocop, and the car clock and trip meters (which got reset to zero)

I will observe the performance over the next few days. Would any of the ECU settings be lost, because there was no battery for 2 days?

Jaggu · 11th April 2007, 12:26

1 amp is lil on higher side, and 290 amps are you sure the battery rating is correct?

ecu will just do a check and re program in first 10 kms, nothing to be worried about

9th April 2007, 16:48	#1
abdriver2000 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 331 Thanked: 30 Times View My Garage	Battery goes kaput !!! My Indica XETA was fine until a week ago. The battery was not showing any signs of problems. The car would turn on in half a turn of the key. Last night, when I tried opening the car through the autocop remote, there was no response. I opened the door with the key only to find a dead battery. I went to Exide, and they said that the battery was fine, the specific gravity was good. Just there was no charge!. They will charge the battery overnight and give it to me tomorrow. Any ideas why this happened? More importantly, how can I prevent this in the future? Unfortunately, this happened about 2 weeks after the 1 year warranty is over. I tried searching the forum, but could not find a post with the same issue as mine. If there exists such a post, please point me to it. Thanks, abdriver2000
	() Thanks

9th April 2007, 16:52	#2
low_bass_makker Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Faridabad Posts: 6,815 Thanked: 305 Times View My Garage	the exide battery are tend to behave like this....there is a thread about this discussion........
	() Thanks

9th April 2007, 17:39	#3
revtech Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,992 Thanked: 38 Times View My Garage	this same thing happened to my exide batter in jan this year.it was working fine then suddenly one day my car just didnt start...poped the hood checked battery connections, all seemed k.took it to the battery guy and he said one of the cells died. i was shocked to hear that cause the privious eveining it was fine.got it replaced and got a maintainance free battery From GM. Rev PS this happened after i installed my sub and amp so not sure if that has anything to do with it.and it was about 3 yrs old. Last edited by revtech : 9th April 2007 at 17:40.
	() Thanks

9th April 2007, 17:47	#4
abdriver2000 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 331 Thanked: 30 Times View My Garage	low_bass_makker: Do you know where the thread is? I am not able to locate it. revtech: My battery was only 1 year and 2 weeks old. There are no dead cells. My concern here is something may be causing it to lose charge quickly. Any suggestions? Last edited by abdriver2000 : 9th April 2007 at 17:49.
	() Thanks

9th April 2007, 20:05	#5
revtech Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,992 Thanked: 38 Times View My Garage	check if your connections are okay.some times a loose connection may be the reason its not charging.
	() Thanks

9th April 2007, 23:23	#7
esteem_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madras/Py Posts: 7,556 Thanked: 502 Times View My Garage	Did you fit any after market accessory recently ? if so, check how the wiring has been done.
	() Thanks

9th April 2007, 23:28	#8
pogusingh BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: New Delhi Posts: 226 Thanked: 0 Times	There can be 2 reasons 1) Either one/more of the cells had gone faulty 2) Alternator is not working properly and hence not giving proper charge to the battery -POGU
	() Thanks

10th April 2007, 00:14	#9
Zappo Team-BHP Support Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 5,922 Thanked: 2,699 Times	This kind of sudden drain may happen if some wiring shorts... or else most probably if the alternator stops charging the battery. Check if the battery sign on the speedo console remains on even after the car is started. If so your alternator is not charging the battery. If that seems to be the case then you may need to visit the Tata Service Center. Since the car will have at least 1.5 years (18 months) of warranty they will repair it free of cost.
	() Thanks

10th April 2007, 11:12	#10
abdriver2000 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 331 Thanked: 30 Times View My Garage	I got the battery today after overnight charging. Will fit in tomorrow morning and see how it goes.
	() Thanks

10th April 2007, 11:15	#11
abdriver2000 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 331 Thanked: 30 Times View My Garage	BTW, does anyone know how much current is drained by the autocop during idle times?
	() Thanks

10th April 2007, 11:23	#12
Jaggu Team-BHP Support Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 20,215 Thanked: 15,907 Times	check wiring, in my case the autocop siren wire was spliced a lil and was grounding giving a small discharge and when left unused for a week the car wouldn start.. for dyi, use multimeter to see how much the discharge is when left idle by connecting it in series, make sure the meter is in current mode and the highest amp mode selected. autocops discharge is minimal and in a regular battery should last for atleast a month, my guess For this specific case, i suggest you ensure no shorting (minor/major) is happening as well as the charging is aok, point blank blaming the battery might not be the right approach
	() Thanks

10th April 2007, 11:31	#13
abdriver2000 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 331 Thanked: 30 Times View My Garage	Thanks Jaggu, I will use the multimeter tomorrow, when the mech comes to fix the battery. I will get the alternator also checked.
	() Thanks

11th April 2007, 12:10	#14
abdriver2000 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 331 Thanked: 30 Times View My Garage	Battery fixed again The mechanic did not turn up for 2 days. I fixed the battery myself. Before putting in place I measured some voltages with my DMM and here are the figures: Open circuit voltage: 12.87v (Exactly as mentioned in the user manual) Charging voltage: 14.42v (Mentioned as 14.4 in the manual, this means there is no problem with the alternator) Current consumption when car is idle: 1.08Amps. Considering that the battery is rated at 290Amps, this is a decent consumption. This is consumed by the Autocop, and the car clock and trip meters (which got reset to zero) I will observe the performance over the next few days. Would any of the ECU settings be lost, because there was no battery for 2 days?
	() Thanks

11th April 2007, 12:26	#15
Jaggu Team-BHP Support Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 20,215 Thanked: 15,907 Times	1 amp is lil on higher side, and 290 amps are you sure the battery rating is correct? ecu will just do a check and re program in first 10 kms, nothing to be worried about Last edited by Jaggu : 11th April 2007 at 12:28.
	() Thanks