[gigy]

have a check on the charging voltage also just in case its not being overcharged

[anjan_c2007]

thanks anupmathur and gigy
anup I scraped off all the lead and copper sulphates about 5 days ago, applied petroleum jelly (the picture shows the jelly and the terminals greasy), but again the sulphates have crystallised.It has a preference to form on the positive terminal and rarely on the negative one.
gigy yes since I do the charging at home maybe its overcharged at times.I shall keep it in check with the specific gravity meter of the electrolyte.

[sujaylahiri]

Originally Posted by aseem

The reason jumper cables are not popular in India is twofold:

b) We have manual transmission cars mostly, that can be dhakka started. Try doing that with an automatic....

Most of the modern engines need the battery to run as they need the computer for their ECU, fuel injection etc.

I recently had an interesting experience here which I thought I'd share.

I recently got an engine block heater installed on my car from the Mitsubishi dealership and was on my way back to Peace River from Grande Prairie (about 260 km) on a Saturday afternoon when suddenly my stereo died. After a few miles, the little clock on the dash also stopped and eventually my car came to a complete stop.

Fortunately there were some guys behind me in an F-150 who stopped to help me, or I would have been stranded in -35 degree weather. They found out that the dealership had forgotten to connect the battery to the alternator and hence my battery was discharging the whole time. It lasted about 150 km (as I was blasting the stereo and the heater was at full blast) before it died. They fixed it on the spot and gave me a boost and I was good to go.

What I'm trying to say here is that jumper cables are absolutely essential no matter where you drive and modern cars cannot run without a charged battery.

On a separate note, I was quite impressed with the battery in my car. I don't remember the brand on the top of my head but I remember it's made in Japan and it started the car even at -40 degrees before I finally got the block heater installed.

[Ashpillai]

Have gone through this as well as couple of other threads on jump starts and batteries. My car battery has been drained and jump started by service guys at least 10 times in the last two years. My wagon R is 3.5 yrs old. Have the following questions for all experts.

1. Am I due for a battery replacement? If so what would you recommend?

2. Have read in all posts concerning the matter that while jump starting, the cable from the negative terminal of the car being used to start should be connected to unpainted heavy metal part of the car.
But even the service guys from Chittosho Motors Mohali connect the negative of the dead battery to the negative of the god battery in their van while jump starting. So are they doing it wrong?

3. Where do I buy jump start cables from in Chandigarh/Mohali?

[UniqueMods]

A week back i left a engine light (connected directly from the battery) on while topping of the wiper spray water. the car was not used for 32 hr and the battery was compleatly dead. no ingition light, cabin, autocop and forget cranking up. a millimeter showed 2 watt/ volt left in it.

the Exide bat mobile service is good and came in 30 min after calling. connected a bigger battery, +ve to +ve and -ve to -ve (not the unpainted body ground). didnt quetion them as there are mixed views on this. anyways the car started on the first crank as normal.

But the thing is that i tried to push start the car and even after pushing to a good speed and dumping the clutch in 2nd gear, there was no sign of life. Not even a slight sign. Tried this push start about 4 times and gave up.

Obviously with 2 watts/volts the ecu was dead and no fuel from the fuel pump.
Realized this after trying. Even the car manual advised never to try push start.

So do mpfi cars start with push start? many people claim it has worked for them!!!

UM

[Sprucegoose]

Originally Posted by UniqueMods

A week back i left a engine light (connected directly from the battery) on while topping of the wiper spray water. the car was not used for 32 hr and the battery was compleatly dead. no ingition light, cabin, autocop and forget cranking up. a millimeter showed 2 watt/ volt left in it.

the Exide bat mobile service is good and came in 30 min after calling. connected a bigger battery, +ve to +ve and -ve to -ve (not the unpainted body ground). didnt quetion them as there are mixed views on this. anyways the car started on the first crank as normal.

But the thing is that i tried to push start the car and even after pushing to a good speed and dumping the clutch in 2nd gear, there was no sign of life. Not even a slight sign. Tried this push start about 4 times and gave up.

Obviously with 2 watts/volts the ecu was dead and no fuel from the fuel pump.
Realized this after trying. Even the car manual advised never to try push start.

So do mpfi cars start with push start? many people claim it has worked for them!!!

UM

1> The battery not only provides power to the starter, but to the fule pump, the injectors, the spark plugs and the ECU as well among other things.

2> If there is not enough current to power all of these, the car will not start.

If there is enough current for everything except the starter then the car can be bump started, otherwise it has to be jump started.

[UniqueMods]

Originally Posted by Sprucegoose

1> The battery not only provides power to the starter, but to the fule pump, the injectors, the spark plugs and the ECU as well among other things.

2> If there is not enough current to power all of these, the car will not start.

If there is enough current for everything except the starter then the car can be bump started, otherwise it has to be jump started.

Ok. that makes sense.

another thing, after the car was jump started by the Exide Batmobile, they suggested to drive the now idling car to a Exide battery service center and give the battery for charging. the service center guys would give a spare battery so i can use the car for the next day.

Went there and first they tested the battery. the car had now been idling for 15 min and driven for 20 more (no deck, no ac and only dimmer light - small bulb). they said the battery with the car off, was at 40% of its power and if i am going to drive another 30 km with the same setting (no deck, no ac and only dimmer light - small bulb), theres no need to externally charge the battery.

So took a drive to town for some office related work and now the cars fine. Been a week and am back to normal, blasting ice, full ac. cars fine.

battery - Exide maintenance free 12v 45amp
done 15000 km in 1.5 yrs.

Best part, Total Cost = Rs.0

Is this method fine or should i have given the battery for over night external charging.

UM

[jango]

Check out this clip on youtube. Gives a real good description of Jump starting a car

YouTube - Auto Repair & Diagnostics : How to Jump-Start a Car

[Raccoon]

Originally Posted by UniqueMods

Is this method fine or should i have given the battery for over night external charging.
UM

You should have given it for external charging. Jump starting should be used only in emergencies, when no other option is available. Otherwise, best option is to remove the battery and take it for charging and return with a service battery (if desired). Ideally the battery should be charged with a microprocessor equipped external charger.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by UniqueMods

battery - Exide maintenance free 12v 45amp
done 15000 km in 1.5 yrs.

But you said you had 10 jumpstarts in 2 years.

If the vehicle is not in regular use, rememer to have it started and driven for at least 10 KM every 5 days.

Is this method fine or should i have given the battery for over night external charging.

Already answered. An automotive battery requires aroudn 18-24 hours for a reasonable "full charge".

[Sprucegoose]

As far as i know, trickle charging is the best way to charge a lead acid battery.
This is because when you charge a lead acid battery really fast, the battery acid gets charged around the electrodes and not evenly across the entire battery.
This will cause the battery, which is now showing full charge, to discharge very fast.
When you trickle charge it, the battery acid gets charged more evenly across the battery. So it'll not drain as fast.

that said, when you drive the alternator generates electricity depending on the RPM of the engine. Driving at higher RPMs will cause the battery to appear fully charged before it actually is.

A trickle charge will be the best option.

[UniqueMods]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

But you said you had 10 jumpstarts in 2 years.

10 times
when did i say that. this has only happened once, a week back.

UM

[sudharma]

Originally Posted by Sprucegoose

As far as i know, trickle charging is the best way to charge a lead acid battery.
This is because when you charge a lead acid battery really fast, the battery acid gets charged around the electrodes and not evenly across the entire battery.
This will cause the battery, which is now showing full charge, to discharge very fast.
When you trickle charge it, the battery acid gets charged more evenly across the battery. So it'll not drain as fast.

that said, when you drive the alternator generates electricity depending on the RPM of the engine. Driving at higher RPMs will cause the battery to appear fully charged before it actually is.

A trickle charge will be the best option.

I have made a Smart Battery charger which charges the battery at around 5 Amps and once the battery is fully charged, goes into trickle charge mode. also it wont charge thebattery voltage is below a set voltage or there is any fault ( Battery Cells short or open). I am using it for around 15 years now.
Any one interested, I could post the Diagram and set up procedure. Its not very complicated.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by sudharma

I have made a Smart Battery charger .....

Any one interested, I could post the Diagram and set up procedure. Its not very complicated.

Sudharma, I'd certainly like to have a look see!

While it good to charge at small currents, does it not take forever to charge a dead battery?

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by UniqueMods

10 times
when did i say that. this has only happened once, a week back.

Ugh!!!

That was ashpillai's post. Apologies.