virden Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 My X/F usually requires three attempts on the starter button to get it fired up. Of late the number of attempts has increased and today it refused to fire with the battery unable to turn her over after just five attempts. The battery had been on charge over night and showed 14.3 volts before starting and 12.7v after proving too weak to turn over. Is it a duff battery or the charger? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted October 23, 2016 Member Share Posted October 23, 2016 What sort of battery, and is it the sort you can top up?What sort of charger?Can you jump it off another battery?it's probably worth inspecting and cleaning all the relevant wires and connections: the fat ones to the starter and alternator, the engine earths, and everything at the battery terminals.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virden Posted October 24, 2016 Author Share Posted October 24, 2016 Hi Jonathan,Its of the type used on ride on mowers, three years/ 5000 miles old. Acid levels all above the plates, and in spite of sitting just above the gear box seldom requires topping up. I am away from home so cannot recall make of charger but it must be some 15 yrs old, though seldom used. All leads tight and clean, no oxidation visible. Have not had a chance to jump start it.I am curious as to why given the voltage readings the power dropped off after only five quick turns, one thing I forgot to mention is that between attempts to start it the ignition light had a slight flicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted October 24, 2016 Member Share Posted October 24, 2016 I am curious as to why given the voltage readings the power dropped off after only five quick turns...The unloaded voltage of typical car batteries drops very little as they go flat or even fail. There are dedicated load testers, but in practice the extreme load of trying to crank works well. That's why I rabbit on about measuring the minimum voltage during cranking. (As well as the issue about electronic bits dropping out.)... one thing I forgot to mention is that between attempts to start it the ignition light had a slight flicker.Flicker when the alternator isn't turning and the light should be fully on? That's showing a low voltage at rest (or a problem with the wiring or connections). But I'm surprised it happened with your observed voltages.I don't think we can tell yet whether the current battery has any worthwhile future. But if it's topped up and the connections are OK I'd like to see the whole thing start nicely when jumped, and also check that the car's charging system is working by measuring the battery voltage at 3,000 rpm.When you've had a chance to identify the charger, principally to discover whether it's a traditional charger or a sensing conditioning charger, we can do some quick checks on that.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virden Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 Jonathan the charger is a rock bottom basic Halfords unit of at least 15 years vintage, so i have ordered jump starter. Shall let you know once I have got her to start Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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