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Strange battery charging issue.


Peter G

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Just go back from hols to find my 3 month old Banner battery was flat, (very flat) so connected the Ctek MXS overnight, and it gets so far along the series of lights (number 4 or 5) then the warning light comes on. Swapped for a standard charger for 12 hours, and the voltage comes up to about 10.5 volts.

Jump started it to get some more charge in it, and it runs fine, but won't re-start on it's own.

Reconnected CTEK overnight, still only 10.5 volts so won't start, now on the standard charger again.

Does this indicate a duff battery, as it's difficult to believe 2 chargers are both defective at the same time?

Cheers

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Probably shot. But I'd run through the following (which is very similar to what you're doing already):

  1. Check the fluid levels and top-up if necessary.
  2. Give it one hour on the old-fashioned dumb trickle charger.
  3. Measure the battery voltage at rest and then the minimum during trying to start.
  4. If that minimum is less than 10.5 V then give it four hours on the old-fashioned dumb trickle charger.
  5. Measure the battery voltage at rest and then the minimum seen during trying to start.
  6. Tell us the results.

Jonathan

... it's difficult to believe 2 chargers are both defective at the same time?

Agreed, but there is known situation where the clever conditioning charger can't get a flat battery going where a dumb charger or the alternator can. I don't think that's what's happening here.

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Yes, but they'll have been through that before.

Is the warranty the same as this one?

There does seem to be a rule of thumb that Banners don't recover well, if at all, if it dies completely. 

I don't know that they are any worse than any other small lightweight lead-acid battery... but there are a lot of them in 7s...

Jonathan

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I did jump start the car, and it runs fine of the alternator, but even with the car running for 20 minutes it won't charge, and yes the plates are still covered with acid.

The battery supplier has agreed to send me a replacement battery so hopefully up and running for the weekend.

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My adivce would be to bin it and buy a gel battery, or of your feeling flush a Li-Ion battery.  Ive got a Varley Red Top and its zero maintenance, sealed with no fluid levels to worry about or leak and it a weight saving too.  

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Tom, going to stick with Banner, as I've already paid for it. Perhaps next time, they usually last me 3 years. We've agreed I'll take the old one to the tip, sorry, the household waste recycling centre, for err, recycling.

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