John Vine Posted November 19, 2022 Share Posted November 19, 2022 Pleased to hear you may have recovered the battery.#25: The best DIY test is measuring the minimum battery voltage when cranking the starter.Indeed it is -- what you might call the acid test.JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CtrMint Posted November 19, 2022 Author Share Posted November 19, 2022 No I won't be using it. I've a new Banner sat on the worktop ready to go in. It's more for interest, so I might test it this weekend locally while having the booster in the boot. Long term the banner is destined to run a raspberry Pi nothing more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted November 19, 2022 Member Share Posted November 19, 2022 ThanksJonathanPS: On the topic of resurrections... the Raspberry Pi thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted November 19, 2022 Member Share Posted November 19, 2022 "Indeed it is -- what you might call the acid test."Crossword anticipation? : - )JonathanPS: What is it about electricity that starts the stream of puns? Or fish? : - ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CtrMint Posted November 19, 2022 Author Share Posted November 19, 2022 Back from a morning outing with the wife. Went to Castletown from Onchan for a coffee and shop, then back via a trading estate, ~30miles total. Also got fuel before hand. I think a total of 8 starts, including some additional test starts. It never hesitated. Plugged it back into the CTeK and i'ts gone to STEP 4 ABSORPTION: Charging with declining current to maximize up to 100% battery capacity, which pretty normal.So while I agree, better to be safe than sorry and replace, I don't think the battery is in bad condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vine Posted November 19, 2022 Share Posted November 19, 2022 #30: Promising. Out of interest, what CTEK model do you have?JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CtrMint Posted November 19, 2022 Author Share Posted November 19, 2022 CTEK MXS 3.8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CtrMint Posted November 19, 2022 Author Share Posted November 19, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted November 19, 2022 Member Share Posted November 19, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vine Posted November 19, 2022 Share Posted November 19, 2022 #32: Thanks.JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CtrMint Posted November 27, 2022 Author Share Posted November 27, 2022 Quick update on the battery.It was left all week on the CTEK "conditioning". I've just tried to start the 420, and while it did start, you could tell it wasn't cracking over strongly. The new Banner has gone straight in, and wow the comparable difference, the 420 started like a light switch!.Conclusion, not recoverable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted November 27, 2022 Member Share Posted November 27, 2022 "I've just tried to start the 420, and while it did start, you could tell it wasn't cracking over strongly. The new Banner has gone straight in, and wow the comparable difference, the 420 started like a light switch!."Yes: batteries often deteriorate slowly. And sometimes so slowly that we don't notice. Checking those three voltage reading identifies this before we're let down by a failure to start on a dark and windy night a long way from home. As with checking the engine oil level etc!Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanRo Posted November 28, 2022 Share Posted November 28, 2022 JonathanWould you mind giving figures for the 3 voltage readings? I have often found reference to resting, cranking and 3k revs voltages being indicative of battery condition in the archives. I have struggled to find figures for minimum heathy voltage during these 3 actions. thanks v much Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted November 28, 2022 Member Share Posted November 28, 2022 Hi, DanI can't find the fullest explanation, and will try again later. In brief:Voltage at rest There are tables of how unloaded voltage relates to state of charge. I think that this figure can very misleading about how shot the battery is.Minimum voltage during cranking This is the DIY load test. Sequential measurements can show deterioration before failure occurs, and I recommend doing this as part of routine checks. When faced with a failure to start this needs to be above 10.5 V. If it isn't there may not be enough oomph to turn the starter AND electronic components may drop out. And if any of those components are needed for starting...Voltage at 3.000 rpm This tests the car's own charging system. Some like to see 13.5 V and some like to see 14.4 V. (It's also worth being familiar with the behaviour of your charging ("ignition") warning light so that you can see if that has changed when a problem occurs.)Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanRo Posted November 28, 2022 Share Posted November 28, 2022 Very useful, thanks Jonathani have had a few K click experiences but they seem randomly distributed between hot and cold starting. My 3 cranking voltage measurements during multimeter investigation were all below 10.5. Also measured between starter solenoid and earth, which was 8.2V during cranking, although this was an isolated measurement. Perhaps the culprit is the battery. (with apologies to CTRMint for the thread hijack) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted November 28, 2022 Member Share Posted November 28, 2022 Yes, for reasons that I don't understand there are many reports of Sevens failing to start despite what sounds like acceptably fast cranking, and it turning out to be a duff battery. And this isn't how we expect cars to behave! Fortunately it's quick and cheap to measure those three voltages.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted November 28, 2022 Member Share Posted November 28, 2022 On clicks...only my repeated reminder that there are many different causes of this. And it can be a situation where the famous helpfulness of BlatChat can be a problem... because the cause for the next victim might be different from what it was for the one before who is trying to help.Of course most of them get fixed eventually. : - )Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrightpayne Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 Prompted by this thread just checked electrolyte levels on my banner battery. All plates well covered but below the plastic depth markers - needed 8ml deionised water in each cell, which I added using a syringe (for control). Reminded me that Dad used to have a bottle like this one with a valve in the nozzle to control how much water went in. A modern version is available from Moss Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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