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New Battery Flat In 30 Minutes....

Nismo_God

By Nismo_God,
in General Maintenance

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Nismo_God Veteran

Nismo_God

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Hi all,

i fitted a brand new battery this morning, turned her over and all was fine.

not 30 minutes later i tried to start it again and it was flat.....clutch started it and drove off. about 10 minutes down the road the car started to choke....the revs began to bounce and within 30 seconds the car cut out.....i pulled over and tried to crank it.....flat.

i pulled out a charged battery and jumped started it.....disconnected the jumper.....and fine for 20 seconds......then revs started to bounce again....then cut out again....

i swapped the batteries....and the she started fine and ran ok......i then disconnected the battery as i didnt want it to drain again......i was then able to drive the car for 10 minutes home....

i noticed on the way home that the battery light in the dash was on.....firstly what does that light mean? and what do you think i am faced with?

im thinking alternator is cactus....but why?? nothing has changed since i drove it last....

also i just changed front bar....could the fog lights, even tho they are visibly off, somehow be on and sucking power? nothing else has changed....

list of things i need answered...

1. what does the battery light in dash mean?

2. could it be my alternator?

3. how hard is it to change an alternator?

4. fog lights?

thanks guys!!

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ryan101 Rising Star

ryan101

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Hi all,

i fitted a brand new battery this morning, turned her over and all was fine.

not 30 minutes later i tried to start it again and it was flat.....clutch started it and drove off. about 10 minutes down the road the car started to choke....the revs began to bounce and within 30 seconds the car cut out.....i pulled over and tried to crank it.....flat.

i pulled out a charged battery and jumped started it.....disconnected the jumper.....and fine for 20 seconds......then revs started to bounce again....then cut out again....

i swapped the batteries....and the she started fine and ran ok......i then disconnected the battery as i didnt want it to drain again......i was then able to drive the car for 10 minutes home....

i noticed on the way home that the battery light in the dash was on.....firstly what does that light mean? and what do you think i am faced with?

im thinking alternator is cactus....but why?? nothing has changed since i drove it last....

also i just changed front bar....could the fog lights, even tho they are visibly off, somehow be on and sucking power? nothing else has changed....

list of things i need answered...

1. what does the battery light in dash mean?

2. could it be my alternator?

3. how hard is it to change an alternator?

4. fog lights?

thanks guys!!

Is the alternater changing the battery

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ryan101 Rising Star

ryan101

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im definitely no expert but id say that the battery isnt getting charged from the alternator...but i got no idea how to test it....

im charging the battery again and will try it in the car again...

mm maybe google it, there is a way but i don't wanna tell you the wrong way!

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blind_elk Grand Master

blind_elk

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The RED battery light means there's a problem with the battery / charge circuit. The alternator is probably frizzed. The battery might last longer if you turned the frikken fog lights off (they're for foggy conditions, hence the name).

If you don't know how to test the alternator, try a search.

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payback21 Community Regular

payback21

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1. what does the battery light in dash mean?Battery isn't charging.

2. could it be my alternator?Yes most likely

3. how hard is it to change an alternator?Not hard. Its very easy

4. fog lights?Doubt it to be the cause

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Nismo_God Veteran

Nismo_God

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will invest in a multimeter.....read up on how to test....

could it be a dud battery? i bought it new...but who knows what kind of condition its in....anyone else had incidents with new batteries dying straight away???

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Marcus89 Proficient

Marcus89

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will invest in a multimeter.....read up on how to test....

could it be a dud battery? i bought it new...but who knows what kind of condition its in....anyone else had incidents with new batteries dying straight away???

Biggest point that makes everyone say alternator is the fact that you were driving it and it still died. If a car is started and the alternator works fine you pretty much don't need a battery there it will run off the alternator

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t_revz Grand Master

t_revz

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^^ +1 battery dying usually consists of it dropping a cell and will only retain 10 volts instead of 12 but once its started alternator will cover it. battery light doesnt usually come on if its a dud battery apart from taking a couple extra seconds to go off sometimes on start up. check fuses if havent already

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Nismo_God Veteran

Nismo_God

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changed to 2nd hand alternator. no change at all....

still has battery light....still no charge from alternator (ie reads 11.8v at idle)

what else should i check? could i just have the worse luck or could something else be stuffed?

does anyone know the electrics work? could there be a fault elsewere??

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