No Power this morning

mxysxy · Post by **mxysxy** » Mon May 16, 2005 12:41 pm

Didnâ€™t use my car since last Monday, and when I tried to start it this morning no power at all. Alarm not working, dash lights not working, engine not starting, when I turn the ignition on absolutely nothing happening.
It seems that battery is flat. So, I got my multi-meter out and it measures 0,16 v at the battery terminals.
Somehow, my battery went flat.
I have two conspiracy theories about what might happened.
1) I went to look to Melway in the car last Friday. Didnâ€™t start the car, however, I turned on the map lights. I might have left them on by mistake maybe. Question: can the battery drain by leaving the map light on for 3 days?
2) The fuse for cigarette lighter was blown a while ago, and I replaced t with same type of fuse just before last Monday. Lighter started to work. Question2: Could it be possible that somehow battery is draining due to a faulty lighter or lighter connection?

Now, how am I going to get the car start working again? I have another car which I can use the leads to jump start, however, I think I read somewhere that FTOs donâ€™t like jump start, Question3: Can I jump start my FTO without causing any electronical trouble?

I donâ€™t think the alternator is playing up, cause didnâ€™t see any signs of it prior to this issue.

FTO338 · Post by **FTO338** » Mon May 16, 2005 1:10 pm

If you don't like jump start, then you can get yourself a battery charger from Super Cheap, Repco...etc. Take the battery out of the car, then charge the battery over night, and you shouldn't have problem to start the engine.

Hmmm I know a reading light can drain a battery, but not to the extend of drain the battery flat in 3 days.

Grue · Post by **Grue** » Mon May 16, 2005 1:27 pm

Every car i've had, if i left the reading light on overnight, it'd be dead in the morning... Would have thought 3 days would do it!

Def get a battery charger - always usefull to have, and they're pretty cheap. Also, if happens again for no reason, might be time to get new battery.

onnzo · Post by **onnzo** » Mon May 16, 2005 1:46 pm

Yep - 3 days of leaving the map light on would probably drain the battery...

You might not have much luck recharging your lead acid battery either. If it is totally flat, they will usually never reach their full charge/potential again.

Jsut get another battery from Kmart.

Mike

Digital_Import · Post by **Digital_Import** » Mon May 16, 2005 2:15 pm

ever since i played around with my cigarette lighter to hook up neons i stuffed up something and my battery be draining flat after about 3 days, i done know what ive done but

i put it all bak to normal, i think i may need a new battery now, once a battery has been drained flat it never charges to its max capicity again.

mxysxy · Post by **mxysxy** » Mon May 16, 2005 2:34 pm

I end up buying a spike guarded jumper leads (200 amp).
I had a look at the battery charges too. They are very expensive, around $120 for the ones with auto recharge cut off. There are some cheaper ones around $30, however, too impractical and takes too long to charge. Also, chargers cant help me if I get stuck somewhere in the middle of the road.
Hoping that I donâ€™t blow the ECU, I will try tonight to see if I can get the car working again.

Note; To jump start the car; Make sure both cars are turned off, ignition off
1) Connect the dead battery positive (+)
2) Connect the good battery positive (+)
3) Connect the good battery negative (-)
4) Connect the bad battery negative (-)
5) Try starting the car with dead battery. (Good battery car ignition off. If starts give it 5 minutes, turn the car off. Remove the battery connectors in reverse order. Start the dead battery car again to charge it further.)
6) If the car doesnâ€™t start, try starting the car with good battery, then start the car with bad battery. (If starts give it 5 minutes, turn both cars off. Remove the battery connectors in reverse order. Start the dead battery car again to charge it further.)
7) If the car doesnâ€™t start, call the mechanic.

ph3var · Post by **ph3var** » Mon May 16, 2005 6:00 pm

I always thought that you hook up the negative first.

Dr_Jones · Post by **Dr_Jones** » Mon May 16, 2005 8:17 pm

No that order is correct.

jonowong · Post by **jonowong** » Tue May 17, 2005 10:30 am

u can take off the jump leads before u try to turn on the car with the jump leads, if your scared of frying anything

mxysxy · Post by **mxysxy** » Tue May 17, 2005 10:49 am

yep, it was the interior light caused the drained battery, both light were left on.
Just before the jump started, I measured the voltage at the dead battery, it was 0,06v

.
Considering you are not supposed to drop it under 10v, I thought I killed the battery totaly. However, after the jump start I drove for 20kms. Then, left it overnight and worked fine this morning.
Its all good now, no signs of a dodgy battery.

Funny thing happened though when I try to jump start;
First I tried to start the bad battery car without starting the good battery car. That didnt work. So, I started the good battery car first, and then tried to start the FTO, this stalled the good battery car.

So, I had to rev the good battery car high while I try to start the FTO, and doing all this by myself, putting me into funny shapes to reach the both cars.

btw, FTO workshop manual also states that positive(+) first, then negative(-), and removing in exactly reverse order.