Flat Battery

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Carole4x4

Carole4x4

New Member
Posts
8
Location
Durham UK
Got an annoying problem on my Disco 300Tdi Auto.

Its had a new battery, new starter motor, had alternator checked etc but after standing a couple of days the battery wont turn the engine over enough to start it, everything else works fine but it just wont turn the engine fast enough to start.
Its been into an auto electrician who diagnoised a short on the heated rear screen and repaired it, kept it over a weekend and the charge was still there from friday to monday so we thought all was well. It was for a fortnight but last week I left it from Sunday Night to Wednesday, went to start it and guess what, bloody thing wouldnt turn over again, again everything else works fine, plenty power in battery to power lights inc high power spots, dvd player, cb etc but just not enough to turn the starter over to fire it up.
I love the discovery but this problem is driving me mad now as I darent go anywhere with it when it does start incase i cant get home again.

Oh i should add that this has just started since I got the new battery fitted late last year, and the specialist replaced the starter twice as they felt the first new starter was faulty. The RAC have ran diagnostics on the alternator as have the auto eleccy but im still left with a great discovery I cant start,

please help someone.:confused::confused:
 
Just a minute. Off to get my shades.

That's better. I see you've done a lot, but it seems from reading the above that the battery could be a duff one. I know you say it's new, but if I were you, I'd check it. What sort did you buy? Is it up to the job? If you've no other way to check, how about taking the battery off, charging it, leaving it for a few days and see if it does the business then?
 
The possibility of faulty battery has been thought of and battery replaced under warranty. The specialist I use is great and is certified Land Rover which is where I got the battery and starter motor done. After reading some of the posts about p38's with similar problems and being parked near electrical etc I'm beginning to wonder if that could be the same with my disco as the problem only started after we moved to our current home, however I can't see anything electrical as such around us only the intercoms systems for the warden control and the disco is parked on the road not a drive etc.

Sorry for earlier colours but I didn't have contact lens in and needed something big and bright so I could see it properly.
 
Carole4x4 said:
The possibility of faulty battery has been thought of and battery replaced under warranty. The specialist I use is great and is certified Land Rover which is where I got the battery and starter motor done. After reading some of the posts about p38's with similar problems and being parked near electrical etc I'm beginning to wonder if that could be the same with my disco as the problem only started after we moved to our current home, however I can't see anything electrical as such around us only the intercoms systems for the warden control and the disco is parked on the road not a drive etc.

Sorry for earlier colours but I didn't have contact lens in and needed something big and bright so I could see it properly.
Click to expand...

how long will the battery crank the engine over for when it's playing up and cranking slowly?

Have the connections to the starter motor been checked and cleaned up if required?

Have you tried adding an extra earth strap?

Have you tried testing the battery after it refuses to start?

Does the engine have the correct oil in it and has it been changed recently?
 
Whip the earth lead off the battery when you park it up for a few days... Put it on when you come back... If it starts fine it's a fault with the car, if it doesn't... It's the battery.

If it turns out to be the car, fit a master switch and use that whenever you park it up.

If its the battery... Get a new one...

I've been out to a few cars that have not started due to electrical interference but they tend to be vw's at petrol stations and citations near automatic barriers...
 
The obvious ones are like the guys have already said . Otherwise , the braided earth strap from the starter motor mounting bolt to the chassis can be a problem , the connections tend to get very dirty and the strap itself isnt great on an old vehicle . You could try having this replaced with a new , heavier grade one .

The extra earth on a D1 300tdi is pretty much a standard requirement . From the engine block to the battery negative , that is .Non a/c has a couple of handy threaded (M8 , M10?) holes you can use or on top of the kickdown mount there are some M8 stud with 13mm nuts you could use .

As to going on journies , you often find it is just the initial start you will have problems with , once the engine has been started and run it should re strat easily enough . Or thats what I have found with this same vehicle with electrical problems .

Ratty REALLY knows his stuff cos he goes out to pick up the pieces when things go wrong so his advice is pretty spot on , Robbo too . If your mechanic won't listen to you , print off what they have said and tell said mech that these people know what they are on about . Best of luck and I hope you get it fixed .
 
Today when the garage came to jump start the disco it was just clicking whereas last week when it wouldn't start it was turning very very slowly. All the other electrics still seemed to be working okay and I hadn't received any low battery level texts from my tracking provider.
The car has air con fitted as standard but I've never used it.
This problem seems to have started after a new battery was fitted last year, also after having new glow plugs, a new window winder mech, and the filters etc changed.

Car is now back at the auto eleccy see if he can come up with something new and In the meantime I'll be printing everything the guys have said here to have the eleccy try.

Thanks guys,

Carole
 
Carole4x4 said:
Today when the garage came to jump start the disco it was just clicking whereas last week when it wouldn't start it was turning very very slowly. All the other electrics still seemed to be working okay and I hadn't received any low battery level texts from my tracking provider.
The car has air con fitted as standard but I've never used it.
This problem seems to have started after a new battery was fitted last year, also after having new glow plugs, a new window winder mech, and the filters etc changed.

Car is now back at the auto eleccy see if he can come up with something new and In the meantime I'll be printing everything the guys have said here to have the eleccy try.

Thanks guys,

Carole
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity what make is the battery? It's not a numax is it?
 
Hi,
Sorry but been offline a few days.

No idea what make the battery is but I'm sure they said it was an 059 battery if that means anything to anyone.

Update anyway, got the disco back from the auto leccy again, they can't find any drain on the battery at all, it's been starting fine now, left from Friday to today and no problem at all. The auto leccy has recommended a heavier duty battery as they reckon the Cold Cranking Amps are only very slightly above what the starter motor needs to turn the engine over though. Gonna try the heavy duty battery and leave it for a week see if it turns it over or drains again.

Carole.
 
Carole4x4 said:
Hi,
Sorry but been offline a few days.

No idea what make the battery is but I'm sure they said it was an 059 battery if that means anything to anyone.

Update anyway, got the disco back from the auto leccy again, they can't find any drain on the battery at all, it's been starting fine now, left from Friday to today and no problem at all. The auto leccy has recommended a heavier duty battery as they reckon the Cold Cranking Amps are only very slightly above what the starter motor needs to turn the engine over though. Gonna try the heavy duty battery and leave it for a week see if it turns it over or drains again.

Carole.
Click to expand...

If it is an 059 battery I'm not surprised it won't start. They're only 45ah 380cca batteries.:eek::eek::eek:
 
How many miles do you drive after the car is started ? You need to drive at least 4 or 5 to replace the charge you took out of the battery after the starting process. Things like the radio, lights , heated seats and heated windows all put extra strain on the battery and if they are all on when you drive it takes longer to charge the battery up again. The alarm/immobiliser also will drain the battery when it is just stood as well as damp shorting the battery terminals etc.
I use an Optima red top with a CCA of 810 amps but it has a low 50 AH rating but my 300 Tdi auto starts well.
Regards
Jonathan
 
 
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