How long till it goes flat???, TD4 2004

:blabla:Assuming a healthy battery, you know - green ball and and healthy voltage, how long would it take till the battery goes so flat the car will not turn over??. Reason I ask is I noticed the the Mrs tends to turn the key straight to start, this morning I suggested she might say turn the key till the dash lights up, put on her seat belt then start the car thereby giving the glowplug light a chance to go out. Tonight after work she got in the car but then some colleagues came past before she started the car so she did not drive off immediately and opened the window for a "short chat",:blabla::blabla::blabla: twenty or so minutes later Freddie, (that`s what she calls it) would not turn over, good job I had not started on the 12 year old malts because the call came that she was stuck.....so, with key on how long would you expect a healthy battery to lose enough charge such that it will not turn over?? .:blabla:

5 weeks.

? Have you been drinking??, if not, why not??

Lets see.

If you had a brand new battery...it would last a lot longer than, for example, a 10 year old battery.

Seeing as you gave no clues as to the age and condition of your battery, i offered an answer based on those facts.

Fair do`s, but after the ten mile drive back after I jump started it , got home and left it for a couple of hours I have a green "magic eye" and showing 12.7v at rest.This makes me think the battery is fine. I know that some cars, eg Jaguars are power hungry and put a large drain on the battery with key on (or even if just left unlocked) untill the engine is running what with all the different modules needing energy in a "ready to start " mode so wondered if this Freelander was similar in that respect. My usual inclination with a battery is if in any doubt, especially with winter approaching, is just get a new one..... BUT...is this quick fall in to a no start situation to be expected in a FL ???, is there a large draw on power in "key on, not started yet" ??, the dash lights up like a Xmas tree when you key on so methinks this is possible.... all those gizmos must be taking some power at least....does anyone know??

when you say 'wouldn't turn over' do you mean very slow/sluggish stater motor or it was totally dead as in turn the key and nowt? if it was the latter could it not have been the immobiliser kicking in?

When switching on it draws power to supply the lectrics, power the fool pump etc. Once thats all sorted you should easily be able to leave it for many hours like this and still start it. I think it's better for her to wait until the lights go out as the fool will be primed and the engine will start betterer (me thinks).

Measure the battery 1 and 24 hours after switching orf the enigne. If it's still the same volts, whilst not starting the enigne inbetween, then the battrey is probably ok.

Could it be the cars drawing extra current due to a fault? Have you tried to messure the standing current? To do this you need to disconnect the battery neg terminal, then connect it. Wait for the rear window to drop, then get the mrs to put the window up to calibrate it. Then carefully hold current meter probes on the battery neg terminal, and the wire to the terminal, then move the battery wire away from the battery terminal. This allows you not to break the circuit, so you can measure the current draw in series, without the initial inrush current. If you put the meter in series without doing it this way it will draw more current than the standard meter 10 amp fuse and blow it. Measure what’s there then touch connect the wire to the battery terminal again. Then get the mrs to switch on he lectrics wiv the ignition, but not start the engine. When the fool pump switches orf break the wire to battery connection again so current goes through the amp meter only. Check the value. Then go from there.

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/freelander-1-starting-charging-voltage-160533.html

Would not turn over but did seem to want to try , very dim dash lights etc, classic flat battery, and it did start with a jump so no imobiliser issue .Will have a play with it this morning to check voltage drop etc......the battery looks "newish" although I cant` see a date sticker on it...the casing is stamped "09 4FF", does this mean Sep 2004 and therefore the original battery??, I can feel my wallet opening again...

Could be a faulty cell in the battery, a heavy discharge meter will show if this is the case. Call in at your local ATS or similar and they will test it for you (should be free if they think they are going to get the business)

It aint gonna get any better with the cold weather coming, give it a 24 hour trickle charge and suck it and see...but best buy the mrs a battery for xmas.

Mystery of the flat battery might just be solved, when out driving today in our MX5(sunny day) we were chatting about what might have been the problem with the FL, she offered the suggestion that possibly a door had not been closed properly when she got her stuff out of the back when she got to work. I said this could not happen as the car horn would sound once when she locked it with the fob to warn a door was open to which she replied "Oh is that what that was?, I didn`t think anything of it".:doh: It looks like the car has stood with the interior lights on from 7am till 5:30pm which would no doubt flatten the battery such it would not start the car, I found this out just as I had convinced myself that I should just get a new battery anyway. I am not too sure a car battery would go down well as a Xmas pressie!!

My bettery died in the last cold spell, same symptoms as above but it held out cranking over for a few mins, after being charged it was fine but i had lost faith in it and didnt want the hassle of breaking down again for the cost of a battery. £79 from costco for a bosch silver s5, bargain.

OK,
re:-
"Tonight after work she got in the car but then some colleagues came past before she started the car so she did not drive off immediately and opened the window for a "short chat",
just a thought here, but...
if dearest had ignition on, headlights switched on, all the whistles and bells switched on for a short chat?
would not your or anyones "single" battery say nope, not starting ya luv!

Fake Elvis said:

My bettery died in the last cold spell, same symptoms as above but it held out cranking over for a few mins, after being charged it was fine but i had lost faith in it and didnt want the hassle of breaking down again for the cost of a battery. £79 from costco for a bosch silver s5, bargain.

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Did not use the Freelander yesterday but left it on the smart charger best part of the day, took it off when we got home at about 4pm and let it stand.This morning I have a nice bright green magic eye and showing 12.5volts on the meter so i think it is OK, part of me wishes that it was deffo US so i could just go and get a new battery but will keep an eye on things for now, hopefully she had just not closed the door properly and the battery is in fact fine. That price For the Bosch S5 is very good (does that include VAT?), would have to join Costco again though but even with the joining fee that would still be cheaper than most factors, the same battery at Halfords is £126.99!!!, (robbers)

I was recently monitoring my battery too - it's less than a year old, but since it's already cold and my glow plugs don't work (lots of cranking) i wanted to keep an eye on it.

Found this information on wikipedia (not sure how reliable it is) regarding battery voltages:

The open circuit voltage, is measured when the engine is off and no loads are connected. It can be approximately related to the charge of the battery by:

Open Circuit Voltage (12 V) / Approximate charge / Relative acid density
12.65 V / 100% / 1.265 g/cm3
12.45 V / 75% / 1.225 g/cm3
12.24 V / 50% / 1.190 g/cm3
12.06 V / 25% / 1.155 g/cm3
11.89 V / 0% / 1.120 g/cm3

The following is common for a six-cell automotive lead-acid battery at room temperature:

• Quiescent (open-circuit) voltage at full charge: 12.6 V
• Fully discharged: 11.8 V
• Charge with 13.2–14.4 V
• Gassing voltage: 14.4 V
• Continuous-preservation charge with max. 13.2 V
• After full charge the terminal voltage will drop quickly to 13.2 V and then slowly to 12.6 V
• Open circuit voltage is measured 12 hours after charging to allow surface charge to dissipate and enable a more accurate reading.
• All voltages are at 20 °C, and must be adjusted -0.022V/°C for temperature changes (negative temperature coefficient - lower voltage at higher temperature).

garagedood said:

the same battery at Halfords is £126.99!!!, (robbers)

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they're not called halfrauds for nothing! That price was last winter so not sure what they cost now, it was a bargain back then though.

I got a sealed for life gel battery 72Ah for £90 from tyre sales nearly 2 years ago. Make sure you get the size you need, as the Freelander 1 petrols are quoted to be 60Ah in the shops. The v6 is 75Ah as per the LR manwell. Not sure about diesels.

replaced mine a few months back. the halford price was around the £135 mark for the bosch, my local independent got me the same battery for around £80.

there are many factors in this but one is do you have a cd player in the car if so switch it back to radio before leaving the car say all day because the memory in the cd play keeps going even when ignition is off and radio is off I know you are going to shout but thats not a lot but it all adds up hope this helps

Get a bigger capacity battery. The biggest that will fit the battery tray.
Check the max width and length - height not so important.
The dimensions of mine are: L 315mm x W 175mm x H 175mm
If it was possible to find one 215 high I would get it.
Varta, Bosch etc do this dimension with a capacity of 85 Amp/Hour
Be sure you get the terminals right.
Best deal on eBay at the moment is:

VARTA *SILVER* F18 (019) VERY BEST Quality Car Battery | eBay

Check it out - dont be left looking for the jump leads on the first frosty morning!