New battery

D90mitch · May 17, 2013

Had a quick look through the forum and online but couldn't find exactly what I needed.

Basically my problem is that my battery sometimes struggles to start the vehicle. Mentioned on here a little while back that I had a brand new Varta that went flat on me and swapped the old one back in. Since it has not let me down but there have been a few close moments. It has not been getting any worse but the fact that I have to have my engine running when I want to listen the stereo is a little annoying and a waste of fuel (pretty powerful stereo but not too ridiculous). So I know I will be needing a battery with a little more kick than the standard and would like to run my stereo without the engine running (deep cycle battery would be good?) but also need something with good cold start power and reliability. Optima would seem the best choice but have read many bad reviews and they aren't cheap! So looking for something affordable and that will do the job for time to come! Have thought that it could be the alternator but as its not getting worse it cant be? No flickering in the lights either. Thanks

trax · May 17, 2013

D90mitch said:
Had a quick look through the forum and online but couldn't find exactly what I needed.

Basically my problem is that my battery sometimes struggles to start the vehicle. Mentioned on here a little while back that I had a brand new Varta that went flat on me and swapped the old one back in. Since it has not let me down but there have been a few close moments. It has not been getting any worse but the fact that I have to have my engine running when I want to listen the stereo is a little annoying and a waste of fuel (pretty powerful stereo but not too ridiculous). So I know I will be needing a battery with a little more kick than the standard and would like to run my stereo without the engine running (deep cycle battery would be good?) but also need something with good cold start power and reliability. Optima would seem the best choice but have read many bad reviews and they aren't cheap! So looking for something affordable and that will do the job for time to come! Have thought that it could be the alternator but as its not getting worse it cant be? No flickering in the lights either. Thanks

You haven't stuck in some monster audio setup that consumes a load of power have you?

See what equipment you have switched on and if your alt can cope.

get a multimeter and check.

D90mitch · May 17, 2013

The stereo is nothing too extreme - two dash speakers (same size as originals but better quality) and an amp/space saving sub all in one unit. To check if the alt is up to the job when the engine is running it should be about 13v or so from the battery? Auto Leccy isn't me thing

chezvegas · May 17, 2013

Sounds like you might have some earth issues, pumped battery, pumped starter or poor alternator. A good earth check I noticed on one of mine is turn headlights on (with engine off) take handbrake off and if lights dim then your landy is using the handbrake as an earth which will hammer starting performance. I have always added 3 extra earths on to mine as its always a problem and the originals have probably been on for a long time.

chezvegas · May 17, 2013

D90mitch said:
The stereo is nothing too extreme - two dash speakers (same size as originals but better quality) and an amp/space saving sub all in one unit. To check if the alt is up to the job when the engine is running it should be about 13v or so from the battery? Auto Leccy isn't me thing

Between 13.6v & 14.4v with the engine running. 12.6 ish without

D90mitch · May 17, 2013

What do you mean by 'pumped'

chezvegas · May 17, 2013

Not working properly, battery not holding a charge, alternator giving poor output, starter drawing more power than needed.

Start with your earths I usually find that is a soft point on land rovers that fail quickly due to corrosion on cables, chassis etc

D90mitch · May 17, 2013

Right I will give em a look soon - Starter motor is almost new but wouldn't have thought my stereo would sap too much as I don't have any other extras on my vehicle (electric that is) no winch no spots or anything like that. But if it is the battery I need some recommendations

D90mitch · May 17, 2013

Thing is sometimes it starts up straight away. Another thing - if I have the stereo on and try to start, it struggles a fair bit more.

chezvegas · May 17, 2013

D90mitch said:
Thing is sometimes it starts up straight away. Another thing - if I have the stereo on and try to start, it struggles a fair bit more.

Intermittent faults are probably earths or poor contacts at the starter. It's worth stripping a bit of the insulation back on some wires to see if the cores have turned blackish with corrosion

D90mitch · May 18, 2013

right I just did what you said with the hand brake and the lights without the engine running and there was no drop in the light intensity. Does that mean my Earth(s) are ok? Tomorrow I hope to test the voltage from the battery with the engine running to see if it may be the alt. I must admit that the landy is not used every day and the trips I do aren't extensively long at the moment but are surely long enough to keep the battery useable (like 20-30min drives some highway some countryside) Have bought a solar trickle charger couple of days ago to help with starting. Thanks for your help so far.

chezvegas · May 19, 2013

Should mean that your earths aren't completely hammered but they may still carry some resistance. Do the other checks and let us know the results.

D90mitch · May 19, 2013

Yep was gonna do the volt meter today but me neighbour who has one is working nights so didn't get to see him for it - will hopefully do tomorrow! I have a feeling it is going to be the alternator but then again surely the battery would go completely flat eventually if it was and not just stay 'low'? Thanks.

chezvegas · May 19, 2013

Could be a mix of both, batteries lose their capacity over time. If the battery is over 5 yrs old then I would bin it.

D90mitch · May 20, 2013

Right I checked the voltages today, with the engine running it read 13.25 so not really low... When I turned the stereo on it hardly changed.

What do you think? Thanks again.

Thor1950 · May 20, 2013

D90mitch said:
Right I checked the voltages today, with the engine running it read 13.25 so not really low... When I turned the stereo on it hardly changed.

What do you think? Thanks again.

alternator works

neiltce · May 20, 2013

Erm did I read correctly ... You have a seperate amp.. If so there is your problem, they kill the battery in 20 mins without a problem, if you really need the amp fit a leisure battery on a split charge relay, and power the amp from that...

D90mitch · May 20, 2013

The amp is built into the sub and also, even if I don't have the stereo on it doesn't make much difference.

chezvegas · May 20, 2013

D90mitch said:
Right I checked the voltages today, with the engine running it read 13.25 so not really low... When I turned the stereo on it hardly changed.

What do you think? Thanks again.

If that was measured at the battery then its too low. Elsewhere in the loom may be ok. Ideally it needs to be between 13.6 and 14.4 volts.

D90mitch · May 20, 2013

So you think that I need a new and more powerful alt? Any other opinions too? Why can't it be the simpler option of a better battery

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