"Jump Start" no worky (Exige S2)

[Eric K]

The battery is dead on my Exige (couldn't drive for a while as a result of something sore).

I've tried 'jumping' it from the wife's Discovery. I've also had a go with a 'booster' (via the terminals at the front under the wee triangular panel).

No joy.

It does that clicking noise like the starter doesn't have the power to turn (do they still have a bendix?)

Any thoughts?

If I attached a battery charger to these terminals at the front,would the battery take a charge?

Any help would be appreciated.

Otherwise, it's coming up to service time so I might ask MMC to collect and sort.

Cheers,

Eric

[Jacobite]

While I've not got an S2 let alone an Exige from what I've read it will take a charge from these posts under the service pannel
isn't the battery in the boot anyway?
you might find that if the battery has been discharged fully with the alarm/ imobeliser if may not take a charge ~New battery time if it is I'd go for one of these

http://www.optimabatteryshop.co.uk/sc-O ... -I114.html

You will find them cheaper on E-bay I think I paid £123 for a 50 Ah one with comething like 855amps cold cranking and the abilitiy to be left for up to 18 months and loose minimum power
I'm sure one of your experts will be along in a few hours with a more detailed reply
cheers

[tut]

The ECU will stop the car starting until the battery has over 10.5 volts. If it is completely discharged this means that you will have to run a charge from another car for around 20 mins, or a battery charger overnight.

If still no joy then a push start would get over a starter motor problem, or try starting it in 1st gear to give it a jolt.

tut

[Sanjøy]

AA

[shortie2]

if the battery is totally flat then you will need to jump directly to it with proper jump cables, the clicking you are hearing is the starter solenoid so you are putting a charge in slowly through the charge connectors, some trickle type chargers wont charge a totally flat battery so the only way to recover it is to get it connected directly with heavy cables

[shortie2]

While I've not got an S2 let alone an Exige from what I've read it will take a charge from these posts under the service pannel
isn't the battery in the boot anyway?
you might find that if the battery has been discharged fully with the alarm/ imobeliser if may not take a charge ~New battery time if it is I'd go for one of these

http://www.optimabatteryshop.co.uk/sc-O ... -I114.html

You will find them cheaper on E-bay I think I paid £123 for a 50 Ah one with comething like 855amps cold cranking and the abilitiy to be left for up to 18 months and loose minimum power
I'm sure one of your experts will be along in a few hours with a more detailed reply
cheers

One of those wont last 18 months with an alarm connected if its a 50ah it will only last 50 hours if you draw 1 amp ( longer if you draw less) std battery is 65 ah so will last longer than the super duper one on a low dischrge current.
These batterys only come into their own if you need a large discharge current like high compression engines where the starter load is much higher they also recover slightly better if left flat for a while

[robin]

Any battery charger will charge the battery eventually - if you can leave it attached to a battery charger for long enough then it will charge (you may have to power the charger on/off a few times along the way if it has a safety timer, though I've never actually seen a safety timer implemented on a lead acid battery).

You're probably not getting good enough contact at the front to deliver the 100's of amps required to turn the starter when jump starting it; in addition to which because the existing battery is flat, you're going to see a large current flowing into that anyway, which makes matters worse ...

If you can get the boot open, you would do better to slide the battery off the battery tray (one allen key required I think) and attach the jump leads directly to the battery terminals, leave it hooked up for 20 mins with the other car on fast idle, then try and start it.

Lead acid batteries don't like deep discharge - don't be surprised if even once you get it running again, the battery doesn't hold a charge.

The absolute best way to keep lead acid batteries in good condition is to disconnect them from the load when not in use - so next time you're going to park it for a month, whip off the battery -ve terminal.

Cheers,
Robin

[Jacobite]

While I've not got an S2 let alone an Exige from what I've read it will take a charge from these posts under the service pannel
isn't the battery in the boot anyway?
you might find that if the battery has been discharged fully with the alarm/ imobeliser if may not take a charge ~New battery time if it is I'd go for one of these

http://www.optimabatteryshop.co.uk/sc-O ... -I114.html

You will find them cheaper on E-bay I think I paid £123 for a 50 Ah one with comething like 855amps cold cranking and the abilitiy to be left for up to 18 months and loose minimum power
I'm sure one of your experts will be along in a few hours with a more detailed reply
cheers

One of those wont last 18 months with an alarm connected if its a 50ah it will only last 50 hours if you draw 1 amp ( longer if you draw less) std battery is 65 ah so will last longer than the super duper one on a low dischrge current.
These batterys only come into their own if you need a large discharge current like high compression engines where the starter load is much higher they also recover slightly better if left flat for a while

Sorry I was meaning with no drain ~ I don't think an normal lead acid battery would last 6 months with no currant drain
diferant if the cars garaged and inside it can be connected up to a trickle charger

[Peter76]

As has been mentioned, if jump starting leave it connected to another car battery (with engine running) for a while or get a charger on to the battery and leave it over night. Patience is the key! I've had to do this plenty. You can charge the battery from the auxilary posts no problem. Give it a bit of time and try again. You've prob got it started by now!

[robin]

Sorry I was meaning with no drain ~ I don't think an normal lead acid battery would last 6 months with no currant drain
diferant if the cars garaged and inside it can be connected up to a trickle charger

Actually, the shelf life of a fully charged lead acid battery is pretty good - just look at the sell by date on the ones in Halfords next time you're in there.

I believe the best way to keep a lead acid battery in condition is to disconnect it and then allow it to self discharge to about 2/3 capacity, then charge fully with an alternator (these are designed for the job ). Clearly the battery will reach 2/3 charge quite quickly if you leave the alarm enabled, but disconnected it will take months and months of self discharge to reach that state.

Trickle/float chargers can work provided they are well calibrated. If you force a current through a fully charged lead acid battery, you aren't doing it any favours and you can do it as much damage as deep discharge.

Cheers,
Robin

[LittleMorvy]

I had exactly the same with mine after it being off the road over the winter, after taking it out of car and charging over night it has been absolutley fine since, I thought I might have issues with it holding its charge after but a few months down the line its working no probs

[Eric K]

Thanks folks - all sorted now.

Went straight to the battery with a charger (it's actually not as inaccessible as I had been led to believe).

Sorry I didn't reply sooner - Fintray at the weekend and then lots of work nonsense got in the way.

Cheers,

Eric