Formentor battery drain

[JP6]

Hi guys,

I’ve got a VZ2 310, the other day the car wouldn’t start due to a flat battery. Jump started it and it seemed fine for a few days, but this morning it was dead again. I think the first time it went flat was because my wife was sat in the car with the fans on and engine off for quite a while. The second time, maybe we haven’t driven it enough to charge the battery? I’m not sure how long it needs but have done an hours journey now to see if that sorts it. Has anyone else had something drain their battery when the car is off?

 

[Karbonfaiba]

I've experienced this enough times with modern vehicles (not with my VZ2 yet thankfully) to make some recommendations.

The more information you can gather about the battery will help determine where best to invest.

First find out how old the battery is. This is free information. so it's the best place to start.

If the battery is 3-4 years old, it's time to at least consider a replacement. Unfortunately the quality drop, increased electronics and extra strain start/stop puts on batteries nowadays, means reduced lifetime.

Over 5 years old I wouldn't be considering anything else but replacing it.

If the battery is less than 3 years old, now it's time to decide whether you want to invest more money into gaining more information.

A decent battery tester is £20 approx. Use it to find out if the battery really needs replacing, or needs a good charge / recondition.

A multi meter is another alternative tool - just not as good as a dedicated tester. You can use a multi meter to read sitting and ignition on voltages - which is often enough to learn if the battery needs a charge, but over time, you can also learn if it can hold a good voltage.

If you discover the battery is in good condition, you probably aren't driving it on long enough journeys to keep the SOC (state of charge) high enough. An investment in a smart battery charger is advisable when you have a situational condition that would effect any battery SOC, new or old.

I recommend the CTEK MXS 5.0 minimum. Use it to do an overnight reconditioning charge initially. Then a regular charge every 2 weeks, or wait till the next time it fails to start, then charge routinely based on that time period. This will extend the life of the battery for 1-2 more useable years beyond 3-4 years replacement time but also solve the reliability issue. You'll want to charge more often in colder conditions too.

If you discover the battery is in poor condition, do not invest in a battery charger and just use the money on replacing it (with labour costs, if taking it to a garage).

 

[JP6]

As an update to this:

Battery was knackered. Bit the bullet and bought a new one, coded it in with OBDeleven and all is good.

 

[Mobile Chicane]

I've experienced this enough times with modern vehicles (not with my VZ2 yet thankfully) to make some recommendations.

The more information you can gather about the battery will help determine where best to invest.

First find out how old the battery is. This is free information. so it's the best place to start.

If the battery is 3-4 years old, it's time to at least consider a replacement. Unfortunately the quality drop, increased electronics and extra strain start/stop puts on batteries nowadays, means reduced lifetime.

Over 5 years old I wouldn't be considering anything else but replacing it.

If the battery is less than 3 years old, now it's time to decide whether you want to invest more money into gaining more information.

A decent battery tester is £20 approx. Use it to find out if the battery really needs replacing, or needs a good charge / recondition.

A multi meter is another alternative tool - just not as good as a dedicated tester. You can use a multi meter to read sitting and ignition on voltages - which is often enough to learn if the battery needs a charge, but over time, you can also learn if it can hold a good voltage.

If you discover the battery is in good condition, you probably aren't driving it on long enough journeys to keep the SOC (state of charge) high enough. An investment in a smart battery charger is advisable when you have a situational condition that would effect any battery SOC, new or old.

I recommend the CTEK MXS 5.0 minimum. Use it to do an overnight reconditioning charge initially. Then a regular charge every 2 weeks, or wait till the next time it fails to start, then charge routinely based on that time period. This will extend the life of the battery for 1-2 more useable years beyond 3-4 years replacement time but also solve the reliability issue. You'll want to charge more often in colder conditions too.

If you discover the battery is in poor condition, do not invest in a battery charger and just use the money on replacing it (with labour costs, if taking it to a garage).

100% with the Ctek well worth investing in one IMO

 

[Seastormer]

100% with the Ctek well worth investing in one IMO

I still use my old Optimate 6 and it does the same thing, used it on my old 280 for 8 years, before I got the new Leon and never had a flat battery yet.