I drive my 1996 Volvo approx. 4 miles each way to the train station and back on weekdays. I rarely drive it on the weekends. Awhile back the battery was dead on more than one occasion on the Monday morning. I thought this must be due to not being used and the battery has beconme dead. One morning I broke down on the way to the train station, and it seemed the lights on the dashboard shut down and the car just stopped. I called AAA and they jumped it and I by this time frustrated I took it to our local mechanic - he didn’t see anything wrong with the battery, alternator or electrical - but for my peace of mind I had him put a new battery in. Last night, about a month after the above - as I was going to run an errand I see that my battery is flat again. I jumped the battery with my wife’s car, and the Volvo started up. I then kept the car running for about 2 hours to charge the battery. This morning she started up fine. I’m wondering if anyone has a clue why my battery is flat? Any thoughts would be welcome. Kind regards, Ian Turner
Get an automatic battery charger approx. 5 amps. Charge the battery overnight once a month.
It takes several hours to thoroughly recharge a battery. 4 mile trips won’t keep the battery healthy.
Many thanks CS, but apart from the battery charger, which I will go ahead and get, do you feel there is some other problem why a new battery, after about a month just went dead? My last battery lasted a couple of years before it started to act up? Kind regards, IT
Was the new battery tested? Was it fresh?
Sometimes the clerk at an auto parts counter will wonder why, but I insist.
Often a new battery will sit on a shelf a few months and need a full charge before use.
If it gets that charge first it’ll be fine. If not it can quickly sulfate.
Did the mechanic test for parasitic drain when the car is off?
Dear CS, I’ll check - thanks for all the advice, and I’ll make sure to ask the mechanic the above. These past two days I have let the car run for two hours each night, and I haven’t had any start up problems so far. I’ll be getting an automatic charger this weekend on your advice - many thanks for that - why wouldn’t my local mechanic have thought of any of the above? best Ian
CS, Having looked up parasitic drain, I think the mechanic knows about this - as he had asked me questions along the lines of - “Was anyhting lights left on…keys in the ignition…” etc. So he was fishing. I’ll see what he has to say when I being it in on Thursday. Thanks again. Ian