Battery Dies After A Week

Hey Folks

2003 - TD5

Need a bit of advice here , D2 battery fitted start of year run it roughly 20 - 30 miles once a week as it’s a weekend car .

Now if I don’t use it once a week the battery dies and needs jump started , now my longest road trip was 150 miles in 1 day a night ago and thought that would be enough for it to stay charged ? Had it out on Tuesday did approx 30 miles went to start it today and it’s trying to turn over but nope , now if i jump start it it will go no problem ? Any ideas what to look for ?

RizzleKicks said:

Hey Folks

2003 - TD5

Need a bit of advice here , D2 battery fitted start of year run it roughly 20 - 30 miles once a week as it’s a weekend car

.

Now if I don’t use it once a week the battery dies and needs jump started , now my longest road trip was 150 miles in 1 day a night ago and thought that would be enough for it to stay charged ? Had it out on Tuesday did approx 30 miles went to start it today and it’s trying to turn over but nope , now if i jump start it it will go no problem ? Any ideas what to look for ?

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If bought new it should still be under guarantee.
But they don't much like being left on a car but not used.

Can you just run a trickle charger when not using if it not an every day car? ThAts what I do with my weekend toy defender

RizzleKicks said:

Hey Folks

2003 - TD5

Need a bit of advice here , D2 battery fitted start of year run it roughly 20 - 30 miles once a week as it’s a weekend car.
Now if I don’t use it once a week the battery dies and needs jump started , now my longest road trip was 150 miles in 1 day a night ago and thought that would be enough for it to stay charged ? Had it out on Tuesday did approx 30 miles went to start it today and it’s trying to turn over but nope , now if i jump start it it will go no problem ? Any ideas what to look for ?

Click to expand...

150 miles is sufficient to to charge the battery not fully only a mains battery charger will do that, but enough to still crank the engine after seven days, so start with a fully charged battery, two or three days on a smart charger will do nicely.
Ideas would be 1.check the vehicle alternator output. 2 ‘drop test’ the battery. 3. check the battery connections. Finally if necessary after your tests, have have a word with the supplier of the battery, if purchased on line then you will have to return it to them
You need to drive 20/25 miles to replenish the amount taking from the battery when starting.

RizzleKicks said:

Hey Folks

2003 - TD5

Need a bit of advice here , D2 battery fitted start of year run it roughly 20 - 30 miles once a week as it’s a weekend car

.

Now if I don’t use it once a week the battery dies and needs jump started , now my longest road trip was 150 miles in 1 day a night ago and thought that would be enough for it to stay charged ? Had it out on Tuesday did approx 30 miles went to start it today and it’s trying to turn over but nope , now if i jump start it it will go no problem ? Any ideas what to look for ?

Click to expand...

A Td5 uses some power all the time, even when the ignition is switched off.
So you need to use it more, or charge the battery more, or both.

1. Faulty battery, fully charge off the car & load test.
2. Excessive drain whilst standing.
3. Car not charging it correctly, alternator or wiring fault.
4. Lack of use. I put a new battery on mine in June & have averaged about 70 miles P.W & it's been fine even though I had to put a new alternator on it last week or any combo of the above.

Often Disco will turn over with a weedy battery ,but you need a minimum voltage to enable your injectors to work.This is higher than what’s needed to crank Disco over.
The drain on your battery should be less than 50mAmps measured when Disco has gone to sleep .All your doors locked on mine takes about 30 mins until current drain drops.If doing this tape up the bonnet alarm switch with tape.
If you measure it straightaway you will get a high reading I get 0.5amps on mine.

On my tdi, less complex electronics, it was a duff relay for the heater fan, relays can fail closed so things keeping running after you turn the ignition off, first measure the battery drain, if too high then try find the culprit.....

What size battery did you put on and what checks have you done so far?