rocky Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 Hi, i have been having a battery problem with my disco, when it was really cold -15 the vehicle wouldn't start (flattened the battery after 3 tries). Took the car to a garage for a battery/alternator test and was told that the battery etc was ok. Tested the battery last night with a ring charger and the result was 100%. When i tested it this morning it was only 40%. I disconnected the battery and put a meter between the negative terminal and the clamp and got 0.01amps. Could anyone please tell me if this is an excessive drain as I don't want to buy a new battery to have the same problem. Regards, rocky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 No, 0.01 A is not excessive at all. The cold is much more likely to have done more damage, especially if the battery is old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocky Posted January 15, 2010 Author Share Posted January 15, 2010 Magic mate ,many thanks, regards, rocky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappers606 Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 If it helps, my 300 used to really struggle to start on it's "original" battery. Anything below freezing and it barely turned it over fast enough to start. I initially replaced the battery with a cheap alternative - that was even worse and it refused to start one morning (was fine later in the day when the ambient temp had risen). I eventually replaced that with an Optima "red top". Not the cheapest, but it spins the engine over at any temp without even breaking into a sweat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landyliam Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 the battery in my 300 has been struggling with the cold weather, and its only 6 months old ! if i didn't take the disco for a run every 3 days it wouldn't have enough juice to start it, but today tried it in the "warm" weather (9deg) and it had plenty of life despite not having had its run for 6 days now, seems it was just the cold then i've heard if you put the clutch in when starting there's a bit less metal for the starter motor to turn, is this true? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milliejasper1111 Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 Had the same problem with mine! 2 wks before christmas it let me down starting, went and got a new heavy duty battery, £80 odd quid. Fine all over christmas, until the cold came. It got down to -11 for a few nights and started to let me down every morning, put it on charge for a day and night, ok for another day! the following morning it would just about spin the engine over! Now the cold has gone its fine! Starts first turn on the key, i was going to replace the glow plugs, take the starter off and clean all the earths, etc, etc, Glad i didnt now, I just put it down to extreme winter temps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPendrey Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 Dunno about having less to turn, but I always do this on our manual (other) car, simply as a precaution incase the Mrs left it in gear and I didn't notice! However, back to the Disco... I too had a new battery one year ago, a cheap one of eBay, and it struggles in this cold weather too. Specifically, if left overnight outside. However, pop the car in the garage and it seems to cope, i.e. not below freezing. One of those red-top batteries will be my next choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dooroy Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 The output from any battery is affected by low temps ; but the battery with little to spare will be the one to fail . Many moons ago when I couldn't afford a new battery for my car I used to remove it at night and leave it in the kitchen during very cold weather - car always started ( wouldn't if left in the car overnight ). As regards the 300 Tdi my brother was having problems with his 96 ES failing to start in the cold weather despite having a good new battery . I remembered having read somewhere that the problem could be the stop solenoid on the pump not getting sufficient voltage to open due to the load on the battery . The solenoid circuit suffers voltage drop anyway due to its path . Anyway I suggested to him to run a wire from battery positive to the stop solenoid just for the first start of the day . The Disco started every morning after that . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 I've heard if you put the clutch in when starting there's a bit less metal for the starter motor to turn, is this true? Indeed it is. It's good practice anyway, as has been mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocky Posted January 16, 2010 Author Share Posted January 16, 2010 I put a new battery on it today--£96--at least the disco has some value now!! Regards, rocky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocky Posted January 16, 2010 Author Share Posted January 16, 2010 The disco has only got to last till the end of may, then I'll be forking out for another one. Hopefully i will be able to do the bits of welding on it and keep it as a spare--or take out the engine/gearbox/transfer box, they should be worth saving as it is hard to find a decent used one. regards, rocky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pw8757 Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 i've heard if you put the clutch in when starting there's a bit less metal for the starter motor to turn, is this true? First thing we were taught at the Police Driver Training School.................To reduce the load on the battery..............(long before Mr Optima came along!) (So many years ago now...................... ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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