my batteries keep dying

[jamma tee]

my battery died and i replaced it and it worked fine for like 6 months. then i left my car for a cuple days un driven and now it has no power at all.

the central locking doesnt work but there is a little red light on the dash that blinks. i jump started the car and it drove fine but didnt restart after on its own?? this has happened before with a previous battery.

the garage said it wasnt the alternater any ideas what this problem could be??

thanks for any help

 

[Tigger]

My dci did this last winter - battery replaced under warranty (still happens occasionaly :S)

Are you doing short distances in the car?

Batteries don't get much chance to "charge-up" when running around town and making lots of stops & starts.
Also using your electrics more in the colder weather won't help much either - heaters lights wipers etc etc

My Dad always went on about my car having all the fancy "electric gadgets" draining my battery when the car had trouble starting.
He would advise me to give the car a good drive (at least an hour) on a dry day with minimum electrics operating.

In all fairness it makes sense - hasn't done any harm yet

 

[jamma tee]

ye i am doing short distances (10-20 minute drives) not driving at high revs really at all. it started fine with a jump start so should i just then take it on a like an hour drive see if that works?

cheers for the reply

 

[chiefsilverback]

You might be as well to get a battery conditioner.... £50ish just plug it in when you're not using the car and it'll keep the battery in tip top condition!

 

[Mells]

How old is your battery? This happened to mine the day I got it and it was becuase it had been left for a couple of weeks. Charged it and it was fine but then came back after being on holiday and it was dead again. Put a new one in and its been fine since.

My dads car kept doing it and the gay-rage said it was the alternator. It was booked in for it to be done but in the mean time he needed to take something somewhere. He noticed that his boot light was alway on (faulty switch) as he needed to fold the back seats forward.

Quick fix £3 switch or a £400 fill for the alternator? Wanky garage!

Always worth checking for stuff like this..

 

[Tigger]

What year/model is your Clio?

When I enquired why I had no light in my glovebox when I bought the car - a few people at Reno told me "some models have removed the feature as it was causing problems with the battery" :S

 

[jamma tee]

i have a 98 mark 2 clio s reg?