Possible battery issue? Crazy dashboard lights, headlights flicking on and off when turning key

[Mattty]

Just bought a stripped out Clio 172 '02 from my mate and having trouble starting it. It starts ok using a booster pack, which is how we got it on and off the transporter, but it wont start on its own. I don't know too much about the electronics side of things so bear with me please.

I charged the battery and tested it with a multimeter, and it read around 12.7v, then when I disconnected the charger it dropped down to around 12.1v. Does this mean the battery is pretty much dead or maybe something draining the battery? The battery light also went off when I started the car with the booster pack. When I turn the key to ignition to try and start the car, the battery drops to around 7-8 volts every time it tries to start.

As well as this, these is a strange issue when trying to start the car without the booster pack. In the video below, I first turn the key to position 2 (where all lights come on the dash then go off) then turn the key to ignition, and the engine just clicks. After that I went from key in position 0 straight to turning on the ignition, and you can see that if I turn the key from position 0 straight to ignition, the whole dashboard goes crazy and the main beam headlights flick on and off occasionally.



Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[jinjur]

Battery.
Had the same thing recently.

Keep the multimeter on the battery when you try and start it and you will see it drop a-lot. Mine was dropping to 10v

You aren't seeing the real issue which is the Amps (I didn't measure mine, sorry) but its what the CCA (cold cranking amps) rating of a battery is about.....basically, the meat it has left.

 

[klm182]

I had the same problem a few times.. 1st it was the relays ,they needed cleaning, 2nd time was the battery, one AA man put a new one on,it was ok for about 2 weeks,the same thing happened again.. another AA man said, it was the wrong battery, needed a better grade, not a lead one..

 

[jinjur]

Just watched the vid again and I had exactly that...........exactly............when the cold weather started. A bit of cold just pushes the battery over the edge IMO.
New battery with a hefty CCA rating and all sorted again.
Fairly cheap tbh (in Renault terms anyway)

J

 

[Mattty]

Just watched the vid again and I had exactly that...........exactly............when the cold weather started. A bit of cold just pushes the battery over the edge IMO.
New battery with a hefty CCA rating and all sorted again.
Fairly cheap tbh (in Renault terms anyway)

J

Yeah, just ended up going to a scrappers and buying a new decent bosch battery for a £10. Pretty happy with that. Cheers

 

[jinjur]

Dude.........35-40 would have had a new one from ECP with like a 3 year warranty.
regardless....glad you are back online

J

 

[Mattty]

Dude.........35-40 would have had a new one from ECP with like a 3 year warranty.
regardless....glad you are back online

J

I'm on a very limited budget at the moment so this had to go cheap. When its hopefully finished/ready for the track in a few months I'll be getting a proper one.