i went to my car this evening only to find the battery flat a call out to the rac and it was sorted and is now on charge.

only prob is that i only do short journeys all the time so i not chargeing the battery all the time.

i have just purchased some ice which will arrive on monday now i am assumeing with the power consumption being higher i will proabibly have to charge my battery all the time

it is the original battery by the way so i think it is need of a swop, is there any really good high power batterys i can get or are they all pretty much the same?

i want one that will power my car/ice for more then a few months of journeys. cheers guys

Even a big battery will run out eventually if you never charge it fully.

Have you checked the alternator voltage? Should be 13.8v across the battery with the engine running.

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how would i do that ? i am guessing i would need some sort of special tool ?

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A multimeter

Very useful, usually about £15

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Or take it to Kwik-Fit-Up, tell them you think you may need one and you'd like it tested, ask them to show you the reading then feck off and buy your battery elsewhere.

Shabash!

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nice1 ozric i will do that, lol

any ideas what the reading should be ? (gwan tom u know you want to answer this)

thanks in advance

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Between 13.8v and 14.5v with the engine running. Any less and its not charging properly.

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cheers tom you are a star

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One thing I like about GM (vauxhall cars) is the fact that parts and even bloody engines can be swapped with little or no sweat. I had a Carlton alternator on my Cavalier, and also with a bigger battery.


Are the alternators for the bigger Fiats better? If so, can I swap for my 100 16v.

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are optima batteries any good ? i have hered of these before and supposidly last 3 times longer, anyone had experience with these before ?

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They are, and expensive!!!!!

What you must remeber is that there is a finite limit to how fast you can charge a car battery. If you do it too fast you will damage it.

If your alternator is charging OK, ie 13.8v or more, then there is no point having a bigger one as it will charge at the same rate.

Now if the voltage is ~11-12v when the engine is running but no sound your alternator is furked. If its ~11-12v with sound but ~14v without then you need a bigger alternator. If its ~14v with sound but drops to ~11v with the beat then you need a bigger battery.