The Technical Department has managed to resurrect Monty's original battery!
I fully expect to have to buy a new battery in the next few months, but hopefully the jiggery-pokery just carried out will put that off for a wee while longer.
The liquid was topped up (it was down by about a quarter, so the top of the plates corroded somewhat, this may cause shorts further down the line as stuff flakes off). The battery was then recharged, discharged, recharged again and then given a deep discharge (down to 0.8 of a volt) and then very slowly recharged.
He took the battery in to work with him (he's an electronics technician) and used what I think he said was a resistance board or something like that - it drains off at 3 Ohms, anyway, if that means anything to anybody.
Dropped the battery back in, reconnected everything and the car started first time like a total dream - which is normal service. Everything seems fine, took it for a spin out to Mannheim on the main road, tootled round the city centre then blasted it up the Autobahn towards Heidelberg and nipped off through Schwetzingen to get back here. No problems at all.
The next little issue to be resolved is the stone chip I had in the windscreen, which the -10 weather seems to have turned into an eight inch long crack! That's me on the phone to the insurance company, and thanking my lucky stars I went fully comp and took out glass cover, I reckon.
I fully expect to have to buy a new battery in the next few months, but hopefully the jiggery-pokery just carried out will put that off for a wee while longer.
The liquid was topped up (it was down by about a quarter, so the top of the plates corroded somewhat, this may cause shorts further down the line as stuff flakes off). The battery was then recharged, discharged, recharged again and then given a deep discharge (down to 0.8 of a volt) and then very slowly recharged.
He took the battery in to work with him (he's an electronics technician) and used what I think he said was a resistance board or something like that - it drains off at 3 Ohms, anyway, if that means anything to anybody.
Dropped the battery back in, reconnected everything and the car started first time like a total dream - which is normal service. Everything seems fine, took it for a spin out to Mannheim on the main road, tootled round the city centre then blasted it up the Autobahn towards Heidelberg and nipped off through Schwetzingen to get back here. No problems at all.
The next little issue to be resolved is the stone chip I had in the windscreen, which the -10 weather seems to have turned into an eight inch long crack! That's me on the phone to the insurance company, and thanking my lucky stars I went fully comp and took out glass cover, I reckon.
