Battery dead what do I do now :( Advice needed

[sw20GTS]

Meh I guess I am stuck in quite a predicament here.

I have a carport which I park both my cars. I park my work car up at front and my MR2 behind it. The only way for my work car to get out is by moving my MR2 out of the way.

I was outside fixing the lights and foolishly forgot to switch the lights off. I left it for around 3 hours MAX. When I went down I noticed something weird and found out the problem. The battery warning light is on and I can't start the car. Strangely enough the alarm still works find just anything to do with the car doesn't.

Does this mean my battery is konked or my alternator not charging it properly? Batterry can't be dead with just lights on in 3 hours...

Also, what should I do now? Since my work car's bonnet is facing the other way there's no way I can jump start it. I am thinking of heading to Halfords to buy one of those recharging kits that plugs into mains and most probably a new battery. Is that a good idea?

[JimmyTheKosh]

3 hours will flatten your battery if its an old or budget one, but there might be enough juice left in it to still power the alarm, or maybe the alarm has its own battery back up built in.
cant you push the car to get them facing each other? or just link up a couple of sets of jump leads to reach?
Bear in mind that jump leads will only start it, youll need to drive it a good few miles to get some charge back into the battery, or youll find its dead again when you try starting it again.

[Martin F]

Meh I guess I am stuck in quite a predicament here.

I have a carport which I park both my cars. I park my work car up at front and my MR2 behind it. The only way for my work car to get out is by moving my MR2 out of the way.

I was outside fixing the lights and foolishly forgot to switch the lights off. I left it for around 3 hours MAX. When I went down I noticed something weird and found out the problem. The battery warning light is on and I can't start the car. Strangely enough the alarm still works find just anything to do with the car doesn't.

Does this mean my battery is konked or my alternator not charging it properly? Batterry can't be dead with just lights on in 3 hours...

Also, what should I do now? Since my work car's bonnet is facing the other way there's no way I can jump start it. I am thinking of heading to Halfords to buy one of those recharging kits that plugs into mains and most probably a new battery. Is that a good idea?

It just means that your battery has seen better days, you could still get plenty of use out of it, you just need to get the car started and the alternator will do the rest, do you not have jump leads ?

[GTSAARON]

Is there no way of pushing the mr2 out the way and then getting the work car out, and then pushing the mr2 back?

I bet your battery is fine, 3 hours of lights on is plenty to run a battery flat. Id get a battery pack jumper from halfords, bout 30 quid. Useful bit of kit

[Quigonjay]

3 hours will flatten your battery if its an old or budget one,

+1
i experienced this many times when i first bought the 2, had a habit of leaving lights on and was having to use the jump leads on nearly a daily basis
just get a new battery mate

[sw20GTS]

Thanks for the replies guys. I can't really push it since I live in a cul-de-sac meaning a dead end close of houses. I would sort of need to turn the MR2 around and a lot of awkward maneuvers so that is difficult without Power Steering. Also I don't have jump leads since the work car was always reliable

Thanks for all the advice though. Happy at least to know that my battery doesn't need changing. Budget is already tight as it is

I think I will buy one of these from Halfords just in case things like this happens again.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165629

Just curious though, if I were to buy a new battery, what would be the recommended amps or Ah value? The current battery has mainly Japanese words...

[Quigonjay]

The current battery has mainly Japanese words...

then it is probably the original one and will never be good at holding charge
you could get a new for less than the price of that charger

[sw20GTS]

lol this is weird, I tried to start my car this morning and it started.

It sort of charged itself overnight? Can batteries do this? o.0

[paul port]

I strongly suggest you connect your battery to a charger without delay... Just because it cranked over this time does not mean all is well - the battery will still be very depleted, and its when it's in this low-charge state that the permanent damage is done.

If you have a wickes extra near you (the DIY Store) then see if they have any of their clearance automotive stuff in stock...

I picked up a couple of 4.5 Amp automatic chargers for like £2 each.

Paul

[paul port]

- Looks like your nearest 'Wickes Extra" is in Glasgow ~60 miles away.

[mr2turbo99]

My car wont start if ive had the radio and ignition on (nothing else) for an hour and a half. Think ive got a budget battery

[sw20GTS]

Bought a charger from Halfords and used it. It's pretty good actually. So far no problems.

The battery might be a bit old but its not showing any signs of wear and tear so I guess I will stick to having a charger first Not really keen on changing battery since there's a lot of connections on both leads and I don't think I will have the adaptor for those.

edit: Just curious, how did my battery manage to charge itself overnight without any help? I left it last night as it is (not enough charge to crank the engine) and when I woke up this morning it has enough charge to start the car. A bit bizarre imo

[Stefen]

I'm not 100% sure, but I understand the chemical processes in a battery cause it to charge itself over time (up to a point) or perhaps more accurately move from a state of being totally discharged to a more balanced 'half charged' stage where it will stop charging itelf.
Don't take this as fact though, best to ask someone who knows for sure.

[nigel_bytes]

As a safeguard against flat battery i got myself one of those start 'n' charge things from Instore (poundstretchers) £20 nice price with built in compressor for tyres etc, Well worth 20 notes and fits nicely in the frunk, Easy to recharge too