I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: __ My car battery appears to have died, is there a chance I can resurrect it?
I purchased a NOCO Genius 5 battery charger a while ago to keep the battery topped up over the winter months.
I’ve not been able to drive the car for a few weeks for one reason and another, When I tried to start it the other day it tried to turn over but no joy. I connected the charger which showed 1 bar, left it charging for a few hours checking progress once or twice (1 bar on the display pulsing indicating less than 25% charge). Went to disconnect the charger approx. 5 hours after starting the charge to find the “Bad Battery” indicator was lit up on the charger (the instructions say this indicates the battery won’t hold a charge).
Believe it or not I’ve can’t remember having an issue with car batteries in the past so have no real experience with car battery chargers. The Noco Genius 5 has a 12v repair mode, their website doesn’t specifically say that the repair mode can be used for a “Bad Battery” situation so I’m not sure if its OK to use it, if so should I remove the battery from the car first to avoid any repercussions?
For reference, I bought the car from MickAP earlier this year, the file he gave me shows he bought a new YUSA battery back in Feb 2022 so I’m hoping that the battery has just run out of charge, It’s well within the 5 year guarantee period that this battery sells with (I do appreciate that sometimes stuff just stops working).
Any advice would be appreciated as I don’t want to blow myself, or more importantly, the car up!!
Try it with a bog standard charger but with the sidelights on for an hour, then charge as normal. It used to work on my Mark 1.
Does it make a difference charging the NC battery on or off the car, given all the dark drainage stuff working 24/7. I’ve had the same make battery on mine since about the same time as Mick AP. Been off the road for 6 weeks but battery is fine.
5 hours isn’t really very long with a low powered trickle charger like the Genius 5. I’d give it 48 hours or more before checking again.
It’s possible that the “repair” mode may help (you’ve nothing to lose by trying it), but if the battery has gone completely flat then it’s possible that it may be beyond reviving. Car batteries do not like being allowed to lose all charge.
One of the reasons for the new Yuasa back in 2022 the old (original) Panasonic was turning the starter over more slowly, it became noticeable even though it fired up more or less first go.
Battery tester out (link below) and even though the battery had been charged up and kept topped up in winter it stated, battery health, replace or words to that effect. If on occasion (on my other car too) it said battery health good, needs charge I did hook up the Lidl or Aldi charger.
Suggest you invest in a tester and give it a regular test and charge too. If it’s degraded replace or give the seller of the battery a call/email.
Lot’s of stuff around the forums suggest use it or keep it charged or it’ll degrade the battery to being useless in weeks in the winter months. Some will also suggest a battery will last months without charge.
I’ll always go with keep it maintained on a charger, especially in winter or the battery will give you trouble
I have the optimate trickle smart charger. I believe that the repair mode does something with sulphation. In a none technical terms, I understand that it sort of stops the dead lead cells forming in the bottom of the battery. Anyhow, I put this on my Dailey this morning and it’s still not charged. 8 hours.
Regarding the 5 hour charge; the charger instructions suggest approx. 8 hours to charge a battery of that size etc. I wasn’t necessarily expecting a full charge but I’d hoped it would at least show that charge was going into the battery. I was a little concerned that it sort of appeared to be draining charge rather than adding it. I did try the tester when I first bought it, the charge level at that point was approx 75% so hopefully it’s not the charger that’s the problem.
I’ll give it another charge tomorrow. I presume putting it into repair mode whilst the battery is still connected to the car shouldn’t cause any issues? (Hence the question about removing the battery from the car).
Mick, I’ll get one of those testers, thanks for the advice (I presume they’re not too confusing?).
At the end of the day I’ve learnt a lesson, keep on top of the battery maintenance! I’ve only ever had 1 car at a time so keeping the battery topped up was never an issue.
As I understand it, the restoring function works by pulse charging, which has the effect of knocking the sulphation off the plates.
I did try it once and it worked but it took days rather than hours.
I’m not sure if it works on anything other than conventional lead acid batteries. I suspect not.
Cheers everyone. I’ve gone for a new battery and the tester you suggested Mick. Put it all down to experience and move on.
I suspect that even if I was to get the old battery working it wouldn’t be in the best shape. On the bright side it’s a good excuse for getting out in the car more often!
