hi can anybody help me, i have a h reg fiesta rs turbo, the problem is that it does not hold charge, ive had a new alternator and battery and this work fine for a few weeks then it wont start, if i jump start it off another car it fires up first turn of the key and runs fine for a day or so then im back to a flat battery!! i have an old cat 1 alarm on the car ( gt 16t ) this was on the car when i brought it its been on there since the first owner according from my paper work, it has a imobiliser on, i was thinking because this is so old school could this be killing battery?? any ideas would be great!! cheers!!

 

Any alarm will eventually flatten the battery, you say now its back to going flat over night? Get a multimeter set to current and put it inline from the battery to the earth, and see what sort of current drain there is first of all(do you know how to do this?). Does battery stay charged if u dont arm the alarm aswell?

 

i have the excact same problem.. turn the key and it wont even try to turn the starter as soon as connected to jump leads and another car starts first time then fine after that.. leave over night and the same problem.. even does it if i disconnect the battery overnight tho so cant be draining the battery which is new.. even changed the starter and alternator.. its like it needs the extra power just to turn the starter then is fine after that.. hope someone has fixed this prob before...?

 

gibbo frstThat sounds like the cold weather mate, classic symptom, the cold weather rapes batteries. Take the car to have a battery test done i bet you its going. I expect up until recently the battery has been fantastic aswell, its always the way, batteries slowly deteriorate, then winter comes and just kills them in an instant. They run fine all day but as soon as they get left for a good few hours, and with it being colder at night they will never start in the morning.

Oh and the other advice i would give, if im right and you do need a battery, spend a bit and buy a good one, cheap batteries are cheap for a reason (like tesco value), get a good one and it will last a lot longer

 

thats the thing i hardly use the fiesta i might try a new battery but this also happened in the summer when i brought the batt... ill get a new one over the weekend and try it as havent started the car for a few months now.. pissed off un covering it to only drive round the block... same make of battery on my saff tho and when left for few months always starts first time.. its the good old honda civic to the rescue with the jumpleads when the ford shite bags wont run..

 

Has your saff got an alarm/immobiliser?

 

yeah not the same make tho but i leave the fiesta disconnected and the saff connected.. as soon as the jumpleads go on to the battery it starts first time.. even without the leads on and engine off the electric windows still go up and down same speed as connected to another car so i no the battery is holding the charge.. and when running the alternator is charging.. just the car only wants to start when connected to a running motor.. has always been an intermittent thing sometimes will fire up straight away then turn off go to start straight away and the starter dont even attempt to turn but you can hear the tone of the fuel pump change as if the starter is still drawing power.. maybe a box of matches will help?

 

Hmmmm, well CVH's dont have the best starters and they do suffer with all the heat on the turbo models. Maybe the starter is lazy, dont fork out for a new battery u might not need it, if the starter is stalling it might be shorting the battery out (making the fuel pump noise change). I'd get a bettery test done (with a proper electronic tester not that funky looking contraption they have at motor world ), and go from there

Amazing isn't it, they cost about 12p and are the answer to a number of lifes problems

 

tried 2 starters in it too.. tried the batt off the saff also which starts sometimes then not others.. cheers for the help tho... think i may just leave it a few more months.. had it over a year and done less than hundred miles.. had all the body work done new head as old one was cracked new turbo all new brakes painted the undersideand rear beam and come un stuck with a fucking dodgey starting problem.. and probably still worth no more than when i got it..

 

Well, you've tried everything, and you KNOW your saff battery is good, so, i bet you a jam tart theres a dodgy connection somewhere, you running round terminal or the flat terminal type battery?

 

flat on both cars.. although has had a few added to the fiesta batt by a previous owner but dont look bad..

 

What extra ring terminals etc?

 

sorry yeah ring ones with wires crimped.. look tidy enough tho..

 

after all my moaning thought id go take the car cover off the fiesta and give it a go.. the battery has been left connected for the alarm and not started for 2 months.. first turn of the key and the old shitter fired up first time.. nice...

 

I wouldnt be surprised if thats the problem, when more ring terminals start getting added its hard to tighten those flat terminal ones up, they are very soft, you'll also notice when theyve been undone a few times the connectors on the starter leads start to dish. And this would also explain why when you put your jump leads on it starts, as its touching both the battery terminal and the starter connectors.

For this reason, amongst a few others thats why i run round terminal:



Check out the size of my battery aswell lol so big you can only put the front clamp on, it fills the tray

 

I'm even more sure now you say that, i bet you its the battery terminals next time it wont start, wiggle them and see if it works then

 

cheers mate im gonna hope it is that... maybe i should just leave it running for good now...

 

I would of thought it is, the starters create massive surges, and if its got a bad connection it just wont spin the starter over, yet everything else will work, try and lose them extra connections if u can, looks messy aswell. If the wrong nuts are used on the battery aswell that wont help matters, the type with the built in spinning washers are the best, a lot larger surface area, and it helps keep the terminal flat, most problems are well people just bung on a normal 10mm nut

 

im gonna give it a go maybe over the weekend and ill keep you posted. fired up few times so far and seems good now .. just done them up as tight as poss for now and covered it back up so weather permitting start to tinker tomorrow.. cheers for the help..

 

No problem