Stranded today (battery question) 12v present but dead

[justinbarrow]

Today we went to visit relatives 100 mile away, i went to get some money out of the bank and when i got in the car it refused to start.

All i got was clicking but the windows, stereo and central loking was working ok, just the engine wouldnt turn.

I got a new battery and fitted this and it started so i thought it was deffenitley they battery, but when i put my multi metre on the battery i thought wa gone it reads 12 volts (12.63 to be exact)

Why would the car not start when the 12volts were present and should of been ok to turn the engine.

Is the battery i thought was duff is infact fine, Any clarification would be great.

Just baffels me why one min the car was ok and next it just refused to turn over until i got it a new battery.

Thanks.

[Octavia Vrs!]

You always need to test a batteries voltage under load. Loading a knackered battery can drop it to 3-4 volts in seconds and then it will gradually rise back to 12. It could possibly be that you have a faulty starter solonoid that may have just required a little extra push that new batteries can give to switch contacts.

[justinbarrow]

When it died i got the mrs to start it with the lights on and they went off when she turned the key then they came bak on when she let go.

Alo when we tried to start it all the speedo needles and petrol gauges where going hay-wire.

I would of tried bump starting it but we broke down on the busiest road in blackburn what a nightmare.

Would you reccomend taking this old battery to a local motor factors to test under load or is it looking like its something else.

[Octavia Vrs!]

The Octavia automatically turns the sterio and headlights off when turning the engine over to limit current draw but the needles is a strange one. It is possible that with insuficient and erratic voltage the feedback recieved by these needles could be all over the place causing this problem but I couldn't say for sure. Most places do a free battery check so it can't hurt to find out. I just hope you havn't got a second problem lurking.

[justinbarrow]

I will get the old battery checked tomorrow to see if it is dead under load, I just hope i dont ave the central locking laying games with my battery as this opens and shuts on its own through the night.

I hope its just a dead battery as i have only had this car 4 weeks.

The petrol needles etc were all over the place when i flicked the wiper stalk on.

thanks for the pointers

[KenONeill]

My first thought is a bad cell in the battery. Reasoning:-
1) You should show more like 14v from a healthy battery with no load.
2) As already discussed, a bad cell doesn't actually hold worthwhile charge when you put a load on it (either a draw or a charge).

[Pudsey83]

I have had a problem with the battery terminals becoming loose, check to make sure that they are both tight on the terminal, and try again.

When it happened to me, i had to get a jump start, but after that i noticed one of my terminals was loose and not had any problems since.

[Bodge]

how much is a good battery anyway? mines not been changed in 5 1/2 years, so I wouldnt mind getting a new one before it dies randomly....

I wouldn't go to skoda, I'd go to a factors like GSF. £50ish??

[Lummox]

Gen 61ah battery is about £60.

[ANDREW2210]

Hi , It Sounds Like Earth Problem ,check Earth Lead From Battery To Gearbox,also Check Earths Near N/s/f Headlamp.