Battery

[jazzygirl]

A relative drove a few hundred miles to Gatwick airport, parked for a week and returned to a dead battery. No fun on a dark night in winter with a long drive home ahead.  Her Jazz is about 5 yrs old.  Reading up on this, I note it is a known problem.

 The battery size of my new Jazz combined with the constant drain on power in recent months since purchase suggests I may also run into trouble.  I got my car in November and it seems to have rained every day I have driven it since. We have those sensitive automatic lights to be bothered with and I am enjoying the benefit of automatic climate control.  My regular runs are no more than 7 miles  and it has been left undriven for over a week at a time.

Is it possible to have a larger battery installed? I presume such issues are covered by warranty in a new car. Is battery health one of things checked for in a routine service?  How long would a normal Jazz battery be expected to last?

[bill ericay]

I haven't used this myself, but I seem to remember other forum members have used a portable power pack  like this one  http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/garage-workshop/portable-power-packs/ring-automotive-9ah-compact-powerpack-with-led-lights-and-usb-sockets?cm_mmc=Google+PLA-_-Garage+Workshop-_-Portable+Power+Packs-_-141576&_$ja=tsid:60494%7Ccgn:GoogleShopping%7Ckw:141576&istCompanyId=b8708c57-7a02-4cf6-b2c0-dc36b54a327e&istItemId=pawarpmqa&istBid=tzqr&_$ja=tsid:35522|cid:344535484|agid:25437357364|tid:pla-211141869844|crid:89797547524|nw:g|rnd:52588263801138096|dvc:c|adp:1o2&gclid=CPq83aeiossCFQfnwgodFewFVg

[VicW]

The problem of batteries going flat after a week of not being used is not uncommon in modern cars that have so many electronic gizmos that need battery power to keep them alive.
There is an ongoing thread on here about battery life.
The main purpose of the battery is to start the car after which the alternator takes over the job of supplying electrical power and recharging the battery which it does quite quickly.
Repeatedly using the car for short journeys doesn't help the battery situation but also has an effect on other aspects such as the engine oil never getting really hot or the corrosive condensation that collects in the exhaust system getting blown out.

Vic.

[guest1262]

I imagine the same advice is found in the instruction book of today's Jazz' as it is in mine: Turn off the auto-wiper and auto-headlight controls when parking as they continue to draw current from the battery when the ignition is off.

The battery that came with my new Jazz early in 2010 lasted just over five years. Unable to start the car at home one morning I had to call out the RAC - and bought one of their 60 month warranty RAC Branded Bosch S4's which certainly has more oomph than the Honda original.

For when the car has been standing unused for a few weeks or more I use a CTEK MXS 3.6 4-Stage Car Battery Charger and Conditioner.

Geoff.

[culzean]

Is it possible to have a larger battery installed? I presume such issues are covered by warranty in a new car. Is battery health one of things checked for in a routine service?  How long would a normal Jazz battery be expected to last?

after 4 to 5 years a standard battery is living on borrowed time, you can get higher capacity batteries with different technology (calcium or silver) the same size as standard Jazz battery for a bit extra,  will also have a 5 year warranty instead of 3 or 4 years for standard battery.    Auto light and wipers on standby when parked up can flatten the battery (parasitic loads),  also alarms draw current all the time, sometimes relays or lights (boot light) can stick on and flatten the battery on no time, friend had a car where the rear heated window relay stuck in and flattened the battery really quickly . As batteries age they lose capacity to both store and release power,  and short journeys which keep the battery in constant state of low charge can shorten battery life.

[John Ratsey]

The battery in the Mk 3 claims to be a special type able to handle the extra load from the auto idle stop. However, I wait to see how long it will last. It's a size smaller than I would consider prudent but car manufacturers are always striving to reduce weight.

If you can park near a mains socket then a periodic top-up for a few hours with a trickle charger (eg http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/7405392.htm)  during the winter months will help keep the battery healthy. Sensibly, car manufacturers would incorporate a solar panel to do the trickle charging (although this is no use if the car is kept in a garage). If you can't park near a socket then a jump starter power pack http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00YDZR3ZI could be a useful investment. It can also be used to give the car battery a top-up charge.

[jazzygirl]

Thank you all, some sound advice there.

[edam]

Before switching the engine off I like to switch off the likes of headlights, blowers ,heaters etc. and leave the engine running for a few minutes. This means that nearly the full output of the alternator is available to charge the battery

[jazzaro]

Alternators, since 2000 models, are power-regulated. One of the car's CPU checks continuosly the current drain from accessories (lamps, blowers, pumps, wipers,  heaters,...) and then sets the output of the alternator in order to keep the battery fully charged. After you start the engine, the CPU usually tries to recharge as quickly as possible the battery so  the alternator is set near to max power.
I checked this feature on my Renault Clio using an EOBD adapter: engine at idle, headlights on, fog lights on,  cabin blower at max speed, heated rear window on, AC engine fan on, I read an 80% of power output from the alternator after 2 minutes from engine start: the power output felt to 50% after 5 minutes with the same accessories on, with voltage felt to 13,5V from the initial 13,9V.
As you can see in this image:



the Jazz's alternator has a black connector for the power output (on the right) and a brown plug for the power regulation.
So leaving the engine run for few minutes before switching off is now"wasted time", in 5 minutes of standard use the battery will be fully charged also with all your accessories on.
Regards

[Hobo]

So leaving the engine run for few minutes before switching off is now"wasted time", in 5 minutes of standard use the battery will be fully charged also with all your accessories on.
Regards

And it is a good way of wasting petrol.

[culzean]

http://carbibles.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/your-alternator-does-not-charge-your.html

interesting article on charging battery via the alternator,  and battery life

I must say I always add an extra earth strap directly from battery negative to engine block,
never trusted the dodgy little earth point on car body (which goes rusty).

[guest1372]

And it's interesting that they treat the alternator a bit like a hybrid car these days; light power generation when possible, and hi power mode when braking & decelerating.
--
TG