Hey guys
So I think there might be a problem with my battery, or is this normal, hopefully someone can shed light on it.
So I've not really noticed any 'problems' with my battery until recently.
So when I installed my new speakers in the car about two months ago, I stupidly listened to them with the engine off during testing. Probably for about 10-15mins, and then the car wouldn't start. I still thought this was pretty quick for the battery to drain, as I remember doing the same on my old civic by mistake, and it took over an hour for the battery to drain!
I left it for about an hour and I then tried again, and the car had just enough juice to start, so I ran it for a bit until it was fine.
I made very sure that I didn't do something stupid like that again.
Fast forward to last Saturday. Car was due an MOT, so that day, I tested all the lights, made sure everything was working, couldn't have been more than 5mins, and the car wouldn't start. I waited for about 30mins, and tried again, and the car had just enough juice to start. I thought this was very odd, as it wasn't even on for that long, and the battery was drained so much!
I looked online, and did a multimeter test to check the voltage.
Stationary, with nothing on, the battery read 12.32V, I then started the engine, turned everything on, All lights, AC, radio etc. And it was about 14.36V, dipping to 13.86V when the fans kicked in. Which looks about right.
Then yesterday, I was parked in a car park, and got in my car, turned on the ignition, and I got a message on my phone, I replied to it and messaged for a bit, couldn't have been more than 4-5mins, then went to start the car, and it wouldn't start. I, turned off the ignition, waited 10mins and then it started.
But this doesn't seem normal to me that the battery could drain in 5mins?
I generally do around 35 miles a day of driving, around 1hr 30mins (45min commute to work), so it's not short journeys where the battery doesn't have enough time to charge.
The battery in the car is the Varta battery that came with it from factory. The car is 4 years old and on just over 20,000miles.
Something else to mention is that I originally bought the car from a Copart auction. The battery was flat when I went to collect it, and I don't know how long it was sitting for on the lot, but that was back in November 2018, and any problems have been only happening recently.
Is this normal? Or should I look at replacing the battery?
If so, any recommendations for good batteries?
Thanks