SWMBOs Yaris had a dead battery a few weeks ago. I charged it and it started OK. Since then she's done only a handful of miles, and today it is dead again.
So in trundling round the web to see how to check whether the battery is worn out (2016 low mileage car) I came across this list of how to revive a dead battery. I'd not heard of most of the methods, including the aspirin, chainsaw and fire. Is it for real?
www.sandgateautoelectrics.com.au/7-ways-revive-dead-car-battery/
Anyway, is there an easy to check I can do or shall I just replace it?
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I'd use a multimeter personally, but use a chainsaw or fire and let us know how you get on. ;)
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Have you a digital multimeter?
After you've charged it, leave it overnight and then check the voltage. It should be >= 12.6.
With the probes still on the terminals, get someone to start the engine. If it doesn't drop below 10V while cranking then that's positive - if it drops much more then it's suspect.
I'm no expert but that's what I'd do.
TBH if it's a few years old I'd probably replace it. The battery in my 2017 MX-5 has gone flat a couple of times this spring through low use and me neglecting to leave it on the optimiser, and whilst it seems to be OK I'll probably replace it before we go to Austria in it in September.
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If you've let it run totally flat and with its age its probably toast. Will hold a charge for a start and maybe gain some charge on a bit of a run but its wont be holding any surplus charge.
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My local tyre place (Micheldever Tyres) will test a battery gratis. They have a bit of kit that put's a load on the battery and measures the voltage as the load changes.
Maybe there's an outfit near you with something similar?
PS. Have you checked to see if there's anything that might be draining it that shouldn't be?
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It was allowed to go flat, its 6 years old, its had a hard low mileage life - its toast, stop dicking about and change it.
Last edited by: Zero on Sun 5 Jun 22 at 22:21
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"Have you a digital multimeter? After you've charged it, leave it overnight and then check the voltage. It should be >= 12.6."
That's the point I'm at now :-)
"Have you checked to see if there's anything that might be draining it that shouldn't be?"
That's what I had in mind, but I don't really know how. The interior light isn't on, nor are any other lights. Is there a way to test, with limited tools and aptitude?
It's the best part of £200 so although I am pretty sure changing it will solve the problem, it'd be disappointing to change it then still have a problem. Happens too many times to me with one thing and another, and is getting expensive.
Of course what it really needs is to do more than 1000 miles a year, but she won't drive mine...
EDIT: I just found a YouTube which describes how to look for a leak... now on tomorrow's agenda...
Last edited by: smokie on Mon 6 Jun 22 at 00:35
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Same problem for me many years ago, when the boot light remained on when the boot was closed.
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>>"Have you checked to see if there's anything that might be draining it that shouldn't be?"
>>That's what I had in mind, but I don't really know how. The interior light isn't on, nor are any >>other lights. Is there a way to test, with limited tools and aptitude?
If you've acces to even a cheap multimeter, it's probably got a 10A scale. Select that, close all doors and remove keys, but don't lock the car, disconnect one battery terminal and connect the leads between the battery terminal and battery lead THE RIGHT WAY ROUND. There will probably be a current draw for a short time while all the electrics shut down and then you'll see if there is a parasitic drain. You may have to change to a smaller scale on the meter.
£200 for a battery - sheesh, where's that from Harrods? I've a '14 reg Yaris 1.3 poverty spec and a new (Yuasa) battery was £70 last year.
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That's the process I've found BT, and will be going through later.
Also will specifically check the boot light CGN.
Thanks all.
SWMBOs is a hybrid and the battery is under the rear seat, so it has to be an AGM, and capable of stop/start. Fancy car, fancy battery... I have now found the same brand for a shade under £150. There is another (Fuller) at £130 but can't bring myself to go too cheap after a cheap one some years back which just didn't last.
One of the eBay ads has these words. I expect something like that is in the manual, but who reads them? I guess READY mode is having pressed the Go button but no engine running, thus taking charge from the main battery. I will research further. (Surprised it's lasted this long in view of this!!)
ALL HYBRID CARS REQUIRED MORE THAN 40MINS DRIVE OR AT LEAST 1HOUR IN “READY” MODE. IF NOT USING CAR REGULARLY LEAVE THE CAR RUNNING FOR AT LEAST 1HOUR TWICE A WEEK. IF BATTERY LEVEL IS DROPPED BELOW 80% AND NOT QUICKLY RECOVERED BY RECHARGING THEN IT WILL CAUSE PERMANENT DAMAGE TO THE BATTERY. DAMAGE OCCURS BELOW 10.5VOLTS. BATTERIES ARE NOT DESIGNED TO GO BELOW 12VOLTS BY THEMSELVES AND CAN ONLY GO DOWN BECAUSE OF OVER DISCHARGE. YOU CAN MONITOR THE BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE.
Last edited by: smokie on Mon 6 Jun 22 at 09:24
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>>What a lot of messing about
Sounds like a PITA to me, never had these issues with my Triumph Herald.
:)
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>>SWMBOs is a hybrid
Ah, you didn't mention that. The problem has been widely discussed on the Toyota Yaris forum: www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/forum/49-yaris-yaris-cross-club/
You may care to peruse it when you've a couple of days to spare!
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>> £200 for a battery - sheesh, where's that from Harrods? I've a '14 reg Yaris
>> 1.3 poverty spec and a new (Yuasa) battery was £70 last year.
Tayna?
Just priced up the silver Yuasa for the MX-5, £53 + £8 delivery. I think the (non-hybrid) Yaris's is a slightly bigger.
Last edited by: Manatee on Mon 6 Jun 22 at 10:27
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I got my last AGM from Tayna (for the now-departed Ampera) and they were good, however when I used the vehicle reg checker (which shows the correct hybrid car) with Tanya it came up with a non-AGM battery for the petrol car, so also not stop/start. No result on the part number of the original battery either
I can input the dimensions etc so will do so later
EDIT Battery is at 12.7% now so it is down a bit overnight but that might be to do with settling after charging. I'll do the leak testing then disconnect it again and monitor for 24 hours.
Last edited by: smokie on Mon 6 Jun 22 at 10:55
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Dicking around, 1/for no good reason & 2/ to no effect. you trying to impress SWMBO thats its more complex than it is?
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Haha I have things that impress her much more than that ever would ;-)
The open circuit test looks like a 5 minute job. I haven't got much else to do.
I'm going to have to put it back together anyway today as she has to run me to the pub later for crib night :-). I expect a new one will be on order later.
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You say that Mrs S isn’t happy to drive your car? I can’t remember what car you have, but what is it she doesn’t like?
Necessity being the mother of invention and all that, it’s been interesting in a way to see how well my wife has coped with driving my car for the past month or so. She was never all that keen on driving it because it’s “too big” apparently.(E class estate) But, in fairness, she would always spell me for a while on long runs down to France and so on anyway.
However, since my left arm has been in plaster, she’s really stepped up to the plate so to speak. She has been my personal chauffeur for nearly five weeks now, racking up +/- 1000 miles a week in the Merc to help me out. She’s quite used to it now and freely admits she doesn’t know why it ever bothered her.
I could get used to this arrangement too to be honest! If I could continue to fund the lunch bills it seems to incur… ;-)
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Reading that Toyota UK Members page is interesting, to put it mildly!
Toyota say that a hybrid car should be run for 1 hour per week to ensure the auxiliary battery doesn't go flat. Not always convenient to run a car for 1 hour/week, or connect a trickle charger if your parking spot doesn't have an electrical supply. Many moaning owners saying they have had countless flat batteries/starting issues and would not have bought the car had they known it requires this regime. It sure keeps the RAC/AA busy. And yet the cars still seem to feature highly in reliability tables?
Does the same apply to all hybrid cars? It really puts occasional drivers off these new-fangled electrical cars!
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>> Does the same apply to all hybrid cars? It really puts occasional drivers off these
>> new-fangled electrical cars!
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I meant to respond to this, and forgot. The Yaris is, of course, only a "mild hybrid", with a (very) limited amount of electric assist.
My XC40 is also a mild hybrid.
The non-(mild)hybrid versions were/are fitted with a main battery (70Ah) and a "support" battery (10Ah), the latter assisting stop/start, and supplying a number of non-starting functions, both 12V, and both are (I believe) AGM - the larger one most definitely so.
On the mild-hybrid versions, the "support" battery is instead a 48V Li-ion battery, nominally kept topped up by regenerative braking. Li-ion batteries have a lower self-discharge than conventional lead-acid batteries, and also a deeper state of discharge before damage. Logically, then, one should suffer less issues over extended periods of non-use. The downside is, being 48V, one can't use a battery conditioning charger to maintain top-up. (Indeed, there are dire warnings about not attempting to do so). I do charge the main battery in this way, as the XC40 is the least used vehicle in the household. (Smart for local runaround, Motorhome for holidays)
Even then, lack of use may, reading forums, be causing some issues, though frankly, the number of incidences I've read might simply be down to the failure-rate of sub-standard batteries.
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Interesting, thanks. I'll be taking delivery of a mild (and bitter) hybrid in a few weeks' time, and it won't be getting much use being the owse we're moving to is back on t'moor (walking country!)
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Although she's been driving for many years she isn't a confident driver. More so, she is worried that, as my car is a bit bigger (MG5 EV, a modest size estate), and is near new, she might knock it. Tbh I don't care too much about my cars looking pristine, and it's insured anyway, but she won't even give it a go. I also think some of the technology in it fazes her a bit, though a lot of the "driver aids" can be turned off. She has always been the same though, even with earlier cars. Except one Rover 827 Sterling which she loved driving.
Anyways - no leaks found and the battery is back in the car. Went for a long spin, and left the back seat off so I can easily measure it every day. The credit card is primed and ready in case a replacement is required but reading those threads it seems a common problem - the car stood for nearly 7 weeks during March. It's probably permanently damaged the battery but we'll see.
Thanks for the tips and links everyone!! :-) (But I'm yet to read the Toyota forum ones thoroughly!)
Now, what can I dick around with next? LOL
EDIT: Tayna came up with nothing, based on measurements (190 x 130 x 200) ... surprised me!
Last edited by: smokie on Mon 6 Jun 22 at 17:27
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Well I never. The reg didn't bring up anything (RO16KNC) nor did the battery dimensions. I did use the model number elsewhere but not on Tayna.
Anyways, thanks - cheaper elsewhere though :-) (£149 delivered)
Just reading that Toyota thread now. There are two things I can't see answered - I've always thought them useless but I wonder whether a solar trickle charger in the back shelf might help and also if the car is being parked up for 6 weeks does disconnecting avoid the problem (I suspect Yes, but it's a bit of a faff). I also briefly considered a jump starter to put in the car but she wouldn't use it anyway and I 'd have no other need for it. Her car usage is never that urgent or important.
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>> I've always thought them useless but I wonder whether a solar trickle charger in the back >>shelf might help
I suspect it would, if you can find somewhere to connect it to the battery. Perhaps that car isn't suitable for the use it gets?
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>>She was never all that keen on driving it because it’s “too big”
I had that problem, but when I fitted air horns (you should see the area she drove in), she was more than happy and enjoyed the 'presance' of a larger car.
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Reminds me of when I tuned a car with some synthesizer box of tricks connected to them there air horns.
Boy did I have some fun driving the car round the Westminster Br. roundabout sounding like an old bill car!
:o)
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AGM batteries don't gradually decline in performance, they work and work and work and just stop. We sell Yuasa batteries at work, with 3-, 4- and 5-year guarantees (3-series, 5-series and 7-series respectively). Your Yaris's battery is at least 6 years old and probably closer to 7, it's time for a change. I'm not certain if the Yaris hybrid (Mrs Dave_ has a 65-plate one and loves it) requires a new battery to be coded to the car, I'll check this tomorrow.
Last edited by: Dave_ on Thu 16 Jun 22 at 20:33
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Thanks, I hope it doesn't but it'd be useful to know. I didn't know they did that.
The battery is still OK and the car is still not going far...
I will change it but no rush, I don't believe it will let her down when she's out and about (famous last words...!!!) and it's not a problem if it doesn't start at home.
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It will be a frosty day when it decides not to work. Probably.
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>> It will be a frosty day when it decides not to work. Probably.
or a day when SWMBO needs the car urgently, or leaves her stranded is very likely.
And you will B I T S. AND it will be all your fault (which it is because all you did was dick around)
You have no sympathy from me.
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>> >> It will be a frosty day when it decides not to work. Probably.
Or, like Mrs CS, at traffic lights on a busy junction during rush hour.
Batteries changed every 5 years since then.
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Toyota Yaris II/Vitz - Dead battery - sooty123
