Poz Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 Tried the westy last night after 2 months standing and it woudnt fire! Not sure if the battery is low because the lights still work. The starter starts to turn, struggles and stops! and then a clicking sound! Could it be a lack of power, low battery, starter motor, solenoid? Would a jump / bump start help? Tried rocking backwards and forwards in gear, still no go. Please help! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mat Jackson Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 Sounds like a poor battery to me. Lights will still work even if battery power is low. If you have jump leads try jump starting it to illiminate this possibility, otherwise put the battery on charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studbuckle Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 aye sounds like a low battery. Turn the lights on and then try it, if the lights go very dim when you're turning the key then that's the cause. Jump start should help but i'd be checking the battery first to make sure it's ok and give you a fighting chance of it charging when you go out for a blat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poz Posted December 14, 2004 Author Share Posted December 14, 2004 I've tried starting with the lights on, and they do go off and then come back on again, but dont they do this when starting is not a problem, for full power to starter reasons? I have got some jump leads so will try jumping tonight! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterg Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 and if you're leaving the car for that long I'd recommend getting a battery conditioner (not a charger) as you can leave it plugged in permanently and keep the battery at full power all the time assuming you have mains electric available do a Google search for 'Optimate' they're only about £40 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poz Posted December 14, 2004 Author Share Posted December 14, 2004 I live in Heage, Derbyshire, so yes we've got electric, just had it installed a couple of month ago Will do the search! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterg Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 £39.95 inc vat & delivery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poz Posted December 14, 2004 Author Share Posted December 14, 2004 One for the Christmas list me thinks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartT Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 Mine did this last year. The cold months didn't help but the battery was 5 years old and had basically given up. New battery and everything is fine now, although I do make sure I take it for a blat at least every couple of weeks. Cheers Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Loudon - Sponsorship Liaison Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 Or get something like this and have it constantly connected on a time switch so that it comes on every other day or so for a few hours. Easy peasy and nowhere near £40. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KerryS Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 I live in Heage, Derbyshire, so yes we've got electric, just had it installed a couple of month ago So that's what the windmill in Heage is for... Kerry S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuzzinRich Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 I was replacing batteries every winter, got p'd off, replaced battery with a land rover one (bit heavier mind) had no problems since though! Always starts, everytime, anywhere no matter how long I've left it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chazpowerslide Posted December 15, 2004 Share Posted December 15, 2004 Do not leave an Optimate connected for months on end without disconnecting it and starying the engine (or giving the car a good run) They have been known to destroy the charge capacity of the battery they are connected to, I have had this happen to two motorcycle batteries when I've left them connected to optimates for two monts or more without disconnecting and starting the engines. Chaz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poz Posted December 15, 2004 Author Share Posted December 15, 2004 I live in Heage, Derbyshire, so yes we've got electric, just had it installed a couple of month ago So that's what the windmill in Heage is for... Kerry S Twas a low battery! Jump started last night, Although...... wouldnt spark at first so had a look at the spark plugs - they where black and moist - Would the black be carbon and the moistness perhaps just be a bit of damp? Cleaned the plugs and it fired first time, no problem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterg Posted December 15, 2004 Share Posted December 15, 2004 Do not leave an Optimate connected for months on end without disconnecting it and starying the engine (or giving the car a good run) They have been known to destroy the charge capacity of the battery they are connected to, I have had this happen to two motorcycle batteries when I've left them connected to optimates for two monts or more without disconnecting and starting the engines never heard of this happening before and I have three Optimates as we used to have a boat with two large batteries that we left connected for the 6 months she was left on hardstanding (so unable to start the engines for the whole period) plus I have left one on my racecar battery (Odyssey PC680) and my Suzuki Bandit 1200 over the winter months with no subsequent problems for either about 3 years ago I even recovered a battery that appeared deader than a dead thing by leaving it connected to an Optimate for 2 weeks....I'm still using the battery now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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