Xantia V6 dead battery

[Mandrake]

I discovered on mine that it's possible to turn the car off, which obviously turns off the radio, and then if the radio is switched on, with the ignition off it will turn on. This may have something to do with radio's flattening batteries?

That's a Series 2 feature Paul - the S1 radios don't do that. (Sadly, as I liked that feature on my S2)

The main power wire for the radio is always live on the S2 - the radio shunt fuse only changes the "ignition" wire to also being a permanent feed.

[Mandrake]

My battery is good, bought within last 3 months. Still wasnt up to turning the car though! Just a clattering from the starter .Only 'messing' was the radio the day previously. Have recharged many times now and still the same. Time to shunt that fuse i think. So take that as you may ...

I don't think there's anything wrong with my radio. Even though I've had the radio fuse in the "works without ignition" position for the last few months I can leave the car for nearly a week and it still starts, even though there is also an after market bomb detector with blinky lights running all the time using extra power.

Sounds like you do have a faulty radio but that's not my issue.

My battery has '092' on it ...
dimension 190mmx275mmx175mm (h x w x d) ... a snug fit.

Dimensions are a perfect match for the one Richard found - 3mm longer (wider ?) but otherwise identical, and yes the current battery is a snug fit too.

[lexi]

Now that cant be just a coincidence can it ?

You're wasting your time Superloopy. Spock has already done the "calculations".
Accordingly, we should reach Planet Vulcan in 3.2 hrs with full battery power. Unless of course we hit that pesky black ice in Coatbridge again

[xantiagreen]

I just put in the car details and it came out with 096. Pretty sure that was the number for the Xantias I had, and it looks about right. Have a quick measure of the old one before you go in, and then you will know for sure. 70Ah / 650 CCA sounds about right.

64ah/640cca would that be ok for a 110 hdi Exide premium 027 246mm length, 190mm height, 175mm width £66 at ECP

[Mandrake]

Alright, quiet in the cheap seats! Problem solved.

SWMBO's Uncle who lives not far from us gave me a jump start and it started effortlessly first turn of the engine. In fact while I was waiting for him to arrive I tried the headlights on high beam and they seemed to be fine without any dimming of the dashboard lights, so I suspect with the rise in temperature from -6 to 1 degree that the battery may have actually started the car without a jump start, although I didn't try it.

I then drove to Halfords for the new battery. After getting there I tried starting it on the old one and it did start ok - but bear in mind not only had it had 15 minutes of charging by then, the heat in the engine bay will have warmed the battery up to 20 degrees or so, making life much easier for it. Starting again in sub zero conditions would be a different story.

With the new battery it's turning over quite obviously quicker than it ever has since I've had the car, let alone during the recent cold weather. The real test will be the next really cold morning of course. Tomorrow is forecast to be "only" -3 degrees but we will see how it does there given that it hasn't had a lot of charging.

Interesting that whilst the outer flange mounting dimensions and post locations of the new and old battery match, the old one is a bit lower and smaller in girth around the middle with the new one looking quite a bit more beefy. Visually at least the new battery looks to be of quite good quality.

I did a voltage measurement after the car had been running for 5 minutes and it was 14.0 volts. With the headlights on dip, fan on medium and rear window demister on I was still seeing about 13.8v - I think that's about par for the course, especially if the new battery isn't fully charged.

Thanks everyone for the advice that let me get this sorted out pronto!

[Mandrake]

Pleased to report no problems starting this morning.

It wasn't quite as cold, -4 compared to -6 and granted the radio hadn't been left on over night, but not only did it start first try, it was also spinning over really quick and effortlessly. It's not until getting the new battery that I've realised that it has been cranking over quite a bit slower than it should be (even in warmer weather) ever since I've had the car. It was cranking faster at -4 this morning than the old battery had been at +10.

So it does look like it was just an old tired battery that had reached a point where it could no longer deliver the goods in cold temperatures...

[Xantidote]

@ Simon,

Glad the new battery has solved the issues. The voltages you quote seem to suggest the alternator's doing it's bit so "All good to go" What battery did you get in the end?


@ Faz,

64ah/640cca would that be ok for a 110 hdi Exide premium 027 246mm length, 190mm height, 175mm width £66 at ECP

I think that should do you fine. The 027 doesn't quite have the power of the 096 as it's 35mm shorter, but Exide Premium has 4 yr guarantee. I'm using Exide Premium 075 battery on my TD which is 3 years old, and it's only a touch down (8%) on it's nominal Cold Cranking Amps when new. ECP want a lot for an 096 don't they!

[Mandrake]

Glad the new battery has solved the issues. The voltages you quote seem to suggest the alternator's doing it's bit so "All good to go" What battery did you get in the end?

I got one of the ones that Richard suggested:

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs- ... -guarantee" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Old-Guy]

I had a similar problem last winter with the VSX. Having swapped the battery it came with for the fresshly-charged year-old Varta from the Green Lady only to find the Varta near-flat 2 or 3 days later when I came to use the car next, I started to suspect gremlins in the Hydractive suspension. Yes and No, the real culprit was a large feral tom cat who had taken to jumping onto the car several times a night (possibly as a refuge from the local foxes). I suspect his weight this was enough to make the electrovalves cycle as he prowled around the car. On one of the few really frosty mornings, he sprinted for cover when I appeared (I never saw the fox, only smelt it) leaving paw-prints in the frost all over the roof, screen and bonnet. My solution was to buy a proper smart charger that could be left plugged into the lighter socket every night. End of problem. Not been needed with the Green Lady who now starts first cylinder on compression every time even on frosty mornings.

I can thoroughly recommend the CTEK MXS 5.0T Battery Charger - it's rated at only a modest 5A, but it pumps out the full 5A during the whole of the Bulk Charge stage (a lot faster charger than any much higher-rated 'simple' battery charger) and with its proper stand-by final stage it won't ever 'cook' a battery even when left connected for an extended period. Not cheap at £80, but not as expensive as yet another new battery plus a 'cheap' charger. When the tom-cat caused the VSX to flatten the Varta battery, within 20 minutes the CTEK charger'sdisplay was correctly showing that enough charge in the battery to start the car (with ease). The CTEK is small enough to live in the 'emergency' box in the boot.

[CitroJim]

Simon, pleased all is nicely sorted now

In general the V6 is not demanding of battery for starting purposes so they tend to hang on for a long time. Mine is ancient and I'm expecting it to collapse in a heap any time now to be honest...

[Xantidote]

I can thoroughly recommend the CTEK MXS 5.0T Battery Charger

Yes, I like mine - same model, but they're now about £60 on the Bay

[DHallworth]

Glad to hear she's in fine fettle again Simon.

We had a battery give up in one of the old Range Rovers last week. I jump started it a few mornings with a portable jump pack we've got but it was becoming a right pain in the backside opening the bonnet in the high winds last week! Pleased to report a new battery also solved that as well.

Lidl last week had chargers on special offer at £13.99. They're intelligent chargers that you can leave on all the time as trickle chargers. I bought 3 of them to keep on my French toys that get little use.

David.

[Hell Razor5543]

I did mention those chargers on the first page of this post.

[addo]

I've become sold on the use of permanently connected charging sockets, using Anderson plugs.

[CitroJim]

I've become sold on the use of permanently connected charging sockets, using Anderson plugs.

A similar scheme was popular 50 or 60 years ago Adam..

Good idea though.. Makes a lot of sense...