'99 V70. No start condition MVSOLVED. New batt cables

[scot850]

Interstate have a good warranty on their batteries. Up here in Canada they supply Volvo their batteries. I upgraded to a heavier duty version from the Volvo part for slightly less money and better warranty.

I regularly re-charge my batteries with a trickle charger without dis-connecting or removing the caps. That is the point of trickle chargers. I connect the live to the live post on the battery and the negative to the earth lead at the rear of the cylinder head by the top mount.

I find up here that if you don't drive a lot at this time of year, lots of cold starts and short runs, the battery will not re-charge. We had an Audi A4 that when my wife ran to the train station during the cold weather here (can drop to -40C or lower) after a week or so the car wouldn't start as not enough juice left. Of course, like your son she ran the lights, heated seats, radio, re-defrost......

I don't use our 2000 V70R much and I'm amazed how much the battery drains even just sitting in the garage. The battery conditioner I use has a 2A or 4A charging. On 2A it can take up to 24 hrs to re-charge.

Neil.

[E Showell]

I've got a 2A trickle charge function on my charger.

[misha]

These cars usually have 68-74 ah batteries.
With 4amp charger you would need around 17h of charging for 68 and around 19h for 74 ah battery when they are completelly empty.
State of charge for 12v batteries:
12.7v=100% charged
12.2v=50% charged
11.9v= EMPTY BATT

Measure is taken on battery terminals with digital multimeter at least few hours after the car is parked or after it sit overnight at ambient temperature at around 20 degrees Celsius.

[draser]

For peace of mind at the start of winter I'd check volts across w/engine off to be 12.6 for fully charged, and 14.4 w/engine running for a good charging system. Posts need to be clean and a smear of grease and clamps tight.

[abscate]

These cars usually have 68-74 ah batteries.
With 4amp charger you would need around 17h of charging for 68 and around 19h for 74 ah battery when they are completelly empty.
State of charge for 12v batteries:
12.7v=100% charged
12.2v=50% charged
11.9v= EMPTY BATT

Measure is taken on battery terminals with digital multimeter at least few hours after the car is parked or after it sit overnight at ambient temperature at around 20 degrees Celsius.

Actually about 2-3x that time because batteries don't charge linearly. With a 2 amp trickle, it will take 3-4 days to reach full charge.

[pedal2metal]

From what I understand trickle chargers will not work on a dead battery; you'll have to use a standard charger first to get it recharged, then you can keep it on a trickle charger.

[abscate]

If it will put out 1Amp it should work even on a totally discharged battery, but it will take a week or so to fully charge.

[E Showell]

Ok -- So here's the latest. No start again today. Started right up with a jump. An aftermarket terminal had been added to the negative battery cable some time ago. Although the clamp bolt was fully tightened, the cable clamp could still be rotated on the negative battery post, i.e, the connection was not tight. My mechanic replaced the aftermarket terminal with another one and made sure it was tight. The battery was new in May of 2013, load tested fine and started the car after it was shut off and the new terminal installed. Charging system appears to be fine as well. With the bad negative terminal and the car running, the positive battery cable was hot. Is it likely that the positive cable will not be hot now that the new negative post clamp is in place?

[abscate]

If your battery is deeply discharged it will get warm while charging, so some heat is expected. Can you touch and hold the positive terminal for more than a few seconds or is it really hot?

[E Showell]

Before the negative cable clamp was changed, it was quite warm. Since the clamp was changed, I haven't had a chance to check it, but will do so and report back.