Just went in the garage to warm her up a bit because it hasnt been started in about a week due to drivers seat getting repaired and retrimmed, but it wont start. Reds come on stereo on and on ignition theres a fast ticking noise which im guessing is the starter motor. Ive cheched voltage of the battery and that reads 9.5-10V. Is that too low or could it be something else ?
Yes battery may be stuffed. Charge it up for a quick fix but replace asap. If battery is reasonably new, check alternator charge volts ok & connections clean & tight. If battery 2 - 4 y/o, get a new one.
Will go and buy a charger and make sure its the battery, only thing im worried about is that it might be my belts as they have been squeaking a lot lately and major service is getting done as soon as i get my seat back in.
Battery voltage needs to be close to 12V when not running, and around 14V when running. The zed starter does not seem to engage if voltage drops a bit. Old cars used to engage, but just not turn very fast or at all.
Adrian, put yr $'s toward a new battery. If battery failed after one week idle, assuming all else good, then it's farked! I've used a Century hi-performance/hi op temp battery for near on 3 years and even after 5 weeks away it was still good, Zed fired 1st time.
Thanks for the quick notice advice , in that case i will go around shopping for a battery, maybe a Optima Redtop
Faulty Battery after period of inactivity Hi Adriano-Zed, Yep, your battery is faulty - a reading of 9.5 to 10Volts is a very good indication that the battery is not maintaining it's charge while the car is idle (read, not being driven throughout the week). The ticking sound is your starter motor solenoid attempting to engage - with the low voltage it just cannot latch in. Should have a good steady reading of close to 12Volts, 9.5 is definately flat. I experienced the same thing not long ago, I have an alarm and some other stuff that leaches from the battery while the engine is off and over time this will drain the batter as well. Check any accessories that are using your battery charge up, as suggested earlier: your electroylite level (inside the battery - if it's an open top) is it covering the plates, the cable connections/terminals on the battery (is there any corrosion/build up to stop a good connection or loose connection?), did you leave the interior light on in the cabin or the boot? How old is the battery (as suggested earlier anything from two to five years can mean an immediate replacement). That should see you right. I purchased an Optima yellow top deep cycle due to the large stereo in my car, here is a link to the American site: Optima Yellow Top as a sort of an experiment as a few members had indicated some time ago they had purchased the yellow top, but it didn't last as long as they had expected. I purchased mine just under a year ago and it's had to manage long periods of inactivity (my car is not my daily driver so mainly on the weekends) and it's still going strong, no problems yet. Hope this helps out and you get it sorted. Cheers, Kaz.
