Time needed to charge battery?

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I took a Ford Fiesta off the road in January and I jump started it last night and took it for a spin of about an hour. However, this morning when I tried to start it, the indicator lights came on but it would not start. Should I leave it hooked up longer to another car so the battery can charge more fully? or do i just need to drive it longer? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated...thanks
 
I would say it's either a charging issue (check the voltage across the battery with a multi-meter when the car is running, it should be 14v+) or the battery is not holding charge and you need to get a new one.

My guess would be option 2, despite the battery only being 18 months old.
 
A flat battery can takes hours to charge, possibly overnight, it would take a long run. If it charges quickly it's faulty because it has no capacity. You need to get a battery charger.
 
I had this issue with a motorbike once. Your best bet is to take out the battery and charge it up overnight with a mains charger. Use the slow setting, as repeated use of the fast charge will degrade the battery. After being off road, the battery is fully discharged, and driving about for an hour will only charge it a bit.

If you fully charge it, and still have problems, then you need a new battery.

In general, if you're taking a car off the road for several months you should remove the battery, and charge it again before using it.
 
All being well a quick run should do it. I would imagine no more than 30 mins needed.
Probably less, but maybe a good run would be no harm to shake off the cobwebs.
 
Driving the car to charge the battery is no different than using a mains charger, you cannot charge the battery fast, it takes hours. If your charging circuit is working you should have about 13.4 volt at the battery
 
Car not in use effect on Battery

Due to weather i have not used car for past fortnight or so. Is it a good idea to leave the engine run for say 10 minutes now and again to ensure battery is kept fully charged. I know nothing about the workings of a car battery
 
YOBR said:
I took a Ford Fiesta off the road in January and I jump started it last night and took it for a spin of about an hour. However, this morning when I tried to start it, the indicator lights came on but it would not start. Should I leave it hooked up longer to another car so the battery can charge more fully? or do i just need to drive it longer? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated...thanks
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presumably you had the lights on and maybe heater so it may not charge properly
 
dewdrop said:
Due to weather i have not used car for past fortnight or so. Is it a good idea to leave the engine run for say 10 minutes now and again to ensure battery is kept fully charged. I know nothing about the workings of a car battery
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i would do that every day but i am not an expert and some say running itv like that or to warm up in morniong is bad
 
Running an engine for 10 minutes or so give very little back to battery compared to what it took to crank and start the engine.

Also, and this is the big warning, 90% of engine wear occurs when an engine is cold, and on that basis, while an engine will not attain a working temperature under idle it is never advisable to let an engine try to reach optimum operating temperature without load.

Basically what I mean is, that it is inadvisable to just start an engine from cold, run it for 10 mins, or so, and then turn it off.

Very,Very wearing on an engine.
 
SparkRite said:
Running an engine for 10 minutes or so give very little back to battery compared to what it took to crank and start the engine.

Also, and this is the big warning, 90% of engine wear occurs when an engine is cold, and on that basis, while an engine will not attain a working temperature under idle it is never advisable to let an engine try to reach optimum operating temperature without load.

Basically what I mean is, that it is inadvisable to just start an engine from cold, run it for 10 mins, or so, and then turn it off.

Very,Very wearing on an engine.
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is it ok to run for 10 mins then drive
 
You need to have your alternator and fan belt checked out; a battery should not be giving problems after 18 months.

My battery died recently; it was 11 years old and not holding its charge and with the really cold weather, that killed it off. But it turned out that the fan belt was quite worn and therefore this was resulting in the alternator recharging the battery properly. So with the two things combined, I was going nowhere until I got the a new battery and fan belt.
 
Leave it running at high idle , lights and heater off etc, for as long as possible
 
To the OP. You've probably sorted it by now, but something for info. Lying unused and uncharged is a surefire way to wreck a lead-acid battery. If it has to be left unused, give it a trickle charge at least once a month and preferably buy one of the Lidl/Aldi smart chargers that can be left on battery maintenance mode. An unused/uncharged battery will get sulphated plates and often there's nothing can be done about that - sometimes, if you're lucky, a de-sulphator device will drag it back from the dead, but it's pot luck.
 
clonboy said:
Leave it running at high idle , lights and heater off etc, for as long as possible
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I just had a mechanic jump start my car. He advised to keep lights off, do not drive it, etc.....but keep foot on accelerator to bring it to 2.5k revs for at least 20-30 mins. He said that driving it at night with lights on would hardly charge the battery at all. You'd have to bring it on a very very long drive to charge it....
 
Some years ago i recall a mechanic telling me always to press in the clutch when starting a car as this takes "pressure" off the battery
 
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