Can heat kill a battery?

Went to start car today, dead.. hardly a glimmer in the dash lights and wouldnt turn at all? This doesnt add up as i drove it at least 80 miles on Monday and it was all fine.

Just plugged in my bike oxford oximiser 900 charger thingy which ive used many times before and it first read 'bulk charge' and displayed 5 led bars on the 0 - 10 battery 'charged' display. It then dropped to 4 bars after 5 mins and then to 3 led display bars. So in effect whilst being 'on charge' the led display is showing that how much charge is in the battery, is reducing not increasing. I did check to see if i had left the lights or anything else on in the car the previous night on and i hadn't.
i.e when the led display reads 10 the battery is fully charged then stays on 10 bars and reads 'maintain' Ive a horrid feeling the batteryy is fooked but no idea how that has happened. Its about 14 months old and was a heavy duty.. Im just gonn leave it 'charing and see if it finally manages to hold a charge. Fekin piecs of

 

Well the amount of charge indicated by the led status on the charger stabalised at 3 and has increased to 4. ill just leave it overnight ans see. I also did check for loose terminals etc and they seem clean and tight... Also i didnt see any warning lights re battery in the car when i used it 2 days ago???

 

Could just be pure luck the battery has died, or could be a number of things...might be worth putting a meter across the battery to see if it's charging properly. If your Oxford charger doesn't have any luck, I've got a SmartCharge8 which has recovered some batteries for me before, if you can get the battery to me.

 

Was gonna suggest another charger before scrapping the battery Kev.

 

Thanks guys.... just been out to car, battery's now been on charge 3 hours and it turned over about 6 times, it died quickly i thought ..... I would have expected a bit more umph but the oximiser is a trickle charge.. Forgot to check with a volt meter so ill do that tomo
Just put my normal car charger on it so will see wotswot in morning.... Good job ive 2 BIKES

 

Checked and battery appears fully charged reading 12.70 across both terminals and 14.45 when engine running. The other battery charger seems to be working fine topping up the harley.

I really dont know what i did or wahapened to completley flatten the battery just glad it seems ok. hope the battery holds the charge now.. fingers crossed. Thanks again for the help.

 

There are some other possibilities, I'm afraid, Kev

If your alternator isn't doing wot it oughter, the overnight charge will last as long as the spark plugs, a/c, radio and lights take to run it down again: your first indication will be a lack of power on hills in a high gear (which requires a bigger spark which takes more out of the battery). So you should check the car is actually generating some juice.

Whether or not the battery is a sealed unit, it can run dry - this happened twice to me while living in hot climes (well, duh...) and both times I dumped a bottle of Evian in there and rescued it - yes I know all the minerals in Evian will coat the plates and ruin the thing eventually, but it got me home alive! So try to check out the levels. [insert question: How do I top up a 'sealed unit'? - Answer: After I opened the lid by applying a screwdriver and controlled violence, it wasn't 'sealed' any more]. If some of the plates have warped and shorted out / fused together, the capacity of the thing to survive more than a couple of winter starts will have been compromised.

Did you disconnect the battery before charging it? I have been told that hooking up an Optimate to a car battery without disconnecting it first can lead to the Optimate trying (and failing) to charge the whole car circuitry, so none ever finishes up in the battery. [NB I'm patently not an electrician, but will take all the credit for any amusement derived by qualified sparkies on here!] And there is always the risk of frying something delicate in the car's circuitry (like the alternator voltage regulator hoo-dekky)...

Could someone else (who's qualified) please advise Kev how to check the alternator?

 

i hear sticking your tongue on the terminals works for 9v batteries...

 

To check the alternator - start the engine and switch lights on, then disconnect the earth lead from the battery. If the alternator is working the engine will keep running and lights will stay bright.

To check the battery - charge it, and disconnect it from the car while you go to Wiltshire for the weekend. Reconnect it next week and try to start the car immediately. If it turns over OK then the battery isn't draining itself through a short internally.

Finally, if it keeps going flat while connected to the car overnight, but not when disconnected then suspect the diode pack in the alternator. This should be a one way valve meaning charge goes out of the alternator but not back the other way. When they blow, the battery discharges slowly through the coils in the alternator overnight (can take a couple of days). Difficult to prove yourself unless you remove all the fuses so no clock or other device is working, then put an ammeter in line with the battery.

Phew.

 

Thanks Jim,, ill check it tommorrow see if its held any charge, then proceed with your excellent diagnostic on sunday, maybe monday, definatley no later than wed if the weather turns...
Right,,,, back to packing and checking lists, tyres, oil, coolant, keys...

 

You should have said I would have checked it for you while dropping off helmet, with a multi meter, I would not disconnect the battery off your car too often, it resets the ECU, and can Cause some weird problems though most should sort them self out, if the alternator is not charging would guess you would have an engine management light on, I would guess it will be the battery, when was it last replaced?

oppps not read last few posts, you metered it and it was showing 14v something, means the alternator is charging the battery fine

 

Checked earlier and battery appears fully charged reading 12.70 across both terminals and 14.45 when engine running. Dunno y it went flat, was probably my fault somewhere down the line, operator error.
Ill check again in the morning

 

kev i swapped it for my duff battery the other night amazed you got it to hold a charge