Car batteries...

[Sparks!]

I don't seem to have much luck with cars/vans and starting issues!!!!!

My truck now has failed to start twice... both times it seems flat battery.

Last week I put the battery on a charger/tester and it said it was fine and at 70% charge, after about 10 mins charging it started fine...

I've tested the charging system and all that seems fine so I'm looking at a weak battery?

Any advice on what battery manufacturer/type is best and where to get them from at cheapest?

Starting issues REALLY get to me now so I'd rather go for a decent battery if its worth the extra money...

Car is a 2003 Mitsubishi L200 Warrior.
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Current Toys: 06 Yamaha WR250F | Nissan 350Z GT | Tech 4 Homes

[Misc]

Probably way out here but may be a faulty alternator.

My alternator belt snapped which meant the battery wouldn't charge & would just die after running for a few minutes.

[Sparks!]

[Misc]

Gotta be the battery then as you said. Not sure on which one tho.
Good luck.

[G]

This is the time of year car vehicle batteries go, as the cold really starts to get to them. Eurocar parts are usually reasonably priced and I believe offer a 3 year guarantee with all their batteries.
Got one from my beemer there recently at definitely a cheaper price than I could find quickly on the 'net with postage included (postage may actually be free with them anyway, but I went in-store as I could easily get there in a lunch time.)

[WildGoose]

From my experience you tend to get what you pay for with car batteries. I won't presume to know more about electrics than you, but this is a website that sells decent batteries.

https://www.performancebatteries.co.uk/

However, some cold mornings big diesels won't start no matter what you do (especially if there are no glow plugs like my van), i've got a spare battery in the living room, kept fully charged. I carry it out to the van on old cold mornings, and double it up as a booster.

One battery on it's own just doesn't seem capable of turning the engine over quick enough, for long enough to generate enough heat and start. Poor cold starting is a common issue, an extra minute pissing about with jumpleads doesn't really bother me.

Another common bit of advice is to change the oil to a slightly thinner grade for winter i.e. from 15w40 to 5w30. Important bit for cold starting is the first number. Less effort for the starter to turn over.

However, i'd only entertain this if both oils meet the manufacturer specs, in the case of a 2.5DI transit they do, but best to check.

Assume you've checked your earths and connections? Particularly the battery to starter motor connection, amazing the difference this makes if its corroded or loose. The amount of starters that get changed and miraculously solve the poor starting issue, but simply because the cable has been released and then retightened, nothing to do with a fucked starter at all.
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So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

[G]

The battery my LT has (someone else got, not me) seems to have too low cold-cranking amps so it can be incredibly lethargic on cold mornings. However, it has (said touching wood) never failed to start, though the first few turns will be very slow.
I do have glow plugs, but the pre-heaters don't work.

[Phoenix]

It's just the cold weather if it's only just started to happen. Your battery might be old and about to give up, they usually wait until winter to do it because cold kills them. My BMW battery has been fine all year but the last few nights on leaving work it's been noticeably slow to turn over (outside temp is between 2 and minus 2), it still goes though.

Best bet is to probably just replace it if it's actually dying completely, also if you're only doing short trips and no long runs it's not going to have time to recover unless you take it off to charge frequently. Mine is surviving still because it has a good 60 miles a day of fast driving to charge itself. You might also want to consider getting your alternator properly tested on the right equipment, a good battery place will usually charge you £10 for it, sometimes they can keep your battery charging at a correct voltage but aren't actually working right, my Pontiac has this issue at the moment, new battery lastyear and it still goes flat all the time.

Car batteries aren't cheap, most places charge about the same in my experience, diesel batteries are more expensive because they need to be a lot bigger than petrol ones due to higher demand on them.

[Sparks!]

Goose, that site looks pretty good.. £80 delivered for a 710 cold cranking current or £103 delivered for a 830A.. I think I'd pay the extra for the 830..

My truck does have glow plugs etc , I tihnk they are all good, but if I change battery and still have issues then I'll have to get them changed as well.

So, £103 delivered for a 830A Varta Battery is best price so far.. any one know cheaper?
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Current Toys: 06 Yamaha WR250F | Nissan 350Z GT | Tech 4 Homes

[Sparks!]

Ahh.. amatuer mistake.. it's an acid battery and the levels were very low!! I've topped up with distilled water and its now just over the minimum mark and back on charge..

Question is, is it too late for this battery? Or might it be okay now the levels are good?
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Current Toys: 06 Yamaha WR250F | Nissan 350Z GT | Tech 4 Homes

[UnknownStuntm...]

you can stick some plate cleaner tablets in the cells if you're halfway confident about it. You get a tube of 12 or so from HellFrauds. Couple quid might save a couple of months on the battery. But in my experience, once it's been left half full, it won't get back to it's previous performance.

[MattEMulsion]

[G]

Ste has often mentioned L200 alternators being dodgy, but that may just be when you immerse them in water.

[Ste]

The alternators like dieing when they're submerged in silty/dirty water, they're fine in cleanish water and deep mud doesn't seem to bother them either, just dirty water cos bits of grit end up on the brushes in the alternator. Volt meter thingy should be showing ~13v when the engine is running.

If it's that then there are a few ways of trying to fix it rather than replacing it. If you've not been offroading then it'd be quite unlikely for the alternator to break.

If you're replacing the battery then get yourself an Optima red top or yellow top deep cycle, you won't have any trouble starting with either of those and the yellow top battery can handle lots of stuff being hooked up to it.

[sickpup]

One way old trick with Diesels is to switch the ignition on and leave it for 10 seconds before trying to start the engine. Gives the pre heater time to warm up.

[Raffles]

[Ste]

Or do that about 20 times if you've put lots of veggy oil in the tank and it's gone colder overnight than you thought it would.