Battery will not recharge - battery changed twice

[RichardIRL]

The battery on my R4 keeps going dead.

I have changed the battery twice in the past month, and brought it to a garage who tested it to see if anything was draining the battery, and they said that there is nothing draining it.

The battery will recharge with an external charger.

Therefore there is a non-battery cause for the battery not recharging while the car is driving.

Does anybody have any idea what is causing this?

 

[alewis]

Sounds like an alternator problem. Can you stick a voltmeter on the battery to see what the voltage is with the engine on and with the engine off?
+Are you driving short journeys ?

 

[jjad]

I agree with alewis. When the engine is running the voltage across the battery should be well above 12V. 14V is OK.

I thought I had a faulty battery once, but it turned out that the radio had developed a fault and was draining a lot of current (this blew the fuse in my multimeter, so it indicated 0A and I thought nothing was drawing any current!).

Good luck.

 

[nicky4tl]

does the battery light come on when driving?
Or is it just dead when you go to start it in the morning say?

CAn you push start it when the battery is dead?

 

[RichardIRL]

Thank you for your replies.

I think it is something to do with the alternator. Does anybody know where I can get a new one?

 

[bantamallan]

Always seem to be some on e-bay or try your local motor factor. You may even get it repaired at car electricians.
Allan