Before I left the country for 5 months I had been having an ongoing issue which I was never able to resolve. The car would be fine, but if I din't use it for more than 4-5 days when I went to start it the battery would not have enough power to turn over the engine. This never really effected me because I would use the car almost everyday. If It was dead I would simple charge the battery for the night a reconnect the next day with no problems. [or I'd remember to disconnect it].

I arrived home on Sunday after being away for 5 months and charged my battery for a day [it had been disconnected from the car but it was dead]

So with a fully charged battery connected the lights work, central locking, hazards - everything seems fine. I can click the ignition barral one turn and my dash lights all come on as they should. But when I turn the ignition fully I heard a click everything goes dead immediately.

If I try to start it again all power has gone and not even the lights don't work. If I then disconnect the battery and reconnect it, the lights and central locking work again.

Any ideas?
Thanks

It does sound like the battery is beyond recovery, follow Dans advice and see what the battery reads.

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"Supercharged - 454.1bhp/317.5lb/ft"
Peugeot 306 GTi-6
2000 (X), Moonstone

Sounds to me like it's a bad connection, clean up the terminals and re try.


Carl

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C.G.Cars of Leicester, Peugeot/Citroen/Renault specialist Tel: 01162 624498/07799 405184 WWW.CGCARSLEICESTER.CO.UK
36 narborough road south, Leicester LE3 2fn

MOT station now open, tests £35 with a free retest.
Recovery available with a recovery unit, for those not so local jobs

Also offer the loan of a free courtesy car 306 dturbo

Thanks, I'll give cleaning the terminals a try before I buy a new battery. Any tips for this? Just a file or screwdriver to scrap away the corrosion?

If a lead acid battery has been left discharged for five months the plates will be covered in sulphate and the battery will almost certainly be beyond recovery. I have had some success in rejuvenating batteries by charging fast and rapidly discharging the battery (Caution! This genereates a lot of heat and flamable gas from the battery so don't let it get too hot and carry out this operation in a well ventilated area)

If it was a cheap battery it will be knackered and you'll need a new one.

Find the short circuit thats draining the battery before you proceed much further.

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R H Davey Welding Supplies. I sell new and used welding equipment in the Hampshire area. I take on welding jobs in the evenings, ally casting repairs are one of my specialities but I can weld pretty much anything. PM me with your requirements.

Some of my services: (See my for sale threads)
Engine mount/chassis repair
Solid Beam Mounts BACK IN PRODUCTION
Harness bars

It could have been leaking through the dirty terminals, but it isn't likely.

You need to run a current check on the battery and see if there is a high draw on it. For example, when everything is switched off there should be a drain on the battery no higher than around 25mA, most cars will be less.

If you have a drain for instance like 75mA, then that is the reason the battery is going flat.

________________________________________

"Supercharged - 454.1bhp/317.5lb/ft"
Peugeot 306 GTi-6
2000 (X), Moonstone

I personally think 40mA is too high.

Should be somewhere between 15mA and 25mA ideally.

________________________________________

"Supercharged - 454.1bhp/317.5lb/ft"
Peugeot 306 GTi-6
2000 (X), Moonstone

I've disconnected the black box behind the interior quarter trim, hopefully it will stop draining now.