Hi everyone, I’m having a few problems with a drain on the battery of my lovely little Copen whereby it runs out of charge ridiculously quickly despite trying new batteries. We had a diagnostics person come out to have a look and he said it wasn’t really draining charge when just the alarm was on but that when you tried to start the engine, the starter motor was draining too much charge and possibly needed replacing. So I took it to a garage with a view to getting the starter motor replaced and they then told me that their diagnostics suggested that the battery didn’t look very healthy so they didn’t want to change the starter motor. So we replaced the battery again, then it’s been sat on the drive for a while due to Covid and now the battery doesn’t seem to want to completely charge. So I’m struggling to get to the bottom of what’s wrong and am just going round in circles! Unfortunately we don’t have any Daihatsu dealerships close by and I am struggling to find a mechanic who can properly diagnose the problem for me. Just wondered whether there is anyone on here who lives in the South Derbyshire area too (Ashby-de-la-Zouch) and could recommend someone who is knowledgeable and reliable? Would be really grateful for any help that anyone can give. Many thanks, Claire
Hi, As well as Salieri’s excellent link above, perhaps you may want to consider a so called smart/ intelligent charger just to keep the battery fully charged whilst the car is not in use. On top of the charging, they are purported to help get a battery back to its best condition, or the best it can be. I keep one on when the car’s resting over the long winter months and it’s worked well to date. They start around £20-£30. Perhaps you’ve tried this already.
The battery on mine drained in around 2 weeks and I was persuaded by the auto electrician to change the alternator. That cost over £250 as the wheel and drive shaft have to come off. I took it to another sparky who correctly diagnosed a faulty cell on the battery which was replaced. Having said that, low capacity batteries won’t really go 5 or 6 weeks without grumbling so look at a maintenance charger.
Remove the OEM stereo, put in a cheap 7 inch LCD android unit, your battery will never run flat again
Disconnect the battery if you won't be driving it again for a week or more, reconnect the next time you drive. Simple to do with a wrench; loosen / tighten the nut on 1 battery terminal, move terminal to the side; takes a minute or so. I keep a wrench just for this task in a door pocket. /Disconnecting & reconnecting the batt. fixes most problems if my roof won't go up & down too./ My Copen is under a fabric cover outside, so a solar trickle charger wouldn't work. If I plan to drive the Copen again in less than a week I won't disconnect the battery. I have an aftermarket remote roof opening system, big GPS unit / stereo installed. When the battery is reconnected the car makes a series of beeps when I start the car, won't stop beeping until I do the following: stop driving (stoplight is sufficient), put the car in park; lift & release the hand brake. Beeping is gone, back in Drive & I'm on my way. When the car hasn't been driven for 3+weeks the battery is usually dead. A small portable jump start battery is nice to have, just in case it won't start. On my other car, a Honda estate which sits in a parking lot a few blocks from my house & gets driven once a week, I have a solar trickle charger installed. The car starts strong every time I go to it. I usually use a car windshield sun shade but leave the solar panel uncovered of course. The car faces north but that little solar panel seems to be getting enough sun.
It is normal - Copens love to eat your battery if you don't use them. trickle charger is the easiest if you don't use it weekly...
Something like this… https://www.amazon.co.uk/AA-Battery...locphy=1007330&hvtargid=pla-385992752766&th=1
