Battery completely dead

[KRAM36]

When you lock the doors, the auto theft system kicks in. I have a little red light on the dash that blinks constantly until the car is unlocked.

[TripleTrophy]

When I purchased my (admittedly an) '06 the dealer said if I wasn't running it for more than a week put it on a trickle charger. They weren't kidding! My '11 Ducati Multistrada also eats batteries, seems to be problematic with newer vehicles that aren't run regularly.

I had issues last summer when the weather and events conspired against me, and I ended up replacing the battery. On the '05 and newer there is an extra plug just beside the passenger's feet for trickle charging, and I understand it bypasses the fuse box to try to avoid any charging problems.

[Fatbloke]

The battery is a few years old so may just have died but it was fine through the summer. I am trying to charge it now but the charger is only putting in 5v for some reason.
If the battery is discharged to basically zero, does that knacker it??

I am going to try my heavy duty charger on it tomorrow. The one on it just now is just a small charger.

I may need to buy a new battery, Bosch S5 100 or 110. Don't want to do that if it is going to discharge them until they die though.

Cheers

Dave

[TripleTrophy]

Just a thought, does your charger have the option of 6V and 12V output? 6V won't charge a 12V battery. Unfortunately I speak from experience...

If the battery is just dead, it should recharge. On my first car I left my headlights on when I was out on a Tuesday, and for some reason the car wouldn't start on Saturday. I boosted it, and ran the car another 6 years on that battery, never changing it. But, that was a long time ago with less electronics. If the cells have started to short out then it is probably shot. Some people claim around here the life expectancy of batteries in seasonal vehicles (aka toys) is three years, I usually get about 4.

[Fatbloke]

The charger does 2v, 6v and 12v. I made sure it was set correctly. I will try it on another known good battery to see if it still does the same. It may be knackered too although I have only used it a few times.

Big charger on the battery tomorrow to see if it charges it.

Dave