Hi guys, Ive recently added front and rear footwell lights to my EL. This was 2 days ago, that night i went out, car started fine and ran as it usually does, yesterday i cleaned out my car, left the doors open so all the interior lights were on aswell. Normally this doesnt drain my battery but today when i went out to start it all i got was clicks, So i put the battery on charge and charged it to 100%.

The little light on my battery is green indicating that it is fine. I started it while it was charging and it started fine, Turned off the engine. took of the battery charger and that was that.
I came out later on to just make sure it was still working and CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK! Son of a! I checked the battery and it was giving me a reading of 10... So, I pulled the battery out of my sisters car and plugged it in, Started first go. While the engine was running i put my battery back in and took it around the block a few times for good measure, When i got home i turned off the engine and immediatly tried to start it again and wouldnt you know it, My favourite clicking sound returned. Battery reading was 10. I left my battery unplugged for half an hour and checked the voltage, Gave me a reading of 12.

Now im just wondering if my Alternator is dying/dead or maybe something i had done wiring up the interior lights, They all worked fine and turned off when the doors were closed. However i also snipped the wire connecting all 3 lights and tried to charge and start again but the results were the same, im thinking its just coincedental and that my alternator is on its way out, But id prefer to get some opinions from you guys before i start buying expensive parts. Cheers

Sounds like you need a new battery. When it won't hold charge, give it the boot.

sounds like there is something draning power when the car is off, or the battery is just about buggered..
charge the battery, then leave it overnight not connected, then fit it to the car..
if it dont start the car after sitting? its not holding charge meaning its buggered..

as above, try another battery for a day or two.

G\Having a green indicator doesn't mean its good, it means 'that cell' is ok, to a point.

Thanks for the replies guys, i wacked my sisters battery back in and took it for a drive, Came home, turned the engine off and started it again with no problems and the voltage was still the same before i put it in, So it does look like the battery is stuffed. My dad has a spare so ill be charging that tonight and using that for a while. Its been sitting around for a year though so ill be looking to buy a new battery if it does turn out to be the problem. Thanks for your help

Any half decent battery place will be able to test it for you to see if its holding charge for free, but it seems you've already found the problem.
See if you cant get a new battery with around 600CCA.

it'll be the battery.

is your alternator light on, on the dash? or have you tested the voltage across the battery with the engine running?

Ok, So the spare battery also wont start my car, but its highly likely that that battery is also rooted. When my car does start the battery is at 14 volts, My headlights do not dim while revving the engine.

Thats because your alterntator takes the load of your electrical system when on.

Did you have the battery disconnected when installing interior footwell lights? May have spiked/damaged the BCM????

10A Ctrl Lamp fuse still ok and what does the smart lock light on dash do when it doesn't start.

I didnt have the battery disconnected but i did take the fuse out. Gonna do some more testing now and see how we go.

If the car starts there is nothing wrong with the smartlock... Because its not immobilised...

If the interior lights work then the interior fuse isn't blown...

If the volts raise to around 14 when running on your volt scale the alt is fine...

If the battery wont charge or wont hold charge its got a collapsed cell...

Batteries seem to last around the 4 to 5 yr mark for me... They have a date sticker on them and the date marked should have been the install date... How old is the battery? Sounds like it needs swapping out...

Cheers,
Tim

Confirmed, Battery is screwed, Charged it to full overnight and it wouldnt start, Put it in my dads Fairmont, Wouldnt start, Put my dads battery in mine and started strongly. After charging it to 12.5 volts, after trying to start both cars it has dropped to 10. Im off to buy a battery!

Thanks for all your help guys.