Battery - New or charge?

[royalrush]

Hi
Over the past week on a couple of occasions my Nissan Micra 1.0(51 plate) battery has sounded a little tired i.e. struggled to start on first attempt, however OK on second attempt.

Does this sound like it is on its way out? Can i charge it with a power pack? or does it need replacing?
Can i check the battery life?

Not sure when the battery was last changed, had the car about 18 months.

If a new battery is required, where is cheapest place to get one?

Thanks

 

[rustyroger]

If it struggles first time you turn the key and is ok second time that seems to be a starter motor issue, or a bad wire connection.

The cars alternator should have no problem keeping the battery charged unless you do a lot of short trips.

Ask around your local motor factors for prices of batteries and starter motors, you might be surprised at the deals you can get.

Roger.

 

[royalrush]

Hi Roger
I'm a total novice when it comes to cars... yes - i do do lots of short trips! i go to work and back and that's about it, work is only a few miles away.

 

[pollyp]

take out the distributor, remove dizzy cap and wirebrush the white oxide off the 4 contacts to give a better spark and help starting.

after a good run the battery should be pretty charged after u turned the engine off. check its bout above 12v after stopping engine then keep checking the voltage periodically for the next few hours. unless the lights or any ancillery was left on, if its dropping overnight the battery's tired. healthy battery would keep its voltage for a long period when unused

 

[frank]

its a coilpack jobbie eh paul
my misses,s k11 often seems to lock up on the 1st turn of the key (like megga high compression) then wizzes over on the 2nd turn of the key !
maybe a dirty contact somewhere eh

 

[baguete]

its a coilpack jobbie eh paul
my misses,s k11 often seems to lock up on the 1st turn of the key (like megga high compression) then wizzes over on the 2nd turn of the key !
maybe a dirty contact somewhere eh

Mine doesnt lock up, but struggles a bit on the 1st turn. After the engine is warm, starts without a problem...