Instant battery failure, possible?

[steg1970]

I have changed the oil in my 1400 Nova SR today. Before firing it up I turned it over on the starter with the coil disconnected to get oil round the system. It turned over nicely for about 15-20 seconds then the pressure came up nicely. I reconnected the coil and started to turn it over, it span for 5 seconds then suddenly went really slow and it struggled to turn it. I recharged the battery then tried it again but it struggled again, it did fir but it was a fight. The starter appeared to smoke a little too. I changed this for a spare and tried again but again it struggled.

Could the battery have failed during starting and shorted out internally.

Bit of a puzzle this. Anyone with similar experience.

As it is a rally car the battery sits for ages then gets used no more that 8 days a year. The battery is 4-5 years old.

[mowgli]

a battery that is totally flat could take days to charge. try another one first.

next time, you could turn it over with no spark plugs in first.

[Asa-James]

could of dead celled, if it struggles to jump start try another battery. i've seen it happen to my neighbours daily

[steg1970]

I've been thinking, could poor earths cause a sudden failure. With current flow through a resistance i.e. a poor earth connection, heat would be generated making the resistance even higher.

Make sence?

[brainsnova]

is the gearbox earth in good condition.

[Riggy]

id say batt is ****ed if it 4-5 years old ,just try another , they dont last for ever

[steg1970]

Tried another battery - no change
Connected another battery across the original i.e. 2 batteries in parallel - no change.
Cleaned up earths and fitted an additional earth - no change.

Could it be internal in the engine? piston rings?

stephen

[mowgli]

starter is probably shot

[steg1970]

As I said in my opening post i've tried another starter.

[General Baxter]

id say batt is ****ed if it 4-5 years old ,just try another , they dont last for ever

lies,

the one in my novas 20 years old, still works fine :)

[brainsnova]

try a battery booster and if a battery is dud and you put a charged one across it the dud one will take the power.

[Guderian]

manky earthing strap i reckon.

[ck]

timing could be way out on the engine. especially if you said it was fine when you disconnected the coil. so if its fine turning with no coil connected but not when it is it could be way to advanced.

had similar problems before with cars and the dizzy being out

[steg1970]

It turned out to be the cam belt a tooth out. I think i've been lucky that nothing got damaged in the engine.

Thanks for the advice gents.