I got the battery replaced under warranty and checked all cells via a hydrometer.
BHPian Vishwaschettri recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
TL;DR
Jimny did not start after I was waiting for someone for 20 minutes with music running. Found one of the cells dead, got the battery replaced under warranty from NEXA and brushed it off as a freak incident. This was a month ago, recently video popped into my YouTube feed where this gentleman also faces the exact issue. Both of us had the same battery ‘Exide Conservo’. Suggest everyone check their car battery with a hydrometer once. I may be drawing a circle out of a dot but worth a check. Please note that in a petrol vehicle even if one cell is dead/weak, the car can crank fine as long as as rest of the cells are fully charged.
Detailed Report
I was waiting for someone to meet with music running. The car has an additional load of an OBD adapter and dual dash cam. It simply refused to crank (no prior signs of a weak battery before). Fortunately, I keep a basic emergency kit in all my cars which includes a pair of jump cables. Called up an acquaintance who was nearby to give me a jump who kindly but smugly arrived in his wagon while I looked sheepish. A side note – Second-generation WagonR has almost the same dimensions as Jimny. When parked side by side WagonR looked larger, which my wife teased me about calling Jimny a WagonR with large wheels
Came back nursing my bruised ego and put the battery on charge with my trusty bosch charger assuming the cold weather with small runs and waiting must have drained the battery. The battery got fully charged in just over an hour which raised concern and led to further investigation with a hydrometer. Sure enough one of the cells was dead, which explains why it suddenly gave up. Please note that once charged it was cranking fine.
Called up nearest NEXA and inquired about the battery replacement process under warranty. As expected the gentlemen on the other kept insisting they would diagnose first and then decide the next course of action. Made a few calls to escalate the issue, and gave them the below options in order of preference which I believe were reasonable:
- Hand-to-hand replacement
- Service the battery while they check for replacement
- Replacement Vehicle
NEXA confirmed for 1 and I took my vehicle one of the evenings after fully charging it again and was out with a fresh battery in under an hour.
Please note that my battery passed with flying colours when they checked it with their thingamajig battery tester. When I insisted on checking with a hydrometer and shared the image above they immediately swung into action for replacement, not even bothering to check my claim. Full marks to NEXA here.
The newly replaced battery is Exide Mileage ISS which as per Exide’s website is their premium offering with a 60-month warranty (30-month replacement).
Double-checked all the cells with a hydrometer once I reached home and gave it a full charge as well. Jimny is running BAU now.
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