With winter season coming, cars often suffer, the most general scenario is to have difficulties starting your Citroen C3 early in the day with very low temperatures. Generally speaking this is related to problems recharging the battery of your Citroen C3 . There are some reasons that can show you why your battery does not recharge properly anymore, and in this article we will try to help you to solve this issue that can prevent you from using your car. To accomplish this, first we will show you how recharging your car battery works, then the different problems of recharging a Citroen C3, and at last how to recharge an empty car battery.
How does recharging the battery of a Citroen C3 work?
Before we describe the different problems of recharging the battery on a Citroen C3 , we will show you to you how its recharging system works so that you can discover the problems you are struggling with. A car battery works like a phone battery, it will store energy to start your Citroen C3 , turn on your headlights, play music, lower your power windows… However all these actions will consume energy and it may possibly deplete the energy reserve that your battery can store. To handle this issue, the engineers have developed a element called the alternator , this element will use the energy produced by the engine unit of your Citroen C3 to create energy thanks to a copper coil and a magnet. This energy will recharge the battery of your car . However, bear in mind that this process can just work when your car is running, using electrical elements of your car when it is stopped will drain the energy reserve of your car. It is considered that a battery of a xxx has a life span of 3 to 5 years.
Problems recharging a Citroen C3’s battery
We will now describe the different battery charging problems on a Citroen C3 you might be victim of. If your battery is not recharging because there is actually a issue in your electrical set up, we will now see the different cases.
Battery charging problem on Citroen C3: My battery is discharging regardless if I am recharging it with a particular charger
In this first circumstance, it is quite possible that your alternator is dead , indeed, if you control to recharge your battery with a charger and your Citroen C3 to start, the problem certainly comes from your alternator which should not be able to create any more current.
Battery charging issue on Citroen C3: My car shuts off and does not start regardless if I have charged the battery
If you have recharged your battery and you have been able to start your Citroen C3 but it switches off although you are driving and then does not start, the problem with recharging the battery of your Citroen C3 is that your battery no longer holds the charge .
Battery charging issue on Citroen C3: My battery is discharged nevertheless it is new
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If you’ve just bought a battery and it discharges although you’re driving, the issue most probably comes from your alternator. It cannot come from your battery, which is new and therefore holds the charge. The second opportunity is that you have a ground somewhere in your electrical system.
How to solve the issue of battery charging on Citroen C3?
We will now give you the solutions according to the issue you are struggling with. Here are the different problems and their solutions:
- Defective alternator: You can try with basic mechanics to check it with a pressure gauge to find out if it’s producing power. If it doesn’t, changing it is the best solution, depending on your motor you will pay a few hundred euros. This fix is feasible in case your alternator is accessible.
- Battery that no longer holds the charge: In this case, the purchase of a new battery is the just realistic solution. In actual fact, if you have already recharged it but it is still empty because it is good to be changed, count between 60 and 100 euros depending on your engine.
- Ground in the electrical circuit: If you cannot start your Citroen C3 but your alternator and battery are in good condition, it is possible that you have a ground on your wiring harness and that you lose energy, a check by a car electrician is in this case necessary.
How to recharge an empty battery of a Citroen C3
At last, to recharge the empty battery of a Citroen C3 there are just few solutions, using a battery charger is the most efficient solution, you can find some for 50 to 100 euros at vendors like Oscaro. In any other case you can use cables that will just provide the energy needed to begin.
To find more tips on the Citroen C3, take a look at the Citroen C3 category.
