starting problem

[richard s]

got in car sat morning and it wouldnt start so jump started went to work disconnected battery and put on charge but battery charger was showing that battery was charged so reconnected battery about 1hour later went to start car wouldnt start was as if it had low battery but clock reset to 0  put back on charge and it started
got in car this morning and same thing so i changed starter and nothing checked the earths they seem fine removed battery and put on charge and my charger showed battery to be flat but works charger is a proper workshop charger/booster so unsure of true battery status till i get to auto electricians
i had same sort of thing last year in winter and it was starter so was wondering if anyone had any ideas to what else it could be other than battery
cheers

[takethefifth]

I reckon the battery is knackered. 

Oh sorry you wanted ideas of other things it could be..... 

[dadrathers]

I agree with takethefifth sounds like battery to me. If it charges quickly but won't hold charge then pretty sure sign the lead plates have had it. First check the electrolite level in the battery. If it is dry or low then that means it won't charge up properly. If very low then it is pobably already knackered. The fact that it loses charge when you are not running the car means it can't really be the altrernator. How old is the battery?

[richard s]

dont know age of battery i am after other ideas as to what it could be until i can get it down to the auto electrician as it did the same thing last year and it turned out to be the starter and i was sure it was the battery that said i dont think it was as cold last year
as far as i know it is charging as i dont have battery light on on my dash
regarding charging quickly that was down to 2 different chargers giving different readings when turned on  (proffesional charger/booster said battery was fully charged and 10 year old halfords cheapy nasty thing said it was flat) so not sure on true state of battery
it was the clock resetting that was throwing me

[dubslug]

clock resets when the battery dies if memory serves me correct
ly, did this happen when cranking it over??

[Jay]

I say it's the battery, from my experience with our '73 VW Bug we had... That thing needed a new battery every 2 - 3 years... it somehow used to feck them right up, the mechanics used to say it was nothing too worry about, probably because they wanted the £s for the batteries!