300E would not start

[Gollom]

Mrs. Gollom called earlier to say the the 300E was totally dead this morning - just a click when key was turned. She last used it on Tuesday and is adamant that no lights were left on (the battery is almost new)

I'll see if it will jump start when I get home but any pointers as to why it would suddenly go dead? She did say on Sunday night that a warning light had come on (the bulb) in the dash but in the same breath said the dash lights were not working so I put 2 + 2 together and got 4. Could I have in fact got 5?

Thanks y'all

 

[BTB 500]

If the warning light on the dash had been the alternator one that would explain the flat battery.

 

[Gollom]

If the warning light on the dash had been the alternator one that would explain the flat battery.

Wonder what is going on! Is there some sort of test that I could perform to establish the root problem?

(Thinks out loud: Carol has only been using the car on 2 mile runs for the last month or so. Could that be part of the problem?)

 

[BTB 500]

2 mile runs will definitely flatten the battery over time (and not do the car much good generally). A broken or even badly slipping drive belt would give an alternator warning light (because the battery wouldn't be getting any charge).

 

[Brian WH]

It would be better to give the battery a proper charge, as it will have suffered from the short runs. If you Jump start it then you will need a very long run to recover the battery properly.