Help! I am going nuts with my Rover N reg. Every winter when the temp. hits a certain low, I come out one morning and the battery has drained and my car won't start! It starts fine on a push start, and then providing I run it for a while it will start again, until a few mornings later. I bought one of those emergency starter packs and this works to start it. I have had AA out twice. The first guy said the battery was duff, so I get the battery changed. A week later, same problem, so I get AA out again. Different guy this time, really good, spent an hour checking for battery drain (there was none which makes sense otherwise it wouldn't only happen in cold weather). He sprayed dehumidifier on the distributor and recommended checking the distributor, battery leads and HT leads, However, can any of these issues cause the battery drain that is causing the non starting? Could the cold weather cause this problem? I am reluctant to get what he recommended done if this isn't the likely cause. When the weather warms up, no problem, even in rainy weather.... does anyone have any suggestions how to proceed?Rover 214 16 Valve - cold(damp?) starting problems every winter with battery drain?Could be that you are doing mainly short journeys in the conditions where you need to use lights and other electricals thus meaning there is not enough spare leccy to replace the charge lost in the battery by cold starting.
Making sure all the electrical connections are clean and making good contact on the battery and alternator and the earth strap may help.
In summary it is likely that the battery is not being charged enough, not particularly draining.The AA mans advice is sound.Rover 214 16 Valve - cold(damp?) starting problems every winter with battery drain?you don`t say if the bat is flat when you go to start it or you are flattening it trying to start it, its hard to decide whether you have a battery/starter or ignition problem, more info needed.Rover 214 16 Valve - cold(damp?) starting problems every winter with battery drain?No one has mentioned the alternator, which after all, charges the battery.
Could be you just don't do enough miles to charge the battery.Rover 214 16 Valve - cold(damp?) starting problems every winter with battery drain?Change the distributorr and rotor armRover 214 16 Valve - cold(damp?) starting problems every winter with battery drain?you do not say if the engine turns over or not, if the starter turns the engine fast enough to start, then the problem is likely to be dampness getting in but a spray with WD40 would normally stop this, because it is quite an old car I don`t know if it is fuel injected or has it got a carburetter, if it has a carburetter then maybe the choke is not working, obviously if it is fuel injected, this does not apply, if the engine is not turning over properly then this would indicate either a drain on the battery, or the battery is duff but you say that the battery is new, go to a battery supplier, such as KwikFit and get them to put a meter on it to check to see if the battery is good. To check if there is a drain on the battery, disconnect the battery when you last use the car at night, reconnect it in the morning and see if it turns over properly, if the turnover is faster than normal in the mornings, then you need to find where the drain on the battery is.
ADDITION.
After reading your added information, if you find that there is no drain on the battery, the starter motor should be the next thing to check out, starter motors make a click sound when the brushes need replacing, I assume that the battery terminals have been checked to make sure that the connection is good.
