FLAT BATTERY CHANGED, NOW NO GO...

[ForzaSab]

OK so i made the mistake with the accessories switch i think where the radio came on after i turned my car off (2004 156 jts selespeed).
because i have a company car i hadnt driven my car for a couple of weeks and hence when i jumped in to go for a spin the battery was flay.
So ive now bought a new battery, the first one i thought wasnt powerful enough so i took that back and got another one, 550 ca (or whatever the measuring unit is) and my car will not start.
All the lights etc comes on and i can hear the fuel pump working but thats all that happens. It doesnt even attempt to kick over?
When i attempted to start with the first battery i got an error display ABS/EBD system failure.
Can anyone shed some light here please?

[colcol]

If you have a multimeter, check the volts, it should be at least 12, if you have a hydrometer and it is not a sealed battery, then take a reading of the battery specfic gravity, that is check how 'fizzy' the acid is, if you haven't a multimeter or a hydrometer, try charging the battery for a few hours, no battery charger?, then try jump starting the Alfa with the company car, if it still won't kick over then it is a problem with the ignition switch or the starter motor or starter motor circuit, if you beleive you flattened the battery by leaving your radio on, then fine, but some 156's suffer from the tachometers shorting out, draining the battery, also some new batteries purchased new also need to be charged up as well, C.C.A. stands for Cold Cranking Amps, it is a test they put new batteries through to rate them, the higher the C.C.A. rating, the longer your battery wil crank for, 550 CCA is a BIG battery, most of the cheap batteries start at 250 CCA and go to about 600 CCA, Colin.

[ForzaSab]

yeah its brand spanking new battery so looks like im going to have to spend more money on this puttana of a car lol

[bteoh]

Why don't you try to clear the ecu by disconnecting both battery terminals, put them together and leave them attached for a while. It might clear the fault codes and you can then try reconnecting the new battery and try starting it again?

[ForzaSab]

well i had no battery in the car for a day but can try it again i guess
how long will it take to clear the codes?

[Cool Jesus]

I hope I'm wrong but I've read that voltage spikes from a new battery can cause issues with the Alfa code to not accept your key? Are there any other symptoms or dash warnings present? Mind you the issue occurs if you leave your key in the ignition during a battery swap with the early units.
Your ecu would have reset well and truly after a day, normally rule of thumb is 15-20 minutes to drain any residual current.
You mentioned electrical items were working. Make sure everything is switched off, disconnect power for 30 min, to be sure, then see if it comes back to life for you. Oh make sure the key is out during battery removal/install too. Hopefully your 156 is just bathing its new found power and is ignoring you momentarily. I keep hearing that this marque does have soul?