what car battery?

ik9000

ik9000

ik9000

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Car is dead. Like can't open the doors dead. Luckily one door has a manual key which does work but it's flat as a pancake and even the jump starter doesn't do anything but comes up with "battery fault warning".

How do I work out what battery to buy? the one in the car is covered by a big slab of plastic that obscures all the markings and I can't see an obvious way to remove it. The manual lists a couple of different dealer references for batteries for several different varieties and models, engine sizes within the range but doesn't say which applies to which car so it's not clear to me when trying to work out which battery my car actually needs.

Any tips on good brands, places to buy from, and how to work out what size + capacity of battery I should buy?
 
I tend to buy Bosch or Varta. Any of the reasonable looking battery shop websites should be good, if not then the regular e-commerce sites sell them as well. If you have a Costco card you could have a look there.

Have you tried googling for X car battery removal? Someone somewhere has probably asked the same question. If not, put up some photos on here and we’ll be able to figure it out. There may be some bolts/clamps securing the battery to the bottom of the housing in which it sits.

You could buy a conditioning battery charger which may rescue the dead battery but it’s not guaranteed.
 
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You should be able to remove that part that's in the way, its most likely part of the clamping system to hold the battery in to stop it moving around

But yes , halfords and eurocarparts to find out what sort of battery will fit then you can look for a better battery if you wanted to


Have you tried charging it?
 
First Google how to remove the cover to get to the details of the current battery.

If you know anyone with a Halfords Trade card it will save you a big chunk but I found "BatteryCharged.co.uk" actually cheaper, Eurocarparts were expensive.
 
ok I got the thing off. There was a bolt to undo but hidden away were two plastic clips. Took me a while to figure out how to get to them but turns out it needs a long flat head screw driver to push down a slot in the housing and you can pop them out. Why they don't just put a symbol or something to indicate that's what the holes are for i don't know. But anyway it's off and here are the markings:

Can anyone make sense of all this stuff:
555 511 RA
Varta DE VAO
5K0 915 105 E
12V 61Ah 330A DIN
540A EN/SAE

Battery measures approx 240x170x186mm high. Tray looks like it could take bigger.

The existing battery it turns out is the one that came with the car in 2010. The manual says the 5k0 tag denotes factory fitted. It also recommends it is replaced every 5 years. So i'm guessing it's probably had its chips now? Is it worth even trying to charge it?
 
ik9000 said:
ok I got the thing off. There was a bolt to undo but hidden away were two plastic clips. Took me a while to figure out how to get to them but turns out it needs a long flat head screw driver to push down a slot in the housing and you can pop them out. Why they don't just put a symbol or something to indicate that's what the holes are for i don't know. But anyway it's off and here are the markings:

Can anyone make sense of all this stuff:
555 511 RA
Varta DE VAO
5K0 915 105 E
12V 61Ah 330A DIN
540A EN/SAE

Battery measures approx 240x170x186mm high. Tray looks like it could take bigger.

The existing battery it turns out is the one that came with the car in 2010. The manual says the 5k0 tag denotes factory fitted. It also recommends it is replaced every 5 years. So i'm guessing it's probably had its chips now? Is it worth even trying to charge it?
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There is no need to be confused with this lingo - for a car battery you basically have the following to consider

1 - Size - and polarity of +/-
2 - Capacity and amperage
3 - Voltage - this is N/A as they are all going to 12V for a car in this case

So for item 2 we have the Capacity in Amperage and the Cold Crank Amperage (this is the starting performance from cold) - now for these 2 items the OEM battery you listed which is for a VAG car it has a capacity of 61Ah and a CCA of 540A

So you can plonk any battery you like from any manufacturer as long as you have at least them specs (you can go higher if you want - nothing stopping you using a 70Ah / 760CCA battery)

In terms of life 5 years is generally past its sell by date - get a new one.

Reputable makes to get are Exide or such - dont go spending all your money on a genuine OEM from a dealer unless you like throwing money away
 
ik9000 said:
The existing battery it turns out is the one that came with the car in 2010. The manual says the 5k0 tag denotes factory fitted. It also recommends it is replaced every 5 years. So i'm guessing it's probably had its chips now? Is it worth even trying to charge it?
Click to expand...

You might get a bit of life out of it with a proper charge but a car battery that old will likely fail again unpredictably - probably when you need it most and first bit of proper cold weather probably finish it for good.
 
The one on our XC60 was on the way out so replaced it last week. I just put the reg into a few websites (used battery megastore in the end). A quick google highlighted the Varta Silver being a good choice and exactly the same battery as the Bosch at £10 more. £91.50 lighter and a now working car.
 
brendy said:
Bosch S4 batteries, 4 year warranty and usually well amped for starting in any conditions.
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Get the Varta branded one (Varta blue). According to various sites it's the same battery, made in the same factory with the same 4 year warranty.

I personally went for the Varta silver (equivilant of the Bosch S5) as it was only £6 more.
 
I've ordered the Silver too as the link above. Cheaper than I was expecting. In my head I was expecting £100+ for a battery so getting it for <£70 inc delivery was a nice surprise.
 
Abyss said:
The one on our XC60 was on the way out so replaced it last week. I just put the reg into a few websites (used battery megastore in the end). A quick google highlighted the Varta Silver being a good choice and exactly the same battery as the Bosch at £10 more. £91.50 lighter and a now working car.
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I'm hoping the battery swap will get ours back to life too. Now I just need to find the radio code as I'm not sure the previous owner ever gave it to us :S
 
I like Exides for value for money compared to Bosch etc, but I've not really had a car long enough to see how good they are for longevity.

Last battery I bought was some unknown brand on eBay and it works fine.
 
I got a Lion battery a couple of years ago and it's been fine...Guess I won't know how good it is until it's still working / not working in 5 years time. Only chose that because someone I knew with a trade card for euro car parts had heard they were better than the others, and were basically the same price as the Bosch one (but with a better spec I think) with his discount.
 
GreatAuk said:
I got a Lion battery a couple of years ago and it's been fine...Guess I won't know how good it is until it's still working / not working in 5 years time. Only chose that because someone I knew with a trade card for euro car parts had heard they were better than the others, and were basically the same price as the Bosch one (but with a better spec I think) with his discount.
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Breaking it down financially, if it costs 70 quid for 5 years, its £14 per year, youd spend more on screenwash so as long as it gets 4-5 years I wouldnt worry beyond that. Go for the best CCA rating etc you can without breaking the bank.
 
ik9000 said:
I'm hoping the battery swap will get ours back to life too. Now I just need to find the radio code as I'm not sure the previous owner ever gave it to us :S
Click to expand...

What car is it? Most don't have radio codes now as the units tend to be integrated.
 
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