Yikes - new battery price

[Pudsey Bear]

Bit of both, some vans might need the ECU coding to the key etc, but there are chaps out there who will come out and fit them for you, and supply too, I was stuck once cost me an extra £25, and worth it on a pre 06 Ducato as the battery is under the offside wing and a ***** to get in and out.

 

[Millie Master]

Informative, thank you @Millie Master

Final Q: one guy I phoned said they would need to code the new battery to the ECU, another said that was nonsense, just whack it in.

Who's right???

It is true that there are some ECU's that require them to be reprogrammed when a new battery is installed, so if you are worried about this I suggest you make contact with your local Halfords who will not only be able to supply you with a battery at quite a good price but they will also have the equipment to fit the new battery for you and still significantly less than being charged by your Citroen dealer and as an example for a suitable Start/Stop item of the correct size/load, their price is currently £215.00 along with a 4 year warranty.

Phil

 

[MarkJ]

Thanks, @Millie Master . I'll navigate the Halfords website. It works on one of our 3 possible devices, but not the other 2 and I always forget which is which!

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Put my reg into the Halfords and they had nothing for our van.

 

[Squiffy]

Mark I have just found this on the Internet, I have to say when you mentioned this I had no idea, in the past I've just changed the battery by removing the Neg then positive and simply just changed the battery, though doing a proper search does bring up a particular way of going about changing a battery on Fiat Ducatos, not exactly reprogramming the ECU but allowing it to go to sleep and re awaking it on replacing the battery.

Post in thread 'Battery removal' https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/battery-removal.497597/post-4661912


Phil.

 

[trevskoda]

Rubbish Trev, maybe on early ones, our car has done 70k and no issues, we did replace the battery under warranty though as it seemed to be causing problems with the AC.

Its not run in yet at 70th

 

[MarkJ]

contact with your local Halfords

Mark I have just found this on the Internet, I have to say when you mentioned this I had no idea, in the past I've just changed the battery by removing the Neg then positive and simply just changed the battery, though doing a proper search does bring up a particular way of going about changing a battery on Fiat Ducatos, not exactly reprogramming the ECU but allowing it to go to sleep and re awaking it on replacing the battery.

Yes, thanks. When I did my build and had to undo the seat belt pretensioner stuff to put in the swivels I'd read that you should disconnect the battery first and follow a procedure like this, so I did and had no problems. But when I took the van to an upholsterer to cover the front seats, which required their removal, he said he knew what to do, but clearly didn't: I had an ECU warning light come on. Fortunately it went away after a few starts. Some people say you don't need to do this, but my experience suggests you do. If I do replace the battery myself I'll be sure to be cautious. For the sake of a few minutes why take the risk?

Another snag, though, with modern vehicles being packed full of too much electronics. Mine is a 2020 model van and in my first van, a 2011 Ford, you just whacked a new battery in!

 

[Millie Master]

As my parking area is secure I deactivate the alarm because otherwise it is a constant drain on the dear old battery.

 

[JIXAMAN]

Mercedes parts are sometimes cheaper than patern from FleaBay, ah always check there first... Dont get me wrong, some things are eye wateringly more expensive but ah always check...

 

[MarkJ]

Just to finish the story (hopefully) we've just been away and done about 375 miles and the van has been happily doing start/stop after about 150 of those miles, so I would assume it's happy with the battery. Seems like it needed a really good charge after the winter.

Looking at the voltage as we drive is quite interesting; under power it shows about 13.8V (float charging, I guess) but on the overrun the voltage drops to about 12.6V.

 

[st3v3]

.

Looking at the voltage as we drive is quite interesting; under power it shows about 13.8V (float charging, I guess) but on the overrun the voltage drops to about 12.6V.

That seems backward. It would make more sense to load the alternator on overrun/braking to make it more fuel efficient.

 

[Millie Master]

That seems backward. It would make more sense to load the alternator on overrun/braking to make it more fuel efficient.

I believe that effect only happens if your vehicle is fitted with the latest re-charge type of brakes. It does for instance on my BMW hybrid car but not on my 2008 Renault Master.

 

[mark61]

That seems backward. It would make more sense to load the alternator on overrun/braking to make it more fuel efficient.

Yes, thats the way it works on my van, 14.8 and very occasionally 15.2 on overrun, 12.6 or 13.8 (depending how long I've been driving) under power. With headlights on 13.6, doesn't drop to 12.6.

Just smart alternator, no regen brakes.

 

[Sprinter 1 cup]

So what is the cheapest 300amp hour battery's in England. ?

Government is sponsoring a lipo / new technologies batteries factory's in Bridgwater ! Said on radio