My Berlingo has been parked up, unmoving, in the garden for around a year and the battery appears flat and not responding to the charger.
So I bought a new one in Brico on Monday but didn’t have the Berlingo’s details to hand. The very helpful young man agreed with me that the Partner was the same vehicle and so sold me a battery suitable for that. Only later did I remember that there is a difference in the engines and checked the markings on both batteries.
The battery I bought has 12v 60ah 540a stamped on it. The old battery in the Berlingo is 12v 62ah 600a.
Does this matter? The Partner starts on the turn of the key, no matter what the temperature but the Berlingo is more old fashioned and turns over a couple of times, more in winter, before firing. I don’t want to fit a battery that is not up to the job for it.
I am not going to exchange it, I do need a new battery for the Teardrop caravan, but only because it is stupid not to have it in full available use even though I am hardly likely to use it again. So if this battery is not the best for the Berlingo I do have a home for it if I have to go back and buy another one.
The markings above are all Double Dutch to me, so what do those of you who speak DD think please?
The old battery had 3% more capacity (62 vs 60 AH) and 10% more cold cranking current (600A vs 540A). You won’t notice the difference in practice, as long as it physically fits into the vehicle and is held tightly by the mounting.
Thanks Paul, as in the deepest winter it does crank for quite a time before starting and sometimes my heart has been in my mouth, I think, as I need a 2nd battery anyway, I’ll put this one in the Teardrop and buy one with a bit more cranking current.
Incidentally I bought the now apparently failed battery about 5 years ago in Halfords and was amused to see printed on it ‘Lifetime Guarantee’.
As I am not dead yet, can I claim? Perhaps not, the journey alone would come to more than this new one, but it does raise the question, to what/whose life does the guarantee refer?
If you are in the UK, if the battery is in the same car, take the battery back to Halfords and they will replace it.
The lifetime guarantee applies to the lifetime of the car not the owner
I think someone has been on Halford’s neck with just that question because all 44 batteries currently on their website offer g’tees expressed in years.
As 1/2 all R-Royces ever made are reputed to still be running, maybe Halfords got stung on that one.
If diesel make sure you leave it a second or three for the glow plugs to warm up before cranking.
I presume 624AH is a typo and it is 62, but the 560 is clearly pretty close to the 540 of the battery that David picked up so I still think it would be fine in his Berlingo.
Probably the product - which obviously means as soon as it develops a fault the lifetime is over and the warranty void
So dont make that mistake again as it will ruin your new battery in no time. Equipment in modern vehicles can flaten a battery in a week. If you have to leave it remove the battery, bring it in out of the cold if its winter and charge every 3 months.
One of the very few, maybe the only, drawbacks of this forum is the lack of posted locations, so no, I am in France, but in any case I think its failure is my fault, leaving it there connected for a year.
I bought an electric trike at that time as a replacement backup, shops etc, intending to sell the Berlingo, but then C-19 arrived and it was impossible, then unwelcome to expect people to come and try it so I have re-insured to the minimum to keep it here.
A healthy battery should last longer than a week but it is best not to leave lead acid batteries in a discharged state as they become “sulphated” with insoluble lead sulphite deposited on the anode . As long as you remember to charge them periodically you can leave them in the vehicle (though it might be more convenient to remove them and do a top-up charge periodically, as you suggest).
I had an old Renault diesel van which used to be a pig to start until I was advised to turn the key and wait until I heard a distinctive mechanical “click” then advance the key to start the engine. Worked perfectly fine on that advice and started every time without over crankin g. The same technique applies also to my diesel Kubota grass cutter
I had forgotten, or didn’t notice that, but no-one else seems to so from my point of view a lost cause.
I have been in forums where it is obligatory and in others where almost all did it and as a result the few that didn’t came in for some rather stern comments. Very useful if you are discussing the weather and saying it’s raining here.
click on in the profile and you will see if they have included their location
This is from my profile… @james might be able to make an adjustment to the format such that the location flag is somehow included alongside the user name if you felt that was important.
It depends on the vehicle also the battery, one of my clients has a Bentley and they have to leave it plugged in. My Nissan at best is two weeks and less if I forget to switch the dashcams off. That said the garage that fitted the new battery (before I purchased it) fitted a battery 30% smaller than std to increase their profit.
I’ve just been looking at solar battery chargers to keep OHs car battery topped up. Looks like most if them use small crocodile clips direct to the battery - guess they need to be disconnected before using which would be a PITA. Some plug into the fag lighter, but thats useless as its unpowerered if key isn’t in the ignition.
Well it must be me, Graham, but I can’t see where in profile that I can put my location, so at the moment showing it alongside my username is academic.
Yes Mark, I have a relatively small panel from Maplin so they are larger and better now. They usually have a reverse blocking diode so the charge and not flatten as per usual with full size panels. Extends the time the vehicle can stand rather than keeping it properly topped up so the larger panel is where I would go next time. Some vehicles do have permanently live ciggy lighter. I do have to flip the bonnet to remove the croc clips but you could run a cable and disconnect inside the cabin.
in the profile and you will see if they have included their location
