Good Morning, thank you for your reply.

On my own vehicles I have changed several batterys, reset the radios/alarms etc no problem.

I am tempted to offer to change the battery on my neighbours car ( as a gesture of goodwill ) however I do not want to end up causing problems with his car eg the car will not start or the radio will lock itself

I note you say no special measures are needed ( for example no slave battery or battery saver to protect the ECU/alarm settings etc )

I am curious as to why this is ? do these modern Volvo cars have some type of internal memory saving feature ? or are the radios deemed "unstealable " because they are integral to the dashboard - hence no security code needed ?

thank you for your input which provides readers the confidence to carry out basic tasks and solve problems themselves.

Agree with Cyd, the car needs linking to a smart conditioner charger whilst it's parked up, CTEK make good ones but those from LIdl/Aldi at 1/3rd the price, when available, do just as good a job and there are others, no need to disconnect the battery with most smart chargers (CTEK and Lidl/Aldi anway), indeed they can often be fitted semi permanently under the bonnet for ease of connection.

My old MB is now in semi retirement and i'm having to do the same with that, ocassional use isn't putting enough in, it's not the battery its new and the highest performance Varta silver i could get.

Edited by gordonbennet on 06/04/2015 at 09:19