SwMBO's old clunker broke down in the supermarket carpark yesterday. Anyway to cut a long story short it seems the battery has had it. I tried to jump start it from my car but this would not get it going/turning over so we called the recovery people from her Insurance (DLine - Green Flag?) to tow it to a garage or so we thought. Anyway to their credit the recovery people turned up after about 30/40 mins and put a meter across the battery which read low. I mentioned that I had already tried to jump start it, to which he replied that most modern cars dont have enough spare 'juice' to do it. With that he got his portable booster pack out clipped it on and the old girl fired up on the first turn.
So my main question is will any old battery do or are they specific to the car (2.0Gxli Spacewagon) .
Also i was a bit surprised that my car (2.0 Td) didnt have enough to get it turning over.
Cheers P
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Diesels need a higher capacity battery, to crank over an engine with a 20 to 1 compression ratio. The battery you buy must be the right size/capacity for your car and what it costs depends on the make and the length of the warranty. Even one make of battery can come with 2, 3 or 4 year warranty and a price refelects that.
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Sorry, I now see that you are asking about a battery for your wife's car. My comments re size/capacity/price still apply - just ignore references to a diesel as that is you car, not hers, I think!
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A more accurate comment might be that most jump leads are as flimsy as bell wire and are not capable of jump starting a grasshopper. If you cant deliver the current you arent going to start anything.
A bosch from costco is cheap as anything and will do the job. As AS says it needs to be at least the recommended capacity
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You just need to get the right physical size battery, the right +ve and -ve pole orientation, and the right type of pole, then get the right CCA rating and away you go! Any factor selling batteries will have a catalogue that gives the right battery for the vehicle in question. Then just a case of how much you want to spend for the longer guarantee.
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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For longest battery life I would recommend seeing what the highest rating battery can be fitted. This means seeing what battery will fit in the battery compartment and obtaining the highest amp hour rating. This may far exceed what a battery guide will advise as being (just) suitable.
This tip was given by a guy who sold batteries for a living, but when I was not in the market for a battery.
On my last car the original battery lasted about 14 years, the replacement was on 2/3rds the size and I doubt if it would last 3 years before the drop in power stopped turning the engine over.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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I was going to come in on this, but artful dodger has anticipated me. From about 60 years of motoring experience I beg to endorse his contribution.
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For longest battery life I would recommend seeing what the highest rating battery can be fitted.
>>This means seeing what battery will fit in the battery compartment and obtaining the highest amp hour rating.This may far exceed what a battery guide will advise as being (just) suitable. This tip was given by a guy who sold batteries for a living, but when I was not in the market for a battery.
I am not sure if this is good advice. IIRC, fitting too large a battery can cause problems with the charging. In the past I have been tempted to fit a larger battery especially as I had a 1.6 engine with a battery tray that accepted a battery for a 2.3 diesel.
I have not had any problems with a quality battery as specified in the manual.
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I agree. Years ago Mk 1 Ford Escorts had huge battery trays with the battery clamp bracket fitting into about 4 slots. I assume the biggest was for Sweden, then Germany, UK and hotter Spain. There is no substitute for a top quality LARGE battery. Ask a man on a cold damp 5th January.
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Did you have your engine running at a fast idle speed whilst trying to start the other car?
I have never seen a failure to start when the 'donor' car's engine is running.
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If you're looking for a battery for a gasoline,look for one with similar amp/hour capacity;if looking for a diesel,look for the one with a similar amp/hour but with a high CCA(cold cranking amps)usually marked somewhere on the case.This denotes better plates and heavier internal connections.This CCA will be within the 400-600 range.
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For all normal comparisons amp hour figure is largely irrelevant; but it does allow comparison from 1 battery to another. But CCA is the figure you need to be looking at for petrol or diesel.
It is the power that can (theory) be delivered to starter. Amp hour is how long battery will take to drain (Not much use unless you want a camping style battery).
Do not fit over large battery without upgrading charging system if likely to be doing lots of start stop motoring or heavy use of electrics.
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