Ford Mondeo 2L Diesel 58 Reg Hatchback - Battery for a Mondeo Diesel | Technical matters | Back Room Forum

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Sun 4 Nov 2012 15:32

Ford Mondeo 2L Diesel 58 Reg Hatchback - Battery for a Mondeo Diesel - FredInOldham

This morning I had to call the RAC out, as I was not able to start my 2L Diesel Ford Mondeo.

When I tried to start it, "Engine Malfunction" flashed up on the dash, the left and right indicator lights on the dash flashed rapidly and there was a rapid ticking noise from the engine compartment.

The RAC guy said that the battery was flat and recharged it, after which I could restart the car. I asked him why it would be so low, given that I drive it everyday (although I do make lots of small trips) and he said that it really shouldn't happen and that he felt the battery was on the way out. He suggested that I might want to consider getting a new one, and the one recommended was this one.

www.racshop.co.uk/car-battery/product/rac-premium-...l

I have had battery warnings in the past, but have never had a problem starting the car (I did get Engine Malfunction flashing up for a split second last week, but then the engine started fine).

I just wondered if anybody here had any thoughts on whether I may really need a new battery and whether the one above is any good (I get free fitting as an RAC member).

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Sun 4 Nov 2012 15:44

Ford Mondeo 2L Diesel 58 Reg Hatchback - Battery for a Mondeo Diesel - Galaxy

I think I'd be inclined to take the car out for a nice long run, OP. That's the quickest way of charging a battery up.

You say you make many very short trips. Well, that greatly increases the use of the starter motor and it's quite possible you could be taking more out of the battery than you are putting in.

You speak about buying a new battery. Yes, you battery could well be on it's way out, but you could also buy a new battery and have exactly the same problem if you are doing what I've written above!

The RAC are bound to recommend their own products! The battery in the link is quite a large battery (72AH and 720 amp) but, if you did want to purchase a new one, I think I'd be inclined to go to somewhere like Euro Car Parts and see how much they wanted.

As I say, I'd take your car for a long run first, and see whether the problem reoccurs.

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Sun 4 Nov 2012 16:59

Ford Mondeo 2L Diesel 58 Reg Hatchback - Battery for a Mondeo Diesel - FredInOldham

Thanks Galaxy, that is very helpful. I did take the car for a 1 hour run today, so hopefully things will be OK in the short term.

However, I will probably still continue to do short runs (couple of miles) most of the time, with perhaps a couple of motorway runs (50-100 miles) every month or so.

So I wonder if there is a way for me to check the health of the battery, and decide whether to replace it.

I'm not sure exactly what a "healthy" battery is, but I suppose it is mainly how quickly it recharges and how slowly it discharges (and maybe how long it holds its charge when not charged).

If there a way for me to easily measure this? I have a multi-meter, so could I use that to check the charge between runs to get a feel for the health of the battery?

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Fri 9 Nov 2012 08:23

Ford Mondeo 2L Diesel 58 Reg Hatchback - Battery for a Mondeo Diesel - FredInOldham

Good morning.

I have been taking battery readings for the last 3 days, one reading each day, first thing in the morning, when the engine has not beeing run for about 12 hours.

I got a reading of 12.34V on Wednesday, 12.11V on Thursday and 11.87V on Friday.

During Wednesday and Thursday, I probably did a total of 10 runs, over a total distance of about 20 miles.

I'm just wondering if anybody has any thoughts as to whether those readings are a cause for concern, and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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Fri 9 Nov 2012 08:52

Ford Mondeo 2L Diesel 58 Reg Hatchback - Battery for a Mondeo Diesel - craig-pd130

A fully charged battery with no drain should read 12.6 - 12.7V (i.e. you'd need to disconnect the battery before taking the readings).

Under 12V means the battery is drained, and in a lead-acid battery the cells start to die as the plates get sulphated.

Even with ignition off, there is some parasitic drain on a car battery (alarms, immobilisers, interior lights etc) but those readings are very low.

Can the battery be topped up? Some batteries are sealed for life, others require occasional attention.

To be honest, I think that battery's a goner. It's managed 4 years, I'd replace it now before winter really bites.

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Fri 9 Nov 2012 08:52

Ford Mondeo 2L Diesel 58 Reg Hatchback - Battery for a Mondeo Diesel - Collos25

Voltage is meaningless a flat battery will give around 12 volts it is the amount of amps under load a battery can produce thats important hence a discharge test.

And if you buy a new battery a word of warning Ford alternators only like Ford batteries for what ever reason.

Edited by Collos25 on 09/11/2012 at 08:54

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Fri 9 Nov 2012 11:53

Ford Mondeo 2L Diesel 58 Reg Hatchback - Battery for a Mondeo Diesel - elekie&a/c doctor

Voltage is no indication of battery seviceabilty.You need to get an conductance test which checks the abilty of the battery to take a charge.Fords use a smart charge system that can run up to 16 volts,so it is important to buy a calcium type battery.hth

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Fri 9 Nov 2012 13:14

Ford Mondeo 2L Diesel 58 Reg Hatchback - Battery for a Mondeo Diesel - Chris M

The same battery is £69.54 delivered from carparts4less (Euro Car Parts by another name)

http://www.carparts4less.co.uk/cp4l/c/Ford_Mondeo_2.0_2008/p/car-parts/car-electrics-and-car-lighting/electrical/car-battery/?444771006&1&06fbc3159c6d1128115ddf016f1d8a1acac380d2&000020

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Fri 9 Nov 2012 18:54

Ford Mondeo 2L Diesel 58 Reg Hatchback - Battery for a Mondeo Diesel - FredInOldham

Thanks very much for all of the advice. There are few things that I'm not clear on and I wonder if you could please advise further.

>> You need to get an conductance test

I wonder if anybody could please advise me where I could get that done. My main concern would be that I would take it somewhere that would just be looking to sell me a battery.

>> The same battery is £69.54 delivered from carparts4less

Thanks. The one from the RAC included installation. Is it something that I could do myself, without a serious risk of death? :)

>> it is important to buy a calcium type battery

OK. Is the battery that I originally linked to a calcium type battery.

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Fri 9 Nov 2012 21:19

Ford Mondeo 2L Diesel 58 Reg Hatchback - Battery for a Mondeo Diesel - Chris M

Fitting a battery is a piece of cake for the RAC man and is certainly not worth paying an extra £40+ for. I'm guessing that you will probably need a 13mm socket and a 10mm spanner. Disconnect the negative terminal (-) first and then the positive (+). There will be a clamp holding the battery in place which will need removing. The battery is fairly heavy, so make sure you have a firm grip when lifting it out - some have a fold away handle on top to make it easier. Fitting is the reversal. Make sure you put the new one in the same way round as the old one. The terminals are slightly different sizes so that it shouldn't be possible to fit incorrectly. Refit the clamp securely - the battery shouldn't move at all when fitted properly. Your local HWRC will take the old battery.

When I purchased a battery from Euro Car Parts earlier this year I queried whether it needed to be calcium. They told me all batteries are now calcium except the very cheapest. Exide and Bosch have been calcium for some time and they now don't bother to say so on the battery.

Do you have the radio code? You will need to re-enter it after changing the battery. Again really straightforward and the procedure is in the handbook.

Edited by Chris M on 09/11/2012 at 21:30

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Sat 10 Nov 2012 06:55

Ford Mondeo 2L Diesel 58 Reg Hatchback - Battery for a Mondeo Diesel - Simon

Change it for a new battery sooner rather than later, otherwise it will fail again as the cold weather returns, almost certainly!

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Sun 11 Nov 2012 13:54

Ford Mondeo 2L Diesel 58 Reg Hatchback - Battery for a Mondeo Diesel - FredInOldham

Change it for a new battery sooner rather than later, otherwise it will fail again as the cold weather returns, almost certainly!

I think I will do that.

I got a low battery warning yesterday morning and took the car for a long run (just over 90 miles). When I checked the battery this morning the voltage was 11.97V.

I understand from the comments above that the voltage itself may not be a good indication, but it feels to me that something is wrong.

I could go and get a conductance test, but I am not sure whether I would trust the results (because the place doing the test will no doubt want to sell me a battery).

I'm also not confident enough to do the change myself, so I'd have to pay someone to fit it. I suppose I could get it done a bit cheaper than the RAC, but maybe not much, so I'm inclined just to use them, and cut out the hassle.

If anybody has any further thoughts or advice, I'd really appreciate hearing it.

Thanks again to all.

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Sun 11 Nov 2012 13:57

Ford Mondeo 2L Diesel 58 Reg Hatchback - Battery for a Mondeo Diesel - FredInOldham

I was

Edited by FredInOldham on 11/11/2012 at 13:58

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