How to change the battery without tripping the alarm??

[Russianrover]

Hey everyone!

I have a 1998 P38 with a totally dead battery. I need to change it, how do I do that without tripping the alarm??

If I have an alarm problem I am in deep trouble because I have no working key fobs and no working central locking (so even if I did know the EKA I'm in trouble!)

Speaking of which, if I got the central locking fixed, how do I find the EKA when I don't know the original dealer?

Thanks!

 

[wammers]

Only way is to change it and see what you get.

 

[Dopey]

you have 20 seconds to swap it before the alarm sets anyway... so if you have some life in your other battery it will be ok, if it duz go tits up, its gona cost you a lot!!

 

[sas1810]

the EKA code can be got from any dealer. doesnt matter where it was bought.

you'l need V5, and both parts of driving licence. pop in, ask them nicely, and they'll give it you. and if they are really nice, they'll give you the original radio code as well.

 

[Datatek]

If the battery is totaly flat, it makes little difference what you do. Stick the new battery on and see what happens, never had a problem with either of mine. You really need to have 2 working FOB's for security on the P38.

 

[StuckAgainSteve]

Take a live off the +v lead and connect another battery to it in parallel connecting the neutral to any convenient earth point, obviously you have to be careful not to short the live cable or the spanner when loosening/tightening it as it will still be live. The car won't then "know" the battery has been swapped as there will be continuous power.

 

[Datatek]

Take a live off the +v lead and connect another battery to it in parallel connecting the neutral to any convenient earth point, obviously you have to be careful not to short the live cable or the spanner when loosening/tightening it as it will still be live. The car won't then "know" the battery has been swapped as there will be continuous power.

If the current battery is totaly flat, that is pointless, whatever is going to happen will happen as the ECU's have zero volts, also it will go some way towards flattening the replacement battery.

 

[wil2813]

just change it

 

[kevwill]

You have 17 seconds to disconnect old battery. After fitting new battery turn ignition to position 1 then off again. After which you should be able to start without problem. Good luck.

 

[sas1810]

You have 17 seconds to disconnect old battery. After fitting new battery turn ignition to position 1 then off again. After which you should be able to start without problem. Good luck.

his battery is already dead. obviously no power in it at all. so timing wont make any difference. the alarm will still probably go off.

 

[wammers]

You have 17 seconds to disconnect old battery. After fitting new battery turn ignition to position 1 then off again. After which you should be able to start without problem. Good luck.

Yeah but only if it's got anything in it. Turn ignition on and off then disconnect negative lead within 17 seconds. That is to keep vehicles going to an alarmed state. Also so cars fitted with BBUS sounders don't deafen you. If battery is totally dead you can't really trigger anything by taking it off. It's when you connect the new fully charged one the fun could start.

 

[Russianrover]

Yep the battery is totally dead so I guess I will just hook up the new one when I get it and see what happens!

I'm crossing all my fingers and toes!

Thanks everyone!

PS Not so easy to pop into a dealer here in Russia and ask for the EKA Code but I might have to give it a try!

 

[Bix]

When I pulled the battery off my 38 last winter to put it on charge over night I had no problems other than having to reset one touch.