Battery power

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mrwoppit

New Member
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103
Location
Didcot, Oxfordshire
Hi All,

My battery is knackered and won't hold a charge for more than a few days despite me cleaning things up, renewing the water, etc.
I'm thinking of replacing it with a maintenance free one, which strikes me as a lazy but good idea.
So, I've checked the battery that's on there and it's 95Ah/660 cold crank. (Yes, I have the dimensions as well).
The question is, if I leave it as 95Ah, is it worth upping the cold crank value?
Will it help? Will it hurt? Will it make the blindest bit of difference to cold starting?

Thanks in advance.
 
Certainly won't hurt anything apart from your wallet.
It probably will help for winter but if the previous battery (when working) turned the motor in a spritely manner and operated the glow plugs with out complaint then there seems little need to upsize. ( unless it's a good price and you want to)
 
Your battery is just about the most important bit outside of the engine.

If you are going to change it, get the biggest capacity one that you can afford!
 
Apparently the stock battery for the 2.25 diesel is 70Ah, so since my current one is 95Ah that would suggest you can increase both values without too much problem.
Does that sound right?
In which case perhaps I ought to look to get something with enough oomph to awaken a dead elephant :D
Presumably though there comes a point where you'll blow wiring or the starter motor?
 
mrwoppit said:
Apparently the stock battery for the 2.25 diesel is 70Ah, so since my current one is 95Ah that would suggest you can increase both values without too much problem.
Does that sound right?
In which case perhaps I ought to look to get something with enough oomph to awaken a dead elephant :D
Presumably though there comes a point where you'll blow wiring or the starter motor?
Click to expand...

Your starter will only draw what it's capable of so can only damage the wiring if it fails short - unlikely.

Take your dimensions to a 'proper' battery place and see what they have to offer. Don't forget the height and post locations.
 
Last edited:
Thanks all.
Think I might just tow one of these behind...
 

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I've just replaced my battery today. I went for the biggest I could cram in which was a bosch silver hsb019. 100ah / 830 cca.
I have connected the new battery to my trickle charger/ conditioner and it took a good 7 hours to fully recharge it. My advice would therefore charge any new battery upon purchase and don't assume it's fully charged just cos its new.
 
I'm currently looking at replacing the battery in my petrol S3 and whilst I agree with those who say you shouldn't make false economies in this area I'd also say cost is an issue. That Bosch Silver comes in at around £130 - which is almost twice what I'm being quoted at the moment. However I suppose that could be because the battery spec for petrol models is lower than for diesels.

I just checked the manual and the recommended battery capacity for diesels is specified as 95Ah whereas for petrol its 55Ah (although the quotes I'm getting are for 70Ah and 80Ah batteries)

Sounds like your 95Ah battery is as per spec so you're probably safe without going bigger on that figure (sadly the manual doesn't mention cold crank figures)

Incidently, last time I bought a battery (6 years ago) it cost me £52. That came from a local firm of acknowledged landrover experts who over and over again proved themselves with great advice and general all-round helplfulness - sadly they're no longer in business though.
 
joeyb said:
me thinks by right that you need to match the alternator to the battery. At the very least make sure belt(s) are good and not loose.
Click to expand...

alternator and battery only need matching on the volts, so 12volt battery needs a 12volt alternator, you could have a 100amp alternator and a 100ah battery and the alternator will replenish the battery from flat pretty quickly, use a 35amp alternator and all the difference is it will take longer to replenish it as the smaller alternator will be having to put out maximum charge for longer

the possible difference the other way round, big alternator/small capacity battery is the risk of charging it too fast which may cause it to get a little too warm and risk buckling the plates/killing the battery
 
Aber Series fan said:
I'm currently looking at replacing the battery in my petrol S3 and whilst I agree with those who say you shouldn't make false economies in this area I'd also say cost is an issue. That Bosch Silver comes in at around £130 - which is almost twice what I'm being quoted at the moment. However I suppose that could be because the battery spec for petrol models is lower than for diesels.

I just checked the manual and the recommended battery capacity for diesels is specified as 95Ah whereas for petrol its 55Ah (although the quotes I'm getting are for 70Ah and 80Ah batteries)

Sounds like your 95Ah battery is as per spec so you're probably safe without going bigger on that figure (sadly the manual doesn't mention cold crank figures)

Incidently, last time I bought a battery (6 years ago) it cost me £52. That came from a local firm of acknowledged landrover experts who over and over again proved themselves with great advice and general all-round helplfulness - sadly they're no longer in business though.
Click to expand...
dont follow the original quotes for batteries from the book it will genuinley get you no where remember battery technology has come a long way since the 1980s at the earleist and i put the best battery of a name i know of in my land rover and i currently run a bosch silver s5 85ah 800cca and it cost me a tad over 75 quid and its a 5 year warrenty, if you use your land rover for any work lets say offroading greenlaning you will want a good battery as if your anything like us you have winches going aux lighting going switching on and off then your big battery will make sense when you can start up your landy when with a smaller one it would not have
 
Great Info chaps!

Little late to the party here, but I'm guessing that I'm not going to find a 100Ah 12v battery that fits the standard series 2a holder.
At the moment the battery is chocked up on two wood blocks to elevate the battery above the brackets with a strap to secure it.

Are people sacrificing the Ah for a size that fits?

P.s. the measurements for my battery holder are W: 182mm, L: 340mm.
 
I run a 100AH and would recommend that size for the diesels, they need to crank fast on a cold morning to fire, unlike a petrol no amount of slow cranking will work. I have the std holder removed becuase I have other things there, but my battery looks like it would fit it. If you do some searches you wil find batteries only come in a limited range of physical sizes, once you get the code for the holder size you can see what capacities you can get. Obviously a bigger footprint means a bigger max capacity but its not that simple as they can be higher or more densely packed.
 
Cheers Rob,

I had thought about if there might be a newer compact battery that might still be 100Ah with a CCA of about 800-900.
Do you know where I'd find the code for the battery holder? Would it be in a Haynes manual or parts catalogue, do you think?

The current Batteries are 353mm in length compared to the 340mm space I have, so I'm 13mm out.
I'd thought about carefully cutting the plastic moulded edges/lip off to see if that gives me any more clearance.
 
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