fitting new battery on L322 - what to do?

Going to fit a new battery to my TD6 as the old one has sadly passed away, is it easy to access and change, and more importantly are there any codes i need to get before i change it, eg stereo, keyfob etc?

Thanks in advance

Hi mate,

Really easy to change, first you need to put the bonnet in its service mode, by unclipping the gas struts from the wings then raising the bonnet to 90 degrees vertical and locking it in position by sliding the locking plate over the pin on the bonnets hinge.

Next disconnet the the negivate battery cable from the bulk head terminal, then you have to wait 15-20 minutes for the airbag system to discharge (the system has capicators that are still charged when the battery is disconnected and takes around 20 minutes to fully discharge these) the reason for the wait is on the positive battery terminal there is an explosive charge that cuts the positive battery wire if the car is in a crash.

Once you have waited disconnect the yellow explosive wire (dont worry it is safe now) then remove the possitive battery cable from the battery.

Once you have removed the cables, there are two long bolts that hold the battery in place, remove these and their plates then carefully lift the battery out (you may need a second person to help you lift it out, i lowered the air supension into access mode before i disconnected the battery to make it a bit easier)

Once you have put the new battery in and bolted it back down, its just a case of reversing the procedure, connect the possitive battery cable, connect the yellow explosive wire then connect the negative battery lead.

Good Luck!

Matt

Cheers Matt you're a star!!

Do i need to note any codes for stereo or anything down before i disconnect it? And what about the alarm, will it go mad because it thinks its being stolen?

Thanks again

connect a jumper pack across the battery terms to keep the electronics alive whilst changing the battery - or take it to Halfrauds - for a fiver, it has to be worth it. Its their risk then .

no the alarm wont go off when the battery is disconnected, as you will have disarmed the system when you first unlock the car, if you havent set the security code on the screen on the centre console then there are no codes to know either, its a really simple job to do. The only thing you will have to do once you have put the new battery in is turn the steering wheel from full lock left to full lock right this resets the steering angle sensor. If you do take it to halfords, make sure they let the airbag system capacitors drain before they disconnect the battery. It is possible to connect a jumper pack accross the jump posts but this is not needed if you follow my instructions.

Matt

Cheers guys

Matt, i have to manually unlock the car as battery is so flat, even central locking/disarm button on keyfob doesnt work .. when i done this few days ago, i tried to turn her over once, nothing. so i gave up, locked her up manually with the key and walked off, then the alarm began screaming at me?

mattstevenson2005 said:

If you do take it to halfords, make sure they let the airbag system capacitors drain before they disconnect the battery.Matt

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Shirley the purpose of using a jumper pack is so that the battery is never "disconnected"?

So if i connect a jumper pack i dont need to leave it 20 minutes for the airbag to de-pressurise? Just got email confirming battery comes tomorrow!

mrblonde said:

So if i connect a jumper pack i dont need to leave it 20 minutes for the airbag to de-pressurise? Just got email confirming battery comes tomorrow!

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Your not letting the air bag from the air suspension depressurise, it's the power capacitors for the crash airbag system you letting drain by waiting the 20 minutes as these still hold a charge even when you disconnect the battery, when ever you work on the SRS (suplimentry restraint system, which for future reference is any yellow connector in the car) you have to wait until the capacitors have drained before starting work. Just so you know you should never disconnect the positive battery lead which has the explosive device on while the system is still powered, there could be a very small chance that the system detects the disruption and fires the explosive cutting the wire and causing personal harm. This is a very small chance but it's a chance all the same and for a saving of 20 minutes you have to ask yourself is it worth the risk? With regards to the alarm, if you open the car with the key it will set the alarm off, but if you put the key in the ignition and turn it to position 2 it should deactivate the alarm and stop the sounder. Forgot the mention, before you start the process of disconnecting the old battery pull fuses 8 and 49 from the glove box fuse panel, this will stop any power surges to the sat nav computer and audio equipment, reconnecting the battery with the fuses still in have been known to cause damage to this equipment.

Good Luck and let me know how you go on.

Matt

Just disconnect the battery and take it out,fit the new one and do the steering from lock to lock on start up.Putting the bonnet into service position makes good sense as the battery is heavy.

eightinavee said:

Just disconnect the battery and take it out,fit the new one and do the steering from lock to lock on start up.Putting the bonnet into service position makes good sense as the battery is heavy.

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You should always wait for the SRS system to drain first.

mattstevenson2005 said:

You should always wait for the SRS system to drain first.

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Since these cars made it into used car lots,I've seen stupid car salesmen do allsorts to these cars with battery packs/jump leads etc,the truth is the SRS system is not going to go off with a battery disconnect.The instructions are over protective,watch any tech trying to sort a battery drain issue on an L322,(Far from uncommon.) and you will see fuses being pulled and the battery being disconnected/reconnected at will.Unlike P38's which lock doors and set the BECM into keycode lockout,you can do it with no side effects at all.Even the radio etc will work straight away.

eightinavee said:

Since these cars made it into used car lots,I've seen stupid car salesmen do allsorts to these cars with battery packs/jump leads etc,the truth is the SRS system is not going to go off with a battery disconnect.The instructions are over protective,watch any tech trying to sort a battery drain issue on an L322,(Far from uncommon.) and you will see fuses being pulled and the battery being disconnected/reconnected at will.Unlike P38's which lock doors and set the BECM into keycode lockout,you can do it with no side effects at all.Even the radio etc will work straight away.

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You are right it is possible to disconnect/reconnect the battery and pull fuses at will, trust me i know! i have done it myself many times searching for my battery drain issue but you sould only do the disconnect/reconnect the battery on the negative cable, you sould not do this on the possitive cable, the negative lead doesn't have any SRS system attached to it.

Matt

Thanks again guys. At present my baby is dead as a doornail, so im guessing unlock manually, open bonnet to sevice mode, then pull fuses 8 and 49, then disconnet the negative battery terminal.

do i need to wait 20 minutes then guys? seems to be bit of conflict of opinions here?

Then disconnet the yellow wire (is it fixed to the pos terminal im guessing?), then disconnet the positive wire and lift out battery.

Then refit the new one, connect the positive terminal, then the yellow explosive one (sounds scary - what terminal is this connected to?)

Then connect the negative to the neg terminal, then refit the 2 fuses

Am i right?

Electrically, it doesn't make any difference where you break the circuit. The standard procedure of disconnecting the -ve first for disconnecting batteries is for safety reasons. If you leave the -ve connected and disconnect the +ve, there is a chance that the spanner used on the +ve terminal could come into contact with a metal part of the body (which is -ve) and cause a short circuit. If the -ve is disconnected first, it takes away this possibility,
Similarly, when connecting jump leads, it's recommended you always connect the +ve first and then the -ve to an exposed metal part of the engine. This is so that, if there is a spark when trying to get a jump lead croc clip on, it's away from the battery and so lessens the chance of igniting any fumes.
These procedures were written donkeys years ago when all batteries were refillable. It's doubtful whether it really applies with todays sealed units. But better safe than sorry I suppose.

The yellow SRS cable is on the positive lead only

If only I had read this thread a few days before a took my Range Rover to the dealership for replacing the battery... I could have avoided a hefty charge for the job.

By the way, I took it to KwikFit first where the guys refused to replace the battery claiming that it is a very complex task because of the vehicles complicated electronic system. This was a suprise to me as KwikFit advertises that it can service Range Rovers.
After this incident I am not sure if I would trust them with the oil exchange, either.
Mind you, I went there 4.30 p.m. on Saturday so it is possible that they just could not be bothered to do the job shortly before they were to close for the day.
C

CMarodi said:

If only I had read this thread a few days before a took my Range Rover to the dealership for replacing the battery... I could have avoided a hefty charge for the job.

By the way, I took it to KwikFit first where the guys refused to replace the battery claiming that it is a very complex task because of the vehicles complicated electronic system. This was a suprise to me as KwikFit advertises that it can service Range Rovers.
After this incident I am not sure if I would trust them with the oil exchange, either.
Mind you, I went there 4.30 p.m. on Saturday so it is possible that they just could not be bothered to do the job shortly before they were to close for the day.
C

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Simple job with the right know how

Without can be expensive especially with the sat nav system ! Lol

CMarodi said:

If only I had read this thread a few days before a took my Range Rover to the dealership for replacing the battery... I could have avoided a hefty charge for the job.

By the way, I took it to KwikFit first where the guys refused to replace the battery claiming that it is a very complex task because of the vehicles complicated electronic system. This was a suprise to me as KwikFit advertises that it can service Range Rovers.
After this incident I am not sure if I would trust them with the oil exchange, either.
Mind you, I went there 4.30 p.m. on Saturday so it is possible that they just could not be bothered to do the job shortly before they were to close for the day.
C

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Personally I would not trust them to service a wheelbarrow. They did do my A/C regas but as it didn't work after, no charge. It turned out to be the plug on the twin pressure switch, bad contact. They wouldn't even look for the problem, thank God, took me all of 5 mins to sort it.

tomcat59alan said:

Personally I would not trust them to service a wheelbarrow..

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They are quite good with wheelbarrows
But never take yer rangie to kwik fit.