not starting - new battery advice

Hi, after my previous post on starting problems i have now got into more trouble. this morning (-10 again) the DHSE would not start. after trying the diesel warmers a few times, the battery was soon flat. during the cranking cycles various messages appeared - start engine, traction failed, etc.
i think now is time to buy a new battery because it didn't really give me many attempts to start before going flat.
anyway my question is: what type/size of battery should i go for? is it worth paying more for a heavy duty type to get more cranking power.
also, i know the EKA code and radio codes but is there any precautions to be made when changing batteries?
Also, i have a set of brand new glow plugs. is it worth while changing these too - will this help with the starting?
thanks
Will

Go for a good quality heavy duty battery designed for diesel engines. The higher the CCA the better. I cant really recommend a brand as I cant remember the one I put in mine when it had a dead battery as I ordered it through a friends haulage company (they get them cheaper than most places).

There arent really any precautions to take when changing the battery except for following standard safety guidelines, i.e. disconnect negative first, reattach negative last.

Changing the battery was painless when I did it and had a dying battery, I just made sure I left the drivers window open so that if the car locked itself upon reconnection of the battery I could still get in. Make sure you dont leave the keys in the vehicle either. Then more recently when I was doing some electrical work inside I disconnected the battery for a good 30 mins and when I reconnected all was ok.

Changing the glow plugs will most definitely help with starting. When mine were dead I was sat there cranking over and over and over until it eventually spluttered into life. Once replaced I could start straight off as soon as the glow light went off.

-Wills

Hi,

I'm not an expert but instinct says buy the heaviest duty battery you can. I have a manual 2.5DT and only get a couple of goes at starting before the battery is too flat.

As for disconnecting the battery just remember you need to turn the ignition on then off, remove the key from the vehicle then disconnect the battery within about 15 seconds otherwise your alarm will go off. If you happen to trigger the alarm you should be able to stop it by reconnecting the battery, putting the key in the ignition and turning the ignition on.

Hope this helps.
Mike

cheers for the advice guys.
the latest update. i went to unipart and got a new battery. when i tried to fit it tonight i found that the positive and negative leads were too short to reach the battery terminal posts! the old battery posts were right in the middle of the battery at each side and the unipart posts were towards the front and countersunk.
anyway, i phoned unipart and they will refund the battery. in the meantime i have managed to jump start the DHSE with my peugeot 306 HDi.
so now i need to find another battery with the right design of posts and as much cranking power as possible
Will

I will have a look at the make and model of my battery tomorrow if you want me to. I think its something like 880cca's though just to give you an idea of whats available. Will find out for you tomorrow.

-Wills

Hi
You can get a oem battery from a franchise for about £85 + the old wear and tear. I have just fitted a 110ah to my car I connected my jump starter to the leads before disconnecting and so didn't lose all the settings.
Regards
Mik

whoops, it could be too late for the settings. i disconnected last night. Is this for the memory seats?

current battery is a Delphi. 12V 110Ah, R.C. 195 min. CCA (-18deg) BCI 800. what ver all that means?

You will Need to reset your windows, radio code and key fobs. Your battery is the oem one and in my opinion the best one to go for.
Regards
Mik

cheers Mik, i think i'm leaning towards the OEM one - no faffing around with rewiring. the Bosch, Varta ones all seem to have posts countersunk at the front of the battery that my leads won't reach.
the key fobs seemed to work ok this morning to open the car. do you mean for the automatic seat settings?

ps Mik, it is warmer in France. Aberdeenshire has been -10 every morning this week. my water pipes are frozen this morning!

I bought a new battery a couple of weeks ago when I was in Leeds the old one gave up. When you disconnect the battery you may lose the window radio and key fob but maybe not all of them. It's only a few mins to reset them all. As wills said make sure the keys aren't in the car and a door or window is open. It's not as cold as that down here but we have had -4 last week.
Regards
Mik