Tired Battery

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sp00k

sp00k

Well-Known Member
Posts
1,530
Location
Washington, County Durham, UK
Can anyone recommend a good starting battery for a 2.5 NA diesel defender. The battery that came with it died today without starting the truck.

It sounded very tired and although able to turn the engine over it did not seem brisk enough to get it going.

It looks really small and not up to the job. What sort of CCA should I be looking for? I want one that fits in the battery box without issues so I'm interested to know what others are running.

Cheers.
 
they are in general, but if they can start a marine engine, theyre good enough for cars etc too.
main difference is leisures are quite often sealed (so no acid leakage in boats) and have thicker plates to withstand deeper discharges than car batteries.
as long as it gives you the CCA and says starting its all good.
 
Something in the back of my mind makes me think that some leisure batteries lack the 'peak amperage' needed to turn some of our heavy lumps - could be wrong

Think i read somewhere about leisure batteries being better suited to moderate drain over an extended period rather than a sudden 'surge' of power demanded by say a starter motor


Edit: Link attached

http://leisurebatteries.net/
 
Last edited:
Yeh I am running two of these in a split charge.

1000CCA is more than enough to crank a defender engine!
 
I was thinking that I’ve been stopping and starting the truck quite a bit lately without taking it for a proper run, so I suppose that’s not going to take it’s toll on the battery and it was very cold this morning. Think I’ll insulate the battery box as a priority. The battery probably is too small but there will be life in it yet if I look after it.

When I got home tonight, I tried and the truck started without any issues. I’m thinking the fault lies more with the driver and starting procedure. I’ll start a new thread on the starting procedure.

Thanks all, and I know which battery to get when I’m feeling flush.
 
timtheenchanteruk said:
they are in general, but if they can start a marine engine, theyre good enough for cars etc too.
main difference is leisures are quite often sealed (so no acid leakage in boats) and have thicker plates to withstand deeper discharges than car batteries.
as long as it gives you the CCA and says starting its all good.
Click to expand...



Learn something new every day. That's the power of LZ.
 
timtheenchanteruk said:
they are in general, but if they can start a marine engine, theyre good enough for cars etc too.
main difference is leisures are quite often sealed (so no acid leakage in boats) and have thicker plates to withstand deeper discharges than car batteries.
as long as it gives you the CCA and says starting its all good.
Click to expand...
thats a coincedance, i was going to ask about a numax leisure battery. i have one that was bought along with an electric trolling motor for my lake boat. i was told it was for use for long periods. i wondered if it would be alright for the landy?
 
A decent 'leisure' battery should be all right.

Notice the word 'decent'. The internal structure of a 'leisure' battery is designed for a long, steady, deep discharge followed by a fairly lengthy recharge. A lot of the cheaper ones on the market will only do this. To start an engine you want a short, high discharge and then you want it recharged fairly quickly ready for use again as soon as possible. If you try to charge a cheap leisure battery too quickly you get hydrogen produced inside the battery and you can end up with a pregnant battery. You'll recognise what I mean if you ever see one.

Some of the better battery manufacturers have produced batteries that will handle both.
 
sp00k said:
I was thinking that I’ve been stopping and starting the truck quite a bit lately without taking it for a proper run, so I suppose that’s not going to take it’s toll on the battery and it was very cold this morning. Think I’ll insulate the battery box as a priority. The battery probably is too small but there will be life in it yet if I look after it.

When I got home tonight, I tried and the truck started without any issues. I’m thinking the fault lies more with the driver and starting procedure. I’ll start a new thread on the starting procedure.

Thanks all, and I know which battery to get when I’m feeling flush.
Click to expand...


check your earths
 
chris07 said:
check your earths
Click to expand...

Added to my huge list!

I killed the battery yesterday trying in vein to start it without success. I recharged the battery overnight and tried again today. I was unable to start again but the battery fairer better as it had a good charge overnight.

On examination, the fuel return for injector 3 was a bit damp and the fuel return for injector 4 was actually dripping. I replaced the 4 washers for the two injectors and was then able to start without any dramas.

I let the engine run for 10 mins to warm up and then shutoff as I needed to check the coolant level (I had to drain about a liter so that I could remove the heater pipes for better access to the injectors).

I then restarted and went for a half hour drive and rechecked the fuel leak offs. Injector 4 fuel return was leaking again so I nipped it up a bit (it was quite slack). I'll keep an eye on this over the next few days. If this was the main problem, I should be able to start in the morning ok.

I've got my first day of offroad driving booked in for next weekend, so I'm hoping this is the crux of the problem and that the end is in sight otherwise I'm going to have to postpone until I can get this sorted.

Thanks for all the pointers guys.
 
If you are going for marine batteries, don't go for the 'leisure' type, as they tend to be used for the radio, GPS and small discharge stuff. The recommended type would be the 'deep cycle' as they keep on cranking at the same rate until there's nothing left!

Have you thought about using a boost/pump/lamp gizmo that are around for about 25 quid, B&Q in Sunderland had 'em in recently, and they do work as long as you remember to keep 'em charged up!
 
Oldseadog said:
Have you thought about using a boost/pump/lamp gizmo that are around for about 25 quid, B&Q in Sunderland had 'em in recently, and they do work as long as you remember to keep 'em charged up!
Click to expand...

I was looking at one of those in Makro yesterday. £30 + VAT. There's a B&Q about 2 mins up the road from me also, so I'll look there. I need a tire pump but I'm not sure if one of these combined things will be up to the job. Think the wife will be kicking me out of if I spent any more money.

On a slightly different subject, I'm fairly sure that I need to adjust the valve clearances. There is a definite and distinct phut, phut sound at idle.

If I remove the rocker cover, do I need to replace the gasket or can I use a gasket sealant. If using a gasket sealant, do you leave the old gasket on?

Am I right in thinking I can hand crank the engine using a socket on the bottom pulley, turning clockwise and that as long as the ignition is switched off, there is no chance of starting the engine?
 
I replaced mine with a cork gasket, and never use any sealant, just a smear of clean oil all round. Make sure that you get all traces off if anyone has used sealant on the faces.

Yes you can hand crank it round with a socket on the crank pulley bolt, you might be as well to disconnect the battery to eliminate any chance of a fire-up ... even though it should not happen!
 
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