Well it looks as though the battery has given up in my poor little 500 and it won't start at all. Any recommendations with regard to where to buy a replacement stop start battery from and the price I should expect to pay? Thank you in advance

Landofla500 said:

Well it looks as though the battery has given up in my poor little 500 and it won't start at all. Any recommendations with regard to where to buy a replacement stop start battery from and the price I should expect to pay? Thank you in advance

Click to expand...

Suppliers & deals are constantly changing so it's probably best to do an online search. Prices seem to have hardened a little recently so expect to pay £100 or so.

Don't trust the factor's online registration checkers - a lot of them will suggest a non-S/S battery at about half that price, which won't be suitable.

Thank you jrkitching

Cheapest I have found is £149 from Halfords...

You are right that most websites are telling me to buy a non S/S one for around fifty quid. Even The AA offered me a non S/S.

Landofla500 said:

Thank you jrkitching

Cheapest I have found is £149 from Halfords...

You are right that most websites are telling me to buy a non S/S one for around fifty quid. Even The AA offered me a non S/S.

Click to expand...

Check out somewhere like carparts4less or eurocarparts they often have discount codes running too for that extra bit of saving.

Don't get ripped off by halfords

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/p/c...attery/027-car-batteries/?444779051&0&cc5_997

Use discount code "DISCOUNT15" to get 15% off of this. Will be about £85

http://www.carparts4less.co.uk/cp4l...27986c4ba4506d61f109975fb2ae5c8eeab468&000020

Use discount code "CP10LESS" to get £10 off. Making it about £80

You will likely have a eurocarparts shop nearby so if you need the battery ASAP reserve online with the discount code and it will be a bit more expensive than carparts4less.

If you can wait you can get it cheaper on carparts4less!

google this battery..

Exide EL600 096 ECM Battery

It came up a while ago, check the details, it is suitable for the Fiat 500

You could also RING the batterymegastore.com they're cheap I've found ,and have free next day delivery

Thanks for all the replies! Good discount codes to know.

So would people advise against taking it back to the Fiat dealership for them to diagnose the problem? I also wouldn't be able to fit a battery myself...

Landofla500 said:

Thanks for all the replies! Good discount codes to know.

So would people advise against taking it back to the Fiat dealership for them to diagnose the problem? I also wouldn't be able to fit a battery myself...

Click to expand...

All you need is a 10mm spanner it's incredibly simple. FIAT will rinse you, although if you let car has warranty still it's probably worth a try!

Believe me you would be able to replace it hands might get a bit dirty, there may even be a YouTube tutorial

I've had three of the ones from Carparts4less at just over £80, next day free delivery and a good quality Exide or similar battery. Much, much cheaper than anywhere else I've seen and with the free delivery, doesn't bet much better.

John202020 said:

Believe me you would be able to replace it hands might get a bit dirty, there may even be a YouTube tutorial

Click to expand...

the technical side isn't complicated,

but the physical effort of lifting @30 kg "safely" ( twice) could be too much.

it's probably above HSE guidelines.

varesecrazy said:

the technical side isn't complicated,

but the physical effort of lifting @30 kg "safely" ( twice) could be too much.

it's probably above HSE guidelines.

Click to expand...

HSE Guidelines, it's probably a 3 man lift

Must admit though I know why the 096 batteries have two handles. Lifting that into the rear of a BMW X5 is not the nicest battery fitment job in the world!

The stop/start on my 3 week old 500 no longer appears to work.

If I now stop and release the clutch it continues to keep running and doesn't display any error codes or fault lights.

Any clues before it goes back to be checked by the dealer?

Maggie, the stop/start system on any modern car is very "fussy". It won't stop the engine until it's fully warmed up, which usually takes at least 10 minute's driving. It will not stop the engine if the battery is not fully charged, which will happen after a lot of short runs. Also, on turbocharged cars, the engine won't stop shortly after working hard, for instance a long slog uphill. This is to keep oil circulating through the turbo bearings.
However, if your drive is none of the above, there may be a problem that needs investigating.

Thanks, will check it again in the morning.

My drive is 15 miles each way and normally I would see the start/stop activated around 3 or 4 times on each leg dependant on traffic.

Maggie said:

Thanks, will check it again in the morning.

My drive is 15 miles each way and normally I would see the start/stop activated around 3 or 4 times on each leg dependant on traffic.

Click to expand...

I can understand your frustration to be honest seeing as it is a new car.

I would be inclined to suggest it may be down to the length of journey as effectively your car is being restarted every 4 to 5 miles, but mainly I am wondering exactly what sort of condition the battery was in when it went through the dealer's PDI and then when you picked it up. I don't think it takes an awful lot for the battery to fall either side of the S/S activation thresholds.

I would give it a couple more weeks, if it still isn't working then maybe you will have to go back to the dealer and get them to investigate as it is such a new car.

Ultimately I guess it depends how much it bothers you and whether you want it to work properly or not. Me personally, I couldn't give a toss about it, and my Punto's S/S hasn't worked for the best part of 2 years! But I do appreciate the flip side of paying a lot of money for a new car and wanting it all to work properly.

Might be worth mentioning it to the dealer this early on just so they are aware of it even if they don't want you to bring it in immediately. At least they'll have a note of it.

Mention it, and also note who and when you spoke to, so that you may refer back to it in say a years time? stick it in the booklet in the car

John202020 said:

Mention it, and also note who and when you spoke to, so that you may refer back to it in say a years time? stick it in the booklet in the car

Click to expand...

yep, I got a new battery under warranty over 2 years after I bought the car, I had mentioned the SS issues early on for the record