Afternoon all,

Like many people i'm sure, with all this flooding and freezing weather, my battery has given up and my Boost Solenoid has drowned.

I'm sick and tired of little electrical faults caused by a poor battery, so I think it's time for me to get drastic.

I'm sure there is enough room in my engine bay (1.9 8v) to "re-construct" the battery box and fit a much bigger battery.

Now I'm not very clued up on car battery's, so I need some help!
Obviously, it'll be 12v. But how many AH and CCA? 80AH and 700A i've seen on the forums before.

Now if I go bigger than this, will there be any problems for the alternator to keep it topped up?
My intentions are to measure up the potential space and then nip to Halfords or other and see what size battery I can get/what car it fits and go from there.
Some sort of diesel VW Toureg battery maybe?

No experience of those, but I'd get the battery drop tested (many places will do it for free) and test the alternator output (multimeter set to 20v between the battery terminals:

1. engine off
2. engine running, no extra electrical load
3. engine running, all electrics you can find on.

Generally, given the battery passes the drop test, the fault will be with the alternator or, if that's OK (post results) with the connections (earth connections are the likeliest candidates).

A bigger battery (fully charged) will give you more reserve (especially on cold starts) but will take longer to charge up.

mikeday1991 said:

I'm sure there is enough room in my engine bay (1.9 8v) to "re-construct" the battery box and fit a much bigger battery.

Click to expand...

Biggest battery that will fit in the Stilo battery box is a type 096. There may be a plastic spacer in the bottom of the battery box that will need to be removed to fit the bigger battery.

Type 096 is what many people on here have fitted without enlarging the battery box.
.

Cheers guys.

I'm confident the battery I have now is beyond it.

I suppose my question is moreso about the alternators capabilities. If i drop in a fully charged large battery (larger than recommended), and start the car, will the alternator be able to charge it back to fully charged? Is there any limits to the amount of electricity an alternator can put back in the battery?

Also, some suggestions for a large, high capacity battery that won't cost the earth? I need to have a look at whats fitted to the Ducato etc.

I posted some pics of a 096 battery into tray etc here
https://www.fiatforum.com/stilo/305074-battery-quick-question.html
I think around £70-80 was price back then

mikeday1991 said:

I suppose my question is moreso about the alternators capabilities. If i drop in a fully charged large battery (larger than recommended), and start the car, will the alternator be able to charge it back to fully charged? Is there any limits to the amount of electricity an alternator can put back in the battery?

Click to expand...

It'll be finnne. I've had a 096 for 5 years in a 1.2; no problems since changing and neither the alternator or battery has died. No more problems in the winter.

Just fit an 096 but a decent make. I've had good results with Yuasa, Bosch despite the name, can be a bit iffy.

I have done exactly what you said in your first post about rebuilding the battery box bigger in order to fit a "Yuasa 335 Professional" battery - 95Ah 700CCA 303mm long x 174mm wide x 222mm tall to the top of the terminals.

It did just fit in the box as standard, but it was a tight fit and one of the corners of the box split.

It wasn't a mammoth task, but it did take a fair bit of time fibreglassing the plastic box bigger and I opted to enlarge the metal battery tray to fit the larger box so if you went the same way you would need to do some metal working and welding & fibreglassing.

mikeday1991 said:

Afternoon all ... I'm sure there is enough room in my engine bay (1.9 8v) to "re-construct" the battery box and fit a much bigger battery ...

Click to expand...

Question the bloke in your shaving mirror about the wisdom of hacking a car about to fit a battery with big dimensions.

An 096 battery is a bog standard battery suitable for a bog standard Stilo.
Do you have a bog standard Stilo?
An 096T battery will be more suitable for a Stilo with more electrickery demands.
The 096AGM battery is the `ultimate’ - but should cover you for Transceiver,Transponder, Traffic Collision Avoidance System, Sidewinder/Skyflash/Brimstone/Storm Shadow missiles, 20mm cannon, Striker helmet, Martin-Baker Mk16A ejection seats, Oxygen system, Brake chute, Dinghy inflation, etc etc.
Thing is, the dimensions are the same - it’s the quality that gets bigger (& the price).

Is chopping the battery enclosure about worthwhile against just replacing with a 096T?
ADAC (the German AA) do annual testing of batterys – google adac.de + batterie + test.

041049Z

Stilo Nutter said:

I have done exactly what you said in your first post about rebuilding the battery box bigger in order to fit a "Yuasa 335 Professional" battery - 95Ah 700CCA 303mm long x 174mm wide x 222mm tall to the top of the terminals.

It did just fit in the box as standard, but it was a tight fit and one of the corners of the box split.

It wasn't a mammoth task, but it did take a fair bit of time fibreglassing the plastic box bigger and I opted to enlarge the metal battery tray to fit the larger box so if you went the same way you would need to do some metal working and welding & fibreglassing.

Click to expand...

Right everyone, I have gone down this route and fitted a battery of 95AH and 830CCA.
I plugged the battery in, pre-heated no problem but when I turned the key to starter - Nothing.
Put the old battery that I had in there (430CCA!!!) and that did nothing.
Is there any fuses I could have blown? I am praying its something simple.

I have tried it a few times, still nothing.
Would MES show if the starter was nackered?

Thanks guys... :worship:

Just checked fuse FO3, seems to be ok...!

I suspect this is a problem with wiring being pulled around when fitting the battery!

If anyone has any lightbulb ideas, please let me know, but so far my check list looks like:

1)Check all earth cables
2)Check wiring going to the starter
3)Check Starter over, give the old fashioned Egyptian screw driver treatment
4)Short the terminals on the Solenoid to force the starter into life
5)Remove starter, strip, clean and refit
6)Replace starter

Hopefully I will stop before i get to number 4! But other than than, could it be anything else?

As i said, the car has power, the ignition comes on, glow plugs heat up, just nothing when I try and engage the starter - not even a click!

Thanks!