I need to replace the battery on my wife's Fiat 500 2012 1.2 POP. The battery is the Start-Stop type.

Poor customer service at my local main dealer this morning and a quote for a whopping £143 plus £37 to fit sent me scouring the internet to see if I could find it cheaper and do it myself.

the original Exide battery appears to no longer exist but I think I have sussed that an Exide EFB EL600 is a correct match (please shout if you disagree!) and I can get one for under £100.

I've just seen a guy change one on youtube and it seems that even a ham fisted bloke like me can do it.

My question is, will the electronics on the car be upset by disconnecting the old battery and replacing with new? I have memories of old car radios being upset and codes needing to be entered. My wife has also been told by the main dealer that there is some resetting that only they can do relating to the Stop-Start mechanism - can this be true?

Thanks for any information.

regards,

Chris

Hi,
I already did that job by myself.

Just disconnect and reconnect the new battery.

That’s all. No problem appeared after.

Just by Start & Stop, EFB technology battery.

I suggest the German manufacturer MOLL, since it performed much better than the EXCIDE battery originally installed when bought the car from new.

Sololite said:

My question is, will the electronics on the car be upset by disconnecting the old battery and replacing with new? I have memories of old car radios being upset and codes needing to be entered. My wife has also been told by the main dealer that there is some resetting that only they can do relating to the Stop-Start mechanism - can this be true?

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Not any more; the radio code is stored in the body computer so the radio will work just fine if you disconnect and reconnect the battery. You only need to enter the radio code if you are transferring the radio to a different car.

The S/S system should automatically reset, but it may take a few journeys to relearn the parameters.

All you should need to do is reset the clock.

Sololite said:

I need to replace the battery on my wife's Fiat 500 2012 1.2 POP. The battery is the Start-Stop type.

Poor customer service at my local main dealer this morning and a quote for a whopping £143 plus £37 to fit sent me scouring the internet to see if I could find it cheaper and do it myself.

the original Exide battery appears to no longer exist but I think I have sussed that an Exide EFB EL600 is a correct match (please shout if you disagree!) and I can get one for under £100.

Chris

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This one is £90 after discount; https://www.carparts4less.co.uk/cp4...2426d3271ccabe5a3a97db8b69520969a48708&000020
If you can get the Exide one for less than £100 its very cheap so double check the spec £136 was the price I got for it
This looks the right one too? only £75 delivered but check; https://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/car-batteries/agm-car-batteries/hankook-se56010.html
Also this one, not the cheapest but I've had this make in my car and its very good(non ss) https://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/car-batteries/agm-car-batteries/varta-d52.html

It might be worth pointing out, not all batteries that get listed for stop start equipped cars are the same.

They are usually one of two types.
EFB = Enhanced Flood Battery.
These are similar to what we know as normal lead acid batteries, only enhanced a bit.

They have the liquid acid and normal plates separated by polymers and carbon, but usually have a couple of more plates in them, which gives them a certain improvement over normal lead acid types.

Good quality EFB's tend to perform around 20% better in deep cycle drain tests than a normal lead acid, so tend to perform better when they have less charge than normal lead acid.

They tend to be cheaper (than the other type) and have lead to manufacturers offering stop start with less costs, but they tend to need the same sort of recharge conditions as normal lead acid, which makes them not as reliable.

AGM = Absorbed Glass Mat Battery.
They use, as the name suggests, glass matting to absorb the acid, so they are completely spill and maintenance free (no topping up).

They perform twice as well again than EFB in deep cycle drain tests as they have a very low internal resistance, so perform really well with less charge, they also tend to charge around 4 or 5 times faster then lead acid.

They can take repeated drains and recharges much better and perform much better with less charge stored in them, thus better suited to stop start conditions.
They perform better at lower temps and have low levels of self discharge than any other type of battery, though they don't like really high temps, so if you live in the desert, give them a miss.

Added bonuses are they resist the build up of sulfur building up on the plates, so can be stored longer without any use/changing, they also a bit lighter.

AGM's tend to be fitted to higher end cars as they have tended cost a bit more, but these days their price has dropped a bit (as well as suppliers fudging the differences and flogging EFB's at AGM prices) so there's often only £20 or £30 in it these days.

They also tend to come with a full 5 year warranty when EFB's tend to come with 2 or 3 years.

Ive just bought a battery for my diesel 500
I bought the biggest that would fit in its holding frame with the most cold cranking amps ( so I bought a Varta (610 CCA) 027 ...5 year warranty battery off eBay £80 delivered from Tanya batteries ? ? Over kill I know but I usually take my cars upto 200000 miles before buying a another one

The last one I listed Varta is the one I would get and is the AGM type

Please note:
Battery manufacturers don’t recommend using AGM batteries inside engine compartment since they are not designed for use in hot environment (>50C)...

larslarsen said:

Please note:
Battery manufacturers don’t recommend using AGM batteries inside engine compartment since they are not designed for use in hot environment (>50C)...

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I have to admit, the only AGM battery I ever installed, was in a 2003 MX5 where the battery is located in the boot. Lots of Jags, BMW's, Mercs, the battery is located in the boot, so AGM's are fine there.

Thanks for all your advice guys. I must be getting old, replacing a car battery was so simple back in my day, now I need a degree. No wonder main dealers charge so much to fit one.

I've gone for an Excide from Tanya in the end at £96 delivered and will stick it in when it turns up in a day or two.

Have a great weekend!

On a side note if you are having battery problems, I just bought one of these having watched a mechanic in my local garage start my flat Volvo XC70 (with a frankly gigantic battery.) Not much bigger than a portable power pack you might have for a tablet etc (which this thing also charges!)but he attached the leads to the terminals and the car started immediately.

Not only that but when the car is running you can charge the thing back up from the lighter socket. Better than carrying jump leads.

DBPOWER 1200A Portable Car Jump Starter, Car Battery Booster & Charger Pack - Power Bank Portable Charger with QC3.0 Output and LED Flashlight - Super Lightweight & Ultra Compact - Ultimate Safety Protection (Black/Blue): Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

larslarsen said:

Please note:
Battery manufacturers don’t recommend using AGM batteries inside engine compartment since they are not designed for use in hot environment (>50C)...

Click to expand...

No sealed battery should be used in hot environments due to gases within expanding.
AGM's actually utilise the gas pressure inside to work better, early versions were sealed and as written, fitted in boots where temps were more even.

Modern AGM's now have special flushing cell tops and one way venting systems to allow a certain pressure but allow excess gas to escape. (yet not suck in moisture and ruin the cells)

All batteries have working limits, none like too much cold or heat.
AGM's do perform better in the cold than normal flooded and enhanced.

None like to work in really high heat for extended periods.
(anyone that watched Edd China fix a XJC will know they had a fan fitted to the battery box to cool the battery, that was well before AGM's became available)

Due to modern AGM's venting systems, they are a little more prone to constant high heat conditions as they would have trouble regulating the internal gas pressure, but as they'll heat and cool, heat and cool under most bonnets, it's not thought to be a problem.

ronmanager said:

On a side note if you are having battery problems, I just bought one of these having watched a mechanic in my local garage start my flat Volvo XC70 (with a frankly gigantic battery.) Not much bigger than a portable power pack you might have for a tablet etc (which this thing also charges!)but he attached the leads to the terminals and the car started immediately.

Not only that but when the car is running you can charge the thing back up from the lighter socket. Better than carrying jump leads.

DBPOWER 1200A Portable Car Jump Starter, Car Battery Booster & Charger Pack - Power Bank Portable Charger with QC3.0 Output and LED Flashlight - Super Lightweight & Ultra Compact - Ultimate Safety Protection (Black/Blue): Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

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"Could" be useful but generally should not be required, the problem is people go out in the morning and the car starts? not a problem, but they fail to notice, yes it starts, but it cranks slowly, often in summer, come winter and one cold morning they're stranded, if they thought, "oh that's a bit slow/cranking" I should replace the battery now before it gets cold, then they'd never need a jump starter?
I've always applied the principle of replace the battery at the first hint of poor performance, and as a result never had a problem, and I often leave the side lights on when parked in poorly lit areas(supermarket say) to make it easier to identify.

Sure and it's always winter when there's more strain on the electrics. In my case I took the battery out and charged it properly but once a 11yr old battery has run flat it could be on borrowed time. £200 for a good new one so this device is a safety net.

It takes up less space than jump leads in the back and arrrived 100% charged too.

ronmanager said:

11yr old battery has run flat it could be on borrowed time

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I think 6.5 years is the max I've had from a battery !

Great service from Tanya. Battery arrived the next day (on a Saturday too). As a precaution I used jump leads from another car to keep everything hooked up while I replaced the battery.

Everything appears to be working so far.

The original battery lasted 4 years but to be fair the stop-start thing hadn't been working for a year.

thanks for all the help you provided!

regards,

Chris

John202020 said:

I think 6.5 years is the max I've had from a battery !

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I've only had it for 5 years but it's a Volvo battery so I'm guessing it's the original.

The battery on mine was the original so would have been 8 years old 09 model