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Technical Re Battery Failures

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Technical Re Battery Failures

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robotdancer

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Just a quick one, was chatting with the dealer about various things and we had our battery replaced under warranty.

They mentioned that (apologies if my numbers are wrong, I wasn't taking notes) the original batteries were 570ma and they are being replaced if they fail with heavier duty 620ma versions.

Might be of interest to someone.
 
I'm not 100% sure what the issue is with batteries but 570 vs 620 is less than 10% so unsure if this is a material factor.

I bought my 500X in August 2017 with 11 miles on the clock, it had been registered to a Fiat Dealer in Dec 2016 but then just sat there I expect.

I had issues where it wouldnt start and then one day went to open it and the central locking wouldnt open, called a repair guy out, he finally got it started but said the battery was no good and took it away on a truck to the dealer.

The battery was replaced but when I spoke to the dealer he said there had been reports of the radio coming on of its own accord randomly and he thinks it was on when the car arrived. Over time this would just drain and drain the battery. As I don't use mine every day, after a week or two the battery would drain all the way down.

Apparently they upgraded the software and it's been fine since. Next time I'm out I'll check out the battery and see if it is the 620ma.
 
cowabunga said:
I'm not 100% sure what the issue is with batteries but 570 vs 620 is less than 10% so unsure if this is a material factor.

I bought my 500X in August 2017 with 11 miles on the clock, it had been registered to a Fiat Dealer in Dec 2016 but then just sat there I expect.

I had issues where it wouldnt start and then one day went to open it and the central locking wouldnt open, called a repair guy out, he finally got it started but said the battery was no good and took it away on a truck to the dealer.

The battery was replaced but when I spoke to the dealer he said there had been reports of the radio coming on of its own accord randomly and he thinks it was on when the car arrived. Over time this would just drain and drain the battery. As I don't use mine every day, after a week or two the battery would drain all the way down.

Apparently they upgraded the software and it's been fine since. Next time I'm out I'll check out the battery and see if it is the 620ma.
Click to expand...
As I said, couldn't remember the actual numbers, point was that FIAT are now specifying a heavier duty version so if people are having electrical glitches it's something worth checking as it might help.
 
Figures of 570 and 620 suggest the dealer was referring to the Cold Cranking Amps (CCA), which is a rating in Amps of how much current the battery can deliver under cold start conditions. The battery capacity is expressed in Ampere-hours, and is probably something like 65Ah.
An under-specced battery being fitted to a car is not unknown. Both my wife and my son have the same model of Suzuki, and both had battery failures. Ours was just within warranty, my son's wasn't. Both originals were 35Ah, in both cases they were replaced by the Suzuki dealer with 44Ah versions. (Neither car has stop/start)
 
TrevC said:
Figures of 570 and 620 suggest the dealer was referring to the Cold Cranking Amps (CCA), which is a rating in Amps of how much current the battery can deliver under cold start conditions. The battery capacity is expressed in Ampere-hours, and is probably something like 65Ah.
An under-specced battery being fitted to a car is not unknown. Both my wife and my son have the same model of Suzuki, and both had battery failures. Ours was just within warranty, my son's wasn't. Both originals were 35Ah, in both cases they were replaced by the Suzuki dealer with 44Ah versions. (Neither car has stop/start)
Click to expand...
As I said don't get too hung up on my numbers, they were from memory and part of a long conversation. The point was simply that it sounds like there's a lot of 500x's out there with under spec'd batteries and it's worth discussing with the dealer whilst it's still in warranty ?
 
I couldn't resist having a look at the battery in my 500X (1.4 MA). It's rated at 500A CCA, with a capacity of 60Ah. A bit below the figures you remembered, but I can't recall if yours is a diesel, which I would expect to need a slightly better spec of battery.

At just over 2 years old mine still starts instantly, and the stop/start works perfectly, which is a good sign (he says touching wood!).
 
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