Technical Battery Question

[psychofox]

Hi all,

Need a new battery, the current one doesnt hold a charge for two days :-(

Is this one any good?

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/F...cafc1312cd52118864f8865c4bfbf6365dd86e&000020

 

[MadMan0]

Hi, That Car battery should be fine to use in a standard car, however, if your car uses any higher current drawing mods, i.e. sound system then I would strongly recommend this one:
Bosch Silver 52Ah

Even after the car sitting for months on end the battery has maintained it's charge and has never failed

IF you don't already know, the batteries are rated by amp-hours, in short it's how much current the battery can putout in an hour without going flat. The higher the rating, the longer the battery will last without charging. (or there abouts)

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/F...166dfb563ab2edec825981ad549e86d40eba6c&000020

 

[psychofox]

Hi, That Car battery should be fine to use in a standard car, however, if your car uses any higher current drawing mods, i.e. sound system then I would strongly recommend this one:
Bosch Silver 52Ah

Even after the car sitting for months on end the battery has maintained it's charge and has never failed

IF you don't already know, the batteries are rated by amp-hours, in short it's how much current the battery can putout in an hour without going flat. The higher the rating, the longer the battery will last without charging. (or there abouts)

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/F...166dfb563ab2edec825981ad549e86d40eba6c&000020

Thank you for the recomendation!

 

[blu73]

You should probably charge the battery and look for drains before you spend money on a new battery though... Put a multimeter on amps and hook up in series with the battery - should be next to no current (will be a tiny bit for the clock etc).

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi, That Car battery should be fine to use in a standard car, however, if your car uses any higher current drawing mods, i.e. sound system then I would strongly recommend this one:
Bosch Silver 52Ah



http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/F...166dfb563ab2edec825981ad549e86d40eba6c&000020

how much..??
I bought our 2 ( months apart) for the punto and panda for £43 delivered overnight,
look on ebay - company in Lancs,
charlie - Oxford

 

[Noddy]

Should 40A/H for most puntos, The higher models with alarms have 44A/H.
If you put too large a battery on it can put too much strain on the alternator and also supply too much current to the starter.
Try your local motor factors i.e. wilco motor spares, Unipart, etc. they will be able to help you and shouldnt charge the earth.

 

[MadMan0]

how much..??
I bought our 2 ( months apart) for the punto and panda for £43 delivered overnight,
look on ebay - company in Lancs,
charlie - Oxford

Should 40A/H for most puntos, The higher models with alarms have 44A/H.
If you put too large a battery on it can put too much strain on the alternator and also supply too much current to the starter.
Try your local motor factors i.e. wilco motor spares, Unipart, etc. they will be able to help you and shouldnt charge the earth.

I disagree; the battery rating is telling you how much current (continuously) you can draw from the battery in an hour without the battery going flat. This does not mean that you are always drawing this current.

You can quite easily draw over 2000 amps from most lead-acid batteries although you'll short them out.

Having a battery with a higher amp hour rating can be taken as an indication as to how long the battery will last. In the case of the standard punto where it draws little nominal current the battery will last longer against sulfation due to its increase capacity over a lower rated battery. Ideally you'd want a lead-carbon battery in a car for longevity but these aren’t yet available to the public. (At least I don't think these have been released yet)

In short, you get what you pay for. Cheaper batteries contain less complex structures or less material (i.e. the number of laminates) than expensive batteries. The higher the ah rating, the more the battery could give out continuously in current.

How this helps

 

[Noddy]

If you check the battery it will also have an indication of cranking Amps. This is a rating the battery should not exceed or internal damage will occur. The A/h Is the continuous rating for the battery at a draw of 1amp per hour. So a battery rated at 40ah 900 cranking amps should (in theory) last for 40hours with a current draw of 1Amp. However the maximum current it should supply would be 900amps (normally for charging). As batteries get larger the A/h rating will increase along with the cranking amps. If a problem develops with the car and the starter need more current to turn the engine the larger battery has the cranking capacity to do this and may result in damage to the wiring or the starter. Also a larger battery can accept more charging current and will therefore put more strain on the alternator. There will be a "safety margin" built in the cars design so fitting a slightly larger battery wont affect it too much but go for too large a battery and you may get problems or an increased failure rate.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Should 40A/H for most puntos, The higher models with alarms have 44A/H.
If you put too large a battery on it can put too much strain on the alternator and also supply too much current to the starter.

I disagree; the battery rating is telling you how much current (continuously) you can draw from the battery in an hour without the battery going flat. This does not mean that you are always drawing this current.

You can quite easily draw over 2000 amps from most lead-acid batteries although you'll short them out.

Having a battery with a higher amp hour rating can be taken as an indication as to how long the battery will last. In the case of the standard punto where it draws little nominal current the battery will last longer against sulfation due to its increase capacity over a lower rated battery. Ideally you'd want a lead-carbon battery in a car for longevity but these aren’t yet available to the public. (At least I don't think these have been released yet)

In short, you get what you pay for. Cheaper batteries contain less complex structures or less material (i.e. the number of laminates) than expensive batteries. The higher the ah rating, the more the battery could give out continuously in current.

How this helps

Agreed.

If you check the battery it will also have an indication of cranking Amps. This is a rating the battery should not exceed or internal damage will occur. The A/h Is the continuous rating for the battery at a draw of 1amp per hour. So a battery rated at 40ah 900 cranking amps should (in theory) last for 40hours with a current draw of 1Amp. However the maximum current it should supply would be 900amps (normally for charging). As batteries get larger the A/h rating will increase along with the cranking amps. If a problem develops with the car and the starter need more current to turn the engine the larger battery has the cranking capacity to do this and may result in damage to the wiring or the starter. Also a larger battery can accept more charging current and will therefore put more strain on the alternator. There will be a "safety margin" built in the cars design so fitting a slightly larger battery wont affect it too much but go for too large a battery and you may get problems or an increased failure rate.

TBH I've never had an issue with uprated batteries. 12v is the push, and alternator will not be strained tbh as it should still charge at its standard rate, just take longer to fill the battery if power has been sapped from it.

I always use bosch Silver Batteries with 5 year warrantees.

OP check eBay, very well priced on there, you're euro car parts battery is £66 in the link you posted, same one on ebay from them is £45 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bosch-S3-...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item35cc668539

 

[varesecrazy]

you're euro car parts battery is £66 in the link you posted, same one on ebay from them is £45 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bosch-S3-...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item35cc668539

thought that was what I said yesterday ,

"Other shops are available" - BUT give a discount

Charlie

 

[psychofox]

Cheers for all the replies and info lads, its been a great help.
I ordered it from Euro Car Parts ebay store. Have no idea why it is cheaper then their own website price, but, hell, I am not complaining :slayer:

 

[varesecrazy]

glad you found a good deal,

lets hope it cures your issues,

Charlie