qwerty2018
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Is this a Sealed or Standard Battery? (Varta Battery)
- Thread starter qwerty2018
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Is this a Sealed or Standard Battery? (Varta Battery)
I would say it was sealed, but check on manufacturers website. In the old days standard meant you could undo the caps and top up with distilled water, so in a garage workshop we would take the caps off when heavy charging batteries and you could see the water bubbling giving off gas, so when finished we would switch off and wait for the gas to disperse before disconnecting terminals to prevent explosions from the hydrogen gas?
Sealed batteries are best not fast charged.
It is well worth checking with manufacturer due to the variety of battery types these days.
You will need to record all the battery part numbers, label info, etc. etc. and work from there. It is only these details and not pictures (many look alike etc.) that will definitively define what your battery is. Tedious, Yes, but accurate absolutely.
I looked up Varta B35 Blue and yes it looks like a sealed battery. Most modern/new car batteries are sealed these days.
www.varta-automotive.com
https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/varta/b36/
Neither of these say sealed. With regards to charger the sealed setting is safer for any battery.
544 401 042 | Varta Automotive
VARTA® Blue Dynamic – reliable performance for medium power needs.
https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/varta/b36/
Neither of these say sealed. With regards to charger the sealed setting is safer for any battery.
@qwerty2018
You are asking all the right questions
A brief explanation:
Batteries give @2 volts per cell..
So your 12volt battrry has 6 cells
In years gone by it would have 6 x screw on caps..as you would need to ADD DistilledWater.. to replace the fluid 'boiled off' through charging
As car circuits got better the need to 'Top up' with 'Water' got less and less
The battery then had 6 Plugs you needed a screwdriver to undo ( still accessible to 'Service ' the battery.. but an annual operation..not monthly)
Roll on the year 2000'ish and batteries became Sealed.. it has 6 fixed plugs that can 'vent' a little as the battery charges.
But no access to top.up the water..as its basically no longer required
What CAN go wrong..
OVERCHARGING.. can 'boil' the battery fluid.. and like a pot on a stove.. will eventually run dry and be ruined
The car Alternator SHOULD regulate the charge.. and ease off as the battery is approaching 'Full'
If it keeps charging Hard.. it can ruin the battery
Same applies with an unregulated Battery Charger
Hope that helps a little.
Get that Warranty out for your battery
You are asking all the right questions
A brief explanation:
Batteries give @2 volts per cell..
So your 12volt battrry has 6 cells
In years gone by it would have 6 x screw on caps..as you would need to ADD DistilledWater.. to replace the fluid 'boiled off' through charging
As car circuits got better the need to 'Top up' with 'Water' got less and less
The battery then had 6 Plugs you needed a screwdriver to undo ( still accessible to 'Service ' the battery.. but an annual operation..not monthly)
Roll on the year 2000'ish and batteries became Sealed.. it has 6 fixed plugs that can 'vent' a little as the battery charges.
But no access to top.up the water..as its basically no longer required
What CAN go wrong..
OVERCHARGING.. can 'boil' the battery fluid.. and like a pot on a stove.. will eventually run dry and be ruined
The car Alternator SHOULD regulate the charge.. and ease off as the battery is approaching 'Full'
If it keeps charging Hard.. it can ruin the battery
Same applies with an unregulated Battery Charger
Hope that helps a little.
Get that Warranty out for your battery
Cornish Ian
Member
I did find info from one selling site saying it was sealed when replying to the OPs other thread and I thought I replied as such.I looked up Varta B35 Blue and yes it looks like a sealed battery. Most modern/new car batteries are sealed these days.
544 401 042 | Varta Automotive
VARTA® Blue Dynamic – reliable performance for medium power needs.
https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/varta/b36/
Neither of these say sealed. With regards to charger the sealed setting is safer for any battery.
As you say sealed setting is safer but the charger looks to be switched to the wrong mode.
Just been reading PMM Professional Motor Mechanic magazine Nov.edition, pick up free at motor factors. Some interesting data re Stop/Start batteries and also about Fiat Panda starter burn outs, well worth a read!
I retired before Stop/Start became more popular so reading several threads saying replace batteries for other issues seemed hard for me to accept.
However having read this PMM it says as batteries age their capacity may drop to 70%, not generally a problem until cold morning or car that doesn't start straight away, it pulls the voltage down to a point where the ECU shuts off less important function to keep engine running, hence flashing speedo and error messages etc.
Apparently on high end cars with two batteries it can save functions to the second battery, but when you come to replace the batteries a tool has to be used to reprogram ECU to return to original functionality.
Also Punto and Panda 03-2015 have an issue which burns the starter out due to insufficient voltage at the ECU following a "cold start" and they advise the ECU be reprogrammed and updated with modified software to avoid future premature starter failure.
Well worth a read although I am sure some of you are already conversant unlike this old wrinkly
I retired before Stop/Start became more popular so reading several threads saying replace batteries for other issues seemed hard for me to accept.
However having read this PMM it says as batteries age their capacity may drop to 70%, not generally a problem until cold morning or car that doesn't start straight away, it pulls the voltage down to a point where the ECU shuts off less important function to keep engine running, hence flashing speedo and error messages etc.
Apparently on high end cars with two batteries it can save functions to the second battery, but when you come to replace the batteries a tool has to be used to reprogram ECU to return to original functionality.
Also Punto and Panda 03-2015 have an issue which burns the starter out due to insufficient voltage at the ECU following a "cold start" and they advise the ECU be reprogrammed and updated with modified software to avoid future premature starter failure.
Well worth a read although I am sure some of you are already conversant unlike this old wrinkly
qwerty2018
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Massive thank you to you all for your kind help here.
Checked with the Battery Company Vartar and they told me the following (I asked them if the battery was Sealed or Standard):
"Your battery is a Blue Dynamic 544 401 042. It is a flooded lead-acid battery and it has a sealed construction, so that it is spillproof"
www.varta-automotive.com
www.varta-automotive.com
I will admit one thing here - Bought the battery new and fitted it in December 2021 and first time it failed on me was early November 2022 so took it out and charged it as Standard and not Sealed even though I now know it is a Sealed battery and the battery only took 2 hours to charge.
Checked with the Battery Company Vartar and they told me the following (I asked them if the battery was Sealed or Standard):
"Your battery is a Blue Dynamic 544 401 042. It is a flooded lead-acid battery and it has a sealed construction, so that it is spillproof"
544 401 042 | Varta Automotive
VARTA® Blue Dynamic – reliable performance for medium power needs.
Flooded battery technology by VARTA® - completely maintenance-free. See here all the advantages
VARTA® offers a full portfolio of sealed, maintenance-free flooded lead-acid batteries that cover an extensive range of vehicles.
I will admit one thing here - Bought the battery new and fitted it in December 2021 and first time it failed on me was early November 2022 so took it out and charged it as Standard and not Sealed even though I now know it is a Sealed battery and the battery only took 2 hours to charge.
It’s been answered in another thread
Unless there is a way to add electrolyte it’s classed as sealed
With a resting voltage of 11.79V
It’s probably already beyond reviving
Dead batteries due to low use was so much of problem with TVR’s they use to ship new cars with a trickle charger. If you search on their forums the brand should be there. Not all trickle chargers are good.
Lead acid Batteries especially SLA ones only like being fully charged
Unless there is a way to add electrolyte it’s classed as sealed
With a resting voltage of 11.79V
It’s probably already beyond reviving
Dead batteries due to low use was so much of problem with TVR’s they use to ship new cars with a trickle charger. If you search on their forums the brand should be there. Not all trickle chargers are good.
Lead acid Batteries especially SLA ones only like being fully charged
The bottom line here seems to be:
You have an elderly punto that is getting 'fussy' with old age
It may be a dozen small items of deterioration ( so tricky / impossible..to overcome them all)
But what you have found is an A1.. or at least 90% good battery makes the difference.
That in itself makes options pretty simple
MAINTAIN BATTERY VOLTAGE
You need
1.A good battery
2.A good alternator
Your garage tested Both and recommended a replacement battery
Your Alternator is probably 'tired' it has components that wear..
Brushes.. its essentially an OldSkool electric motor.. brushes cost about £6 to buy
BUT.. get that battery Exchanged under warranty 1st
You driving 'an extra' 30 miles a week for the sake of the battery will soon cost
@£7 a trip...10 of those gets you a new battery from Tayna
One side comment here.. @qwerty2018
80% of people on here with battery / charging issues longterm
mention PowerSteering problems
Youve not said Anything about heavy steering.. or the RED STEERING WHEEL warning light.
Another indication that your Alternator is 'O.K'
Get that battery swapped
Charlie
You have an elderly punto that is getting 'fussy' with old age
It may be a dozen small items of deterioration ( so tricky / impossible..to overcome them all)
But what you have found is an A1.. or at least 90% good battery makes the difference.
That in itself makes options pretty simple
MAINTAIN BATTERY VOLTAGE
You need
1.A good battery
2.A good alternator
Your garage tested Both and recommended a replacement battery
Your Alternator is probably 'tired' it has components that wear..
Brushes.. its essentially an OldSkool electric motor.. brushes cost about £6 to buy
BUT.. get that battery Exchanged under warranty 1st
You driving 'an extra' 30 miles a week for the sake of the battery will soon cost
@£7 a trip...10 of those gets you a new battery from Tayna
One side comment here.. @qwerty2018
80% of people on here with battery / charging issues longterm
mention PowerSteering problems
Youve not said Anything about heavy steering.. or the RED STEERING WHEEL warning light.
Another indication that your Alternator is 'O.K'
Get that battery swapped
Charlie
qwerty2018
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Many thanks here for all your kind help and apologies for length of delay resonding back to you all as one does not have a regular internet connection. As for my car battery well on Friday 16th December 2022 the battery failed and took it out and charged it again on a sealed charge instead of the standard that I did the last time and it took between 3.5 to 4 hours to charge and put the battery back in Monday 19th December 2022. A friend came to mine on Tuesday 3rd January 2023 and took a multimeter reading before the car was started (a resting voltage is the correct name is one is correct) and in the photo is the reading so took the battery out and under my warrenty got a new battery (same make/model) and put back into the car. My biggest worry is even though a new battery is how long this one will last as the previous one was 11 months old when problems started. Massive thanks to you all here for your kind help.
Attachments
Does that say 11.6?
( I am struggling to read it)
Good to hear you can see an obvious improvement with the replacement
( I am struggling to read it)
Good to hear you can see an obvious improvement with the replacement
Cornish Ian
Member
Remember to keep your battery at least 50% charged. When it’s so discharged that it won’t start your car the damage has been done. Perhaps you should consider buying a cheap multimeter and keep an eye on your battery voltage in periods of low usage. Batteries will vary a bit but I would certainly try to keep it above 12.2 volts.
depending on where you got it from, sometimes "brand new batteries" can have been sitting about on a shelf for years somewhere before they are eventually sold. The sort of places that sell them tend to have a lot of dust and dirt in the air so we think nothing of cleaning off the dust. But if they have sat around or worse been knocking around for a long time they can deteriorate badly.
11.6v suggests one of the cells shorted internally.
