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[LFF64]

Forgot to say Jamie I have both cards , thanks for offer though

[Kevin Wood]

Note to anyone who has electrical issues with the cold weather:

Check to see if your positive battery terminal is getting hot. If it is, you will probably find the cable from the starter / alternator is loose where it is crimped into the battery terminal. This won't do you any favours in this weather. A little resistance between the alternator and battery will reduce the battery's ability to suck up charge an awful lot when it's also powering heated seats, rear window, lights, blower, etc.

Kevin

[stuvaux]

  Checked battery price at halfords yesterday a HB010 MAINT FREE with three year warranty is
£94.99   with the trade card it comes down to £56   so thats a fair old saving The HB010
is the battery for a car with aircon by the way,I have not tried vx yet for a price  

I recently got a Vx `Go` battery for my 2.5V6 - it cost £40.17 on trade club.

Stu

[Marks DTM Calib]

I was told that every time a car starts it takes about seven miles to put that charge back in to the battery , not sure how true this is but it does not seem unreasonable.  

Given the high efficiency of modern starters and the massive output of modern alternators (i.e. upto 120amp on an Omega)......I would say that this is no longer true. A few minutes of norma driving shoudl be about enough....this does of course increase as you turn things like heated rear windows and seat heaters on.

[Dave-C]

Mines packed in too!  I'll join the club shall I..........  Got one reserved at VX for the morrow..  Borrowed a big battery from a Land Rover at work to get it going in the morning then will change the battery on VX car park...

DC

[TheBoy]

I think the old saying of 20mins driving for a 5s start is possibly still valid, but most cars start immediately, so a 10min run should put back in your 1s start...

[Kevin Wood]

If we assume the starter takes 300 amps for 5 seconds (probably the worst case scenario) it only takes 1 minute at 25 amps to put the charge back. That ignores the inefficiencies of the battery and the fact that, if parked up in the cold for a few days, it will lose more charge standing than it will starting a car but the fact is a modern alternator will be more than capable of charging at 25 amps even with a lot of running loads.

The battery will also take up charge more slowly as it reaches a fully charged state but, if a modern car is struggling in cold weather, it's an indication that the battery, alternator or wiring are not up to scratch.

Kevin

[LFF64]

Ah yes assuming you are not using rear screen ,aircon (climate) lights etc and as my trip is 1.6 miles both in darkness it soon knocks the battery down especially if it is weak in the first place .  I will give it a couple of days and see how it holds up. I think if it dies again I will change it anyway what with it haveing lost water from the two cells something not right there any way  

[Kevin Wood]

The other thing to do is leave the battery on a trickle charge overnight, so it is known to be fully charged, and see if it is better over the next couple of days. If it's losing water it's probably not in great health, as you point out.

Kevin

[Dave-C]

Got a 66amp GM GO> battery today for my Meega, starting beautifully now, lights seem brighter too! At VX thay retail at £50 + vat, I got my trade price of course....  Got a battery lagging blanket from a scrapper a few weeks ago, fitted that to keep it insulated...Job's a gud un.....   Does anyone know if there is a lagging sheet for the battery tray to go under the battery?

They do a 71amp battery with the same physical dimensions which will fit in the Meega battery tray, they didn't have any in stock or I'd have had one...  not sure if an extra 6amps would make a fat lot of difference anyway..

DC  [smiley=happy.gif]