The definitive battery thread

[Sharpie]

Well my HCB005 is on it's last legs now....only 2yrs in. I have charged the battery for the last two weekends but, needed to get the booster pack out last night just to get home from work.

 

I do a lot of short trips ~8miles / 15-20mins

 

Only showing 11.82 volts.

 

Has anyone swapped theirs out under the 4yr guarantee OK or had any problems with Halfords ?

 

I have my receipt.

[MKIVDreamer]

I have a problem with mine - took it back to hellfrauds and some old duffer simply pluged a simply charge meter to it and waited for the green light to come on - "good charge that" he says, so no swap out for me - In his defense, the battery does appear to hold the charge ok, but its the cold cranking amps that seem to be suffering...

[Sharpie]

I have a problem with mine - took it back to hellfrauds and some old duffer simply pluged a simply charge meter to it and waited for the green light to come on - "good charge that" he says, so no swap out for me - In his defense, the battery does appear to hold the charge ok, but its the cold cranking amps that seem to be suffering...

 

Yeah, same here. The guy on the desk said that if the machine says it's OK then no swap out!

 

Bloody thing was showing 12.2v on his desk......a 5min debate/chat and he calls his Dep Mgr over....the store is busy so, the Dep Mgr tells the guy just to give me a new battery without the blink of an eye

 

If I get another 2yrs out of this one, I have had my ££'s worth

[Kranz]

Think I'll try one of these types next http://www.boschautoparts.co.uk/pcBatt9.asp?c=2&d=1

 

During the summer I've had the little racing battery on the Supe (Varley red top 30) with an incredible 850 cranking amps from a 26Ah battery. Starts okay for a couple of weeks, but doesn't seem to like doing short journeys and runs out of power. Only 9kg though so perfect for the track.

[supra dan]

i bought the bosch asia silver, they are for import cars with the small terminals. fitted straight in and works a treat, 4 year gaurentee too

[Lebsteif]

Guys, i need to buy a new battery as well (best time of the year) are there any battery;s that are little bit smaller but can deliver the same output?

And what kind of values does the battery need to use it in a Supra?

Like:65 Ah, 480 A coldstart

[SupraJames]

The Optima's are good battery's but pricey, they come in 4 flavours:

 

Yellow Top - Deep Cycle for big ICE installs, lighting etc.

 

Red Top - Heavy Duty starter battery, mainly used it machinery.

 

Blue Top - Marine Use deep cycle.

 

Orange Top - Same as Red Top with reversed posts.

 

The Exide Maxxima's are all very good but again aimed more at the big ICE install market like the Optima Yellow Top.

 

Handy guide to help you choose your Optima battery -

http://www.1st-optima-batteries.com/optima_battery_selector.asp

 

I personally use the Halfords Calcium battery and its very good and well priced. May upgrade to a Blue Top Optima when all my ICE goes in though.

[uk-rich]

Red Top - Heavy Duty starter battery, mainly used it machinery.

 

 

i have this one, it really cranks over well

[Soonto_HAS_soop]

I'm going to be going for something that is probably more suited for a Diesel. Higher CCA and above 85AH rated. Should be fine with my new PHR alternator..

[gaz1]

i have 2 supes and 2 relativley new batterys on them and if i leave them for over a week they both will not start wtf:(

[Markie]

I have the red top. Good holding for charge also. Fits in the normal space, but if you have the small Jap one in there you will need to adjust the battery clamp. Also I had to move the radiator res tank.

[Sharpie]

Just for info - I have a Starter Motor problem which means that my old battery could of been fine after all......who knows ;-)

 

Here is a photo of the battery label.

[SUPRASUZUKI]

I use a battery optimiser. Connect up while the car's in the garage, leave as long as you like and the battery is maintained at full charge.

Obviously the car starts first time, every time.

[Guest electricmini]

Just a heads-up for those thinking of using Optimas/Exide Maxximas as their main battery - since they're so damned expensive, it pays to make sure your alternator is outputting the correct charging voltage.

( 13.8 V for float charge at 25 deg C, 14.4 V for bulk charge )

 

If it's just a titch too high, the battery will vent when it gets full. Sealed high-performance AGMs (absorbent glass matt) like these hate being overcharged -

- even 1/2 amp charging current can make them vent if they're 100% full, if you leave it on long enough.

 

(I know, my electric Mini has 10 Exide Maxximas in it, they WILL vent if I try to overcharge it )

 

Each time you make a battery vent, you're losing water from the electrolyte. Since you don't know how much was lost, you can't put ithe right amount back in even if you could figure out a way to reseal the battery afterwards. End result; the battery slowly dries out, the capacity reduces and eventually you have a very expensive paperweight that won't start your car.

 

Car alternators are made for maximum cheapness, not accuracy. As long as the battery lasts longer than the warrantee, they don't care.

 

So if you're going to spend the bucks on the battery, investigate getting a special regulator for the alternator too. It'll protect your hard-earned investment.

 

Treated right, AGMs can last for years - I have some bluetop Optimas here that'll still start cars, and they're 8 years old with hundreds of

deep-discharge cycles on them from EV use.

 

Watch out for short circuits with these batteries too - both the Optimas and the Exide Maxximas can supply over 1,500 amps

(one of the EV racers in the States tested a Maxxima900 at over 1800 amps before it melted its insides). That's enough current to melt a spanner....

[V]

Mines got a totally smaller battery with the smaller terminals.

 

It also fits in its own little padded surround which the main cables are fixed too.

 

240w x 200h x 120d

Its about the size of x2 PP3's

 

45ah

400a cold crank

 

I had a bit of trouble finding a decent battery to fit (Sealed, Silver Calcium (which most seemed to be) 5yr warranty)

 

Found this one.

Trane T11 (054 056)

106H60L SMF

with a magic eye

 

I did find Halfrauds the most expensive place to buy from though.

All the independents were at least £20 cheaper than them.

Most were about £50, Halfrauds £70.

[Pete]

I bought a Halfords HCB005 this week as I couldn't wait around to look into anything else much really - car was getting worse and worse.

 

Anyway, they've changed the design I think as there was an older dusty on on the shelf, and a more obviously new one which I chose.

The newer one is more square and required modification of the battery holder bracket (bend back the inner most down angle bracket). It holds it in fine, but is a little close.

As this battery was slightly taller than my previous the earth cable only just reached to fit properly.

 

I believe mine has had the larger terminals installed on its cables at some point.

[ivan]

Mine's been getting harder and harder to start just lately, despite the occasional charger session. Today it wouldn't turn over at all - it just gave the dreaded clicks of a refusal.

 

So I've just been to Halfords and bought an HCB005 which fitted straight in no sweat.

 

 

 

BUT - it was £79.99!

 

 

Had to be done though. Good job it's got a 4 year warranty.

[TopgunTT]

Looks like i will be popping into halfords soon to get mine, had to boost it with jump leads the other day but dont want to keep doing that, if they last a year i would be happy with that.

[drnas78]

bought a turbo one for £72 from car spares

[dangerous brain]

I just stuck an optima yellow top on my rangey as its security system keeps deep cycling my battery flat and nadged the last battery. The red tops though would be for a supe the better value battery as it has better cold cranking and is half the price. You only need a yellow top if you deep cycle the car regularly. If you are in the market for a yellow top and have time to shop around go to a farming supply shop. They are considerably cheaper than your high street or glitzy online retailers.

[Homer]

If you are in the market for a yellow top and have time to shop around go to a farming supply shop. They are considerably cheaper than your high street or glitzy online retailers.

 

Good advice I was very surprised when I found one in my dads tractor last year!

[dangerous brain]

Well think about it tractors and heavy machinery need whoop ass big cranking and can often be left in a field for months to drain the battery. They still need to start on the key every time though. Batteries like the yellow top are almost a necessity for these vehicles and as they don't have "showcars" to pay for they can afford to sell them at a reasonable rate.

[Supra-Brett]

Which is the correct model number of Optima red or yellow top to use in my supe (93 N/A 5 speed manual - not sure if that makes any difference). Will it need any modification of the battery holder to fit ?

[dangerous brain]

I'm not sure there is a correct model as such. You just go for the biggest one you can fit in there with the same terminals as you already have I guess.

[AndrewOW]

I read this thread a few weeks ago before buying a new battery for my car. I took off the original Japanese battery that was probably as old as the car was.

 

I opted for the calcium battery (HCB005) from Halfrauds (£79.99), and stuck that on. It fitted perfectly, and was fine initially.

 

Unfortunately, as I'm only really using the car at weekends now (cycling to work), its standing unused for days on end, and is already causing me problems with starting. Maybe its the damp, cold weather we've been having, but I'm not that impressed by its holding charge.

 

I may have to get one of those battery optimisers, which hopefully I can leave outside (weather protection permitting), then I may be alright.

 

Has anyone else had similar problems recently, or is it just me?!