Member Since: 24 May 2012
Location: North Yorkshire
Posts: 1247
New Battery - A wise precaution or a waste of money?
Winter is coming and the battery in my D4 is over 5 years old. Apart from some random fault codes which might be low voltage related, I'm not aware of any problems.
Given the battery's age, should I spend £135 on a new Exide EK950 as a precaution or am I just wasting money and should keep going with the original battery?
When I checked the state of charge with the IID tool the other morning (after the timed climate had run and the car had been started) it claimed a SOC of 60% and was taking a 30A current at 14.5V if that means anything.MY2022 D5 HSE D300 - with extra nice bits added
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29th Oct 2017 1:26 pm
df_tom
Member Since: 09 Mar 2017
Location: Stuttgart
Posts: 127
Maybe spend the money on a proper charger - ctek 10Amp or something from sterling power or so.
Charge the battery up or have it go through a recovery cycle with said proper charger. Always helps tho have the battery charged properly before you get into winter ops, especially if you're only driving short range trips.
29th Oct 2017 3:04 pm
JonM
Member Since: 24 May 2012
Location: North Yorkshire
Posts: 1247
A wise suggestion.
The Cteck has been on it for the last 24 hours after getting back from a 2 hour motorway drive. The IID now reports a SOC of 86% even though the Cteck says fully charged.
I'm just wondering if the battery is getting old and whether a pre-emptive renewal is sensible or not.MY2022 D5 HSE D300 - with extra nice bits added
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29th Oct 2017 3:10 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73086
Changed mine at that stage, it sorted out sluggish starting and the remote FBH started working properly. I didn’t want any hassle with poor starting for winter, or timed heater not playing.
29th Oct 2017 3:18 pm
df_tom
Member Since: 09 Mar 2017
Location: Stuttgart
Posts: 127
I guess they fail on you pretty quickly. So, as long as it takes the charge and keeps it, keep the battery.
I wouldn't believe the IID soc thing too much.
New battery needs to be kept charged also. So don't just buy one, if you decide to do so. Keep it on the ctek during storage at home. Keeping it at full won't hurt the number of cycles it can support through its lifetime, and will keep it fresh just for when you need it.
29th Oct 2017 3:23 pm
JonM
Member Since: 24 May 2012
Location: North Yorkshire
Posts: 1247
So, in answer to my own question....
I replaced the battery and it's made a significant difference.
Before, when starting the car, the steering wheel would often not move to the correct position. Now it does every time.
The engine never failed to start but now the cranking is noticeably faster.
I'd been monitoring recurring strange fault codes e.g. heating blender motors failure and steering angle sensor not configured. The faults kept coming back after clearing even though everything seemed to work normally. Now the fault codes have gone and aren't reappearing.
Battery state of charge is higher.
I think my old battery was struggling even though not actually failed.MY2022 D5 HSE D300 - with extra nice bits added
MY2019 D5 HSE 3.0 SDV6 - sold to a dealer for a crazy price! - So good I bought another!
MY2012 D4 HSE 3.0 SDV6 - retired to a new home
17th Nov 2017 8:28 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73086
What I found when I bought the car at shade over 5 years.
17th Nov 2017 8:34 pm
Jubbly
Member Since: 20 Nov 2016
Location: Stourbridge
Posts: 401
I'm toying with the idea of replacing mine, It's a lrj AGM battery exide so i'm going to guess it's the original battery.
i only have 12.2 volts showing and i've charged it with my ctek 3 times now, though the kids all hammer the heated seats now it's cooler, plus the timed climate, its an 14 mile round trip only 7 with the heaters on.
I'm not getting any issues but wondering if it's prudent to replace it.Jaguar I-Pace HSE imminent.
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17th Nov 2017 8:39 pm
ruggedpeak
Member Since: 10 Jun 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 1625
If its old definitely replace. Disco's can start doing odd things as the voltage drops just a little. Seen huge amounts spent trying to fix a D3 that started locking the diff going round corners, looking a sensors, axles, bearing etc. Was a tired battery with slightly low voltage that manifested itself as car thinking it was losing traction when it turned! No warning lights, no fault codes.Tony
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18th Nov 2017 7:34 am
dc130john
Member Since: 08 Sep 2015
Location: Somerset
Posts: 70
Hi, if you do replace I would definately go for an Odessey Battery. I have had three on different LRs and absolutly superb. Try Devon 4X4.D4 3.0 TDV6 HSE Galway Green Black Leather Adaptive Xenons Logic 7 TV Pre-heater
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19th Nov 2017 8:59 pm
Gareth Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26775
For your information Jon, I just replaced mine (March 2013 car) I too was getting a few errors that were voltage related, the timed climate had also stopped, then first frost morning had a fail to start.
I put a Halfords AGM battery in, reset the BCM using iid, and all is well now.
20th Nov 2017 12:46 am
ruggedpeak
Member Since: 10 Jun 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 1625
An Exide battery from Tayna will do the job, had one on my D3 for years. A search on the forum will show links.
Odyssey batteries are excellent but OTT if you aren't running winches or lot of draining ancillaries. Had one one on a D1 with a 11000lb wvinch for 3 years, no 2nd battery or split charge. Despite my regular uase marshaling it never missd a beat.Tony
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20th Nov 2017 8:18 am
dgarside
Member Since: 17 Jan 2010
Location: Holmfirth
Posts: 734
I have a very similar age car, and although I’m not seeing any issues other than maybe a slightly lazy start, what voltages should I be seeing or range? Sounds like worth checking.RLD CB Bracket
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My battery has made it to 7.5 years old and still showing no issues other than the remote FBH not firing up. If I didn't have that feature, I wouldn't be thinking about changing it tbh.
20th Nov 2017 10:06 am
rrhool
Member Since: 28 Aug 2014
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 4523
I changed mine as soon as I got the car. It was still on it's original battery, and was showing signs of losing capacity. I got a Varta battery from Tayna. Been good for 25k miles, and not showing any issues.Richard
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