Changing the Battery

66Beetle

66Beetle

A2OC Donor
Now I have bought a new Varta E44 Battery from Orius Batteries in Leyland, what do I need to know about Changing it please ? Will any Codes need to be stored ? Should I keep the Charger connected to the Leads during the Change over ? Is there just a single clamp down the bottom of the Battery Box somewhere ?

Steve
 
66Beetle said:
Now I have bought a new Varta E44 Battery from Orius Batteries in Leyland, what do I need to know about Changing it please ? Will any Codes need to be stored ? Should I keep the Charger connected to the Leads during the Change over ? Is there just a single clamp down the bottom of the Battery Box somewhere ?

Steve
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I have a lead that I made some years ago. It’s got a cigarette lighter plug on one and and terminals to connect to a battery charge or spare battery
It plugs into the aux socket near the hand break and a battery charger and keeps all the cars setting whilst the battery is changed over
These settings are things like radio code but only if it’s not the original head unit that was coded to the car. Window up/down positions. Oss open / closed positions etc

They are all easy to reset but it saves doing this if you keep them all backed up

Cheers. Paul


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It's worth making a note of the radio code just in case, but in theory you shouldn't need it. And I certainly wouldn't try an do anything clever with a charger during the change over, far more likely to cause a problem than prevent one. There is a clamp in the bottom of the box, I seem to recollect the bolts are about 13mm and you will need an extension bar.
 
You have a 2003 Can-Bus car ( I think ), as such all the audio equipment has been learnt by the computer so a battery replacement should not require the code. As stated useful to have the code anyway. The electric windows will probably lose the one touch function. That is easily reset by holding the switch in the up position for a couple of seconds then pressing down and again holding down for a couple of seconds. This must only be performed using the switches on the drivers door not the ones on the other doors. As for physically getting the battery out it depends on what boot foam you have and if you have the fold flat spare option. Different method for each but not too complicated. You must fit the small vent tube back onto the new battery. Jump leads can be used with care to temporarily connect the new battery to the battery leads to maintain power supply while replacing the battery.
 
Paul’s PM has got me thinking. I have a Power Pack for Charging iPhones / iPads any other Phone for that matter. Would that have enough power to “ keep things alive “ via the Aux / Lighter Socket during the Changeover ?
 
Never tried one, jump leads possibly easier option. My 2003 I didn't bother just reset the windows after. Obviously the clock will have to be reset and trip counter will also reset to zero.
 
I think last time I checked the current drain was under 3amps. May be a stretch for the battery bank that you are referring to
If you have a cigarette lighter plug with a lead on it you can make up a lead easily. Centre pin is +12volts. Outer case is earth
Just connect this to you battery charger or a spare battery and plug it in to the aux socket and you are good to go

Paul


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I can see the problem with trying to use the Smart Charger. It would turn itself Off when it no longer detected a Battery was present ! Power Pack might just work for the few seconds it should take to disconnect the old Battery and Connect the New one ? Otherwise make up a Lead, or Jump Leads between the Old and the New to Connect in Parallel?
 
My issue with the power pack is you are connecting it to a 12v system. If it is not rated at 12v there is a chance certainly when the new battery is fitted that it could burst and catch fire. If existing battery is very low then back up power source is not going to do any thing. Place new battery in the boot right way round and to the right of the battery in the car. Make sure the old battery is loose and the vent tube is disconnected. Loosen the battery leads and clip the jump leads onto the new battery and onto the lead part of the battery leads. Lift out old and drop in new and reconnect leads to new battery. Or use the 12v socket with suitable leads. Or just change it without back up power. Choice is yours as they say.
 
I don't know whether there's anything in the A2 which would be at risk if the engine was left running whilst the battery was changed but I've had the battery on my 1998 Land Rover Discovery - for which I didn't have the radio code - swapped like that without any issues.
 
Jeff Sutcliffe said:
I don't know whether there's anything in the A2 which would be at risk if the engine was left running whilst the battery was changed but I've had the battery on my 1998 Land Rover Discovery - for which I didn't have the radio code - swapped like that without any issues.
Click to expand...

I would not recommend doing this. It’s a really good way to blow an alternator


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Interesting ! Used to do things like that back in the 1979s when I had Morris Minors with Dynamos and that great device Starting Handles ! Don’t know if the changing a Battery with the Engine Running might damage an Alternator though ? I’ll make some Leads up before the Battery is delivered tomorrow. Orius at Leyland are not the very cheapest on eBay but they are only 40 miles away if the new battery were to fail and there was a Warranty Claim. They offer Lifetime Warranty. They should have checked how long we keep our cars before offering that !
 
I am not sure that it is so important to worry about it.

as already mentioned, the later A2s will remember the radio code. When you lose the remote pairing for the keys just put one in the ignition after the battery change, turn on the ignition, press and release the unlocking button on the key fob then immediately remove it and try it. Then repeat for the other key.
The windows just need the ignition on, open the window but keep the button pressed down for a second after it is fully open, then close the window and keep the button pressed for a second after it closes, I then repeat the opening one (with the key pressed). That should teach the auto windows.

Easy really.
Steve B
 
First couple of times I swapped batteries I did the jiggery-pokery with jump cables and the new battery as I was paranoid about losing memory etc. Until the time I was part way through the process when the positive clip jumped off the car's + terminal owing to the stiffness of the battery cables while I was shifting the old battery out. In the end I just disconnected everything, chucked the new battery in and got the terminals on as I didn't want to risk the live terminal shorting on something and melting it. Absolutely nothing happened - no codes, no loss of window adjustments etc., so now I no longer worry about it - if the battery needs to be disconnected (whether being replaced or not) I just get on with it.
 
I remembered I had already made up a set of Leads to fool the Smart Charger so I could Charge a completely Flat Battery by connecting a good Battery in parallel. I just used those to connect the New Battery to the Battery Leads on the A2 before taking disconnecting the old Battery. No problem.
 
Hi, I have an A2 1.4 petrol with a sick battery. The vehicle has been SORNed whilst I have been having chemotherapy. I have tried charging the battery but even after a 24hr trickle charge the terminal voltage was 12.04 volts. I have arranged for Halfords to change it for me using their mobile service (cannot do it myself due to health conditions). The problem I have is that the battery seems locked down without any visible signs of the fixings. Can anyone help me with an answer (just in case their mechanic has a problem). The vehicle is 2001 vintage. Many thanks. Frank.
 
There are two 10mm bolts in the very bottom of the underfloor tray, which hold in the rearmost wall around the battery. This wall includes the clamp that holds the battery down. There's a useful photo here. A socket on a long extension will be required, and you'll be glad if you put some blu-tack in the top of it. If you have the later once-piece L-shaped tool holder as in the photo, there is a cut-out where you can just get to the bolts. Otherwise they are hidden and you have to get the adjacent foam holder out, which is a bit of a fiddle, but it's do-able with some pulling and twisting. Beware, when putting the bolts back in they are very easy to cross-thread! By the same token, the brass inserts they screw into may come out with them if a previous owner cross-threaded them, and will need gluing back in afterwards.
 
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Proghound said:
the brass inserts they screw into may come out with them if a previous owner cross-threaded them, and will need gluing back in afterwards.
Click to expand...
I had my A2 from 8 month old and when I replaced the battery at 10 years the thread was crossed. Heavy handed worker on the production line I think! A fellow A2 owner with a scrappy gave me a replacement and it was fixed with epoxy. Easy but it meant taking the battery out again.

Changed my battery for the 2nd time yesterday. Radio was OK (it's 2004 with CANBUS). Had to re-pair both keys and reset the clock. Haven't checked the windows. As Proghound says, long socket extension and some blutak. I dropped one bolt and even with thin hands it was difficult to retrieve it.

Disconnect the negative first on the old battery and reconnect the negative last on the new battery.

If you look at the photo in this post you will see the large bracket and the two bolts

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Proghound said:
There are two 10mm bolts in the very bottom of the underfloor tray, which hold in the rearmost wall around the battery. This wall includes the clamp that holds the battery down. There's a useful photo here. A socket on a long extension will be required, and you'll be glad if you put some blu-tack in the top of it. If you have the later once-piece L-shaped tool holder as in the photo, there is a cut-out where you can just get to the bolts. Otherwise they are hidden and you have to get the adjacent foam holder out, which is a bit of a fiddle, but it's do-able with some pulling and twisting. Beware, when putting the bolts back in they are very easy to cross-thread! By the same token, the brass inserts they screw into may come out with them if a previous owner cross-threaded them, and will need gluing back in afterwards.
Click to expand...
Many thanks for your detailed explanation. I will be pre-armed just in case the mechanic is unfamiliar with the A2. (I will also hunt out the blue tak).
 
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