[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

It's a 12V 70AH EFB battery from Moll, Germany. Called up VW service in BLR to talk to the service advisor whether I can install equivalent battery on my own. At first he gives me the usual scare tactics. VW does not recommend third party battery and your warranty will be risk blah blah. My main purpose of calling was to find out whether I need to go for any specific variety of battery since the car has auto start stop and whether any special programming/ coding is required after installing the battery (like BMW cars need for their AGM batteries) . He seemed to be clueless. Their service centre doesn't open until 11th of this month and he has no idea whether they have batteries in stock

Yours is not an AGM or gel battery. So you can get equivalent, but not a perfect match, DIN 70 (+/- 5 AH) batteries from Indian manufacturers. There are also similar "special" batteries used by cars with similar functions in India i.e cars labelled hybrid or similar, for e.g. some M&M models. It may be worthwhile to check this option. Other than the capacity you will need to check the dimensions and the terminal placements (negative left or right, positive left or right) on the battery case.

About the necessity of programming the ECU/BCU, I am not aware of it. VAG specific forums may be your best option for a authoritative answer. I'd also recommend buying a smart charger for your cars.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Yours is not an AGM or gel battery. So you can get equivalent, but not a perfect match, DIN 70 (+/- 5 AH) batteries from Indian manufacturers. There are also similar "special" batteries used by cars with similar functions in India i.e cars labelled hybrid or similar, for e.g. some M&M models. It may be worthwhile to check this option. Other than the capacity you will need to check the dimensions and the terminal placements (negative left or right, positive left or right) on the battery case.

About the necessity of programming the ECU/BCU, I am not aware of it. VAG specific forums may be your best option for a authoritative answer. I'd also recommend buying a smart charger for your cars.

Thanks! I did manage to get an experienced SA on the phone later on and he explained to me that for vehicles with start/ stop system viz. the GTI and the new Passat (apparently the Tiguan does not come with auto start stop) there is no option to fit aftermarket batteries as these are special batteries that need to cope with the high loads demanded by the start / stop system. Also they need to do battery adaptation via the engine management software after installing the new battery.

I am poor on technical matters like these. So I did a bit of reading on the net and I understand that cars with auto start stop systems need EFB or AGM batteries to cope with the high demands of the system. AGM is superior to EFB. We can replace EFB battery with EFB or AGM only. And AGM batteries must be replaced by AGM batteries only. Also battery adaptation is a must as the ECU needs to be told that there is a new battery installed, so that it delivers the appropriate charge. It needs to unlearn its old charging habits. Coding is possible only for batteries that have a BEM tag that contains the information for coding. From the photo of my battery, I see that it does have a BEM tag.



Given that my car is a rare VW and still on warranty, I am not inclined to take any chances. I am happy that the battery gave up right outside my gate and not at some other location. The VW centre is closed right now and opens only after a week. .

So the stupid start / stop system is more than just an irritation. I have to pay more for an expensive battery to support this headache!

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

he explained to me that for vehicles with start/ stop system viz. the GTI and the new Passat (apparently the Tiguan does not come with auto start stop) there is no option to fit aftermarket batteries as these are special batteries that need to cope with the high loads demanded by the start / stop system.

They fit most cars with Start/ Stop these days. Load carrying capacity of battery is mentioned on the battery, this rating will be the maximum carrying capacity irrespective of the type. Maruti probably uses Two batteries as mentioned here, so VW must be using some high capacity battery.

https://www.financialexpress.com/aut...nance/1927913/

Senior guy is sweet talking but I will take a call to go local route if the difference is huge. In case VW is 20-50% expensive, don't bother with outside.

Did you got such indication?

I remember when my car initially arrived at the dealership prior to the PDI, the salesman showed me round it and I noticed that the display said the start/stop was inoperative. He said this was because the battery would be in a low state of charge from the factory and following shipping - of course they would charge it fully as part of the PDI.

https://uk-polos.net/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=66957

[utkarsha87]

Hi fellow BHPians, as the lockdown is getting lifted I am sure this will be a good topic to visit. My Isuzu v cross was has been standing idle for about a month now. I tried to jump start it yesterday with my Creta petrol battery, however it is not responding, the cable was connected for almost half an hour or so, but the battery would not pick up. I had once previously jump started it once and it came alive happily on one go. Do you think I have spoilt my battey permanently, because the car is only 9 month young. Any insights from the battery gurus please.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by utkarsha87

Hi fellow BHPians, as the lockdown is getting lifted I am sure this will be a good topic to visit. My Isuzu v cross was has been standing idle for about a month now. I tried to jump start it yesterday with my Creta petrol battery, however it is not responding, the cable was connected for almost half an hour or so, but the battery would not pick up. I had once previously jump started it once and it came alive happily on one go. Do you think I have spoilt my battey permanently, because the car is only 9 month young. Any insights from the battery gurus please.

Just charge it yourself using a bench charger (if you have one). or get it charged by a battery shop or your car dealer when the lock down is lifted.

[Miyata]

Originally Posted by utkarsha87

Do you think I have spoilt my battey permanently

Unlikely. You just might have some muck/oxides/deposits or some such preventing a proper electrical contact for the jump start/charging.

If you have sandpaper, just polish off the region (with sandpaper) where you'll be clamping down the jump start cables and give it another go. I suspect this might be just it.

[IndigoXLGrandDi]

The Batteries of our Xylo (2009) and Elite i20 Asta CRDi (March 2015) are showing Needs Charging Indication.

I tried to charge the battery of Xylo using Home Inverter. But the Charging ON light on Inverter is stable and not blinking. i.e. the battery is not charging through that Inverter.

How to charge the Battery now?

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by IndigoXLGrandDi

I tried to charge the battery of Xylo using Home Inverter. But the Charging ON light on Inverter is stable and not blinking. i.e. the battery is not charging through that Inverter.

How to charge the Battery now?

Have you tried calling the nearest roadside assistance guys? In here at least they were active during lockdown and were able to supply batteries as needed.

If the battery is too old , it is not recommended to attempt to charge it yourself.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by IndigoXLGrandDi

The Batteries of our Xylo (2009) and Elite i20 Asta CRDi (March 2015) are showing Needs Charging Indication. I tried to charge the battery of Xylo using Home Inverter. But the Charging ON light on Inverter is stable and not blinking. i.e. the battery is not charging through that Inverter. How to charge the Battery now?

Firstly, how did you manage to attach the inverter's leads to the car batteries? Secondly did you check and if required top off cells with distilled water? Car and inverter batteries have attachment methods. A loose connection could be one of the reasons why the charge indicator is not blinking.

Please use a battery charger with crocodile clamps to connect car batteries. If you were somehow able to get a tight connection to the battery the lack of charging can be caused by a faulty/dead battery. If you don't have a car battery charger have your batteries tested and bench charged by a battery shop once the lock down is lifted.

[zaheermk]

The dos & don'ts that I follow for better life of the overall vehicle, not only the battery, are:

1. Start & stop the engine at no load (mechanical, electrical, physical etc.).
By mechanical load, I mean load on the engine mechanically - I engage the clutch pedal and then only start/stop a vehicle. Some new gen vehicles have this enabled by default, due to safety reason. Remember the fact that wheel power is always lower than engine power, since there is transmission loss in the drivetrain, which is mainly due to the load of the drivetrain and so engaging the clutch can take off this load from the engine. For reference, in light-duty four wheelers (cars & light UVs) falling in between 1-2lit. engine disp., when measured, these transmission losses are usually found to be around 5-10% of the engine power.
Then there is the A/C, which I keep turned off while starting and stopping, that else would start/stop the compressor immediately or during stopping will keep some refrigerant in the A/C circuit, which is said not to be recommended. Ideal is to turn off only the A/C, and keep the blower switched on, once you halt/park the vehicle (or maybe even a couple of minutes before parking) and then idle it for a minute or so to keep the circuit dry and free of the refrigerant, specially if not going to use for a couple of days, to avoid any possible corrosion trigger (another simultaneous benefit of the 'Idling Rule').
By electrical load, which has also been described earlier/initially in this thread - no electrical items should be working, which include all lights interior & exterior, music system, any charging devices on USB port, A/C, etc.
Disconnect the negative terminal of the battery, if not going to use for more than ten days/two weeks. However good the electrical system is, there will still be minute electrical charge leakage/consumption by the clock/ECU etc. and these leakages, if not charged again by running in a couple of days, could get the battery voltage to drop from 12V to less than 10V. Further down, and once the battery voltage goes lower than 8V, the car won't be able to self start and will then require a push/jump start. For reference, as soon as the engine is started, the alternator would start charging the battery and the voltage should rise to anything between 13-14V for a healthy battery (could be checked with a multimeter).
By physical load, I mean the point no.2 below.

2. Keep windows, doors, bonnet and boot shut while starting & stopping engine.
This might not be of much importance in new cars, but as the car gets old, the body parts like door hinges and window liners would have become weak, and the jerks/shocks (specially with Diesel engines) during starting & stopping could be trigger points for them to crack/fail sooner. Though the new gen cars have rubberized engine mounts which dampen the engine vibes to some extent, I still follow it, since my car is now at 145K odo.
I, as a habit, keep all windows closed while driving/at all times, to reduce dust entry into the cabin as far as possible, since, once dust enters the cabin and goes into those small holes and crevices, it becomes near impossible to clear it completely, and then on, you will have it recirculated in your cabin when you put on AC in re-circulation mode. Driving with the windows rolled down will definitely age your car interiors sooner as it will fade earlier and look dusty/dirty very frequently. And yes, I always drive with the windows rolled up & also in A/C re-circulation mode and I can very well see its effect on my car interiors/dash/panel/cluster etc.

3. Idle the engine for around a minute after starting & before stopping.
On turbo equipped cars, this is of much more importance, as have been mentioned earlier in our forum also many times and even has a thread named 'Idling Rule'.

4. Go above 2000rpm, only after the coolant temperature gauge needle has risen and settled at around mid-point of the gauge.
For vehicles without coolant temperature gauge, considering a duration of 5 minutes should be fine. Till then, the vehicle could be driven normally, by not going above 2000rpm/up-shifting before 2000rpm. If paid attention, it could be noticed that the engine is smoother and quieter, after it reaches the optimum working temperature. For reference, on most cars, at 2000rpm, 1st gear will be ~15kmph, 2nd gear will be ~25kmph, 3rd gear will be ~40kmph, 4th gear will be ~60kmph and 5th gear will be ~80kmph. So it is very well possible to drive normally without going above 2000rpm at any point of time, which will give the best fuel economy also.

These above are what I have learnt with my experience and are no hard & fast rules. Please comment/correct where you think I am wrong, so that I can also understand and correct myself.

I will also take a minute here and thank my car's first owner, who himself has maintained the car so well, and the car looks like he has followed each point above properly, only due to which, is why, the small efforts that I am putting in up-keeping are reflecting so well on the car and giving me a great ride.

I am sorry, if I have gone slightly off-topic.

[Nalin1]

Originally Posted by zaheermk

The dos & don'ts that I follow for better life of the overall vehicle, not only the battery, are:

These above are what I have learnt with my experience and are no hard & fast rules. Please comment/correct where you think I am wrong, so that I can also understand and correct myself.

I will also take a minute here and thank my car's first owner, who himself has maintained the car so well, and the car looks like he has followed each point above properly, only due to which, is why, the small efforts that I am putting in up-keeping are reflecting so well on the car and giving me a great ride.

I am sorry, if I have gone slightly off-topic.

Actually I also do everything that you have mentioned here !.

Most things I picked up from other threads here and if we are looking to keep the car for over 5 years or so, I think these best practices are absolutely necessary .

[zaheermk]

Originally Posted by Nalin1

Actually I also do everything that you have mentioned here !.

Most things I picked up from other threads here and if we are looking to keep the car for over 5 years or so, I think these best practices are absolutely necessary .

Good to know that we think on the same lines.

True, our cars will be looking/ageing better, if we follow these points, when we keep them for a long period.

And sad to say, in the case of first owners not maintaining these disciplinary actions, the brunt of that has to be maintained by the second or third owners. Suppose the first owner sells it at 50K, the effect of the lack of following these disciplinary points would be very difficult to see then. The effects might surface at 100K or maybe even later, by which the second owner could also have sold it.

It remains a hit or miss to buy used cars, which are maintained following these disciplines, else it would take a very experienced hand to gauge/foresee these effects and buy.

Originally Posted by IndigoXLGrandDi

How to charge the Battery now?

It should be possible to charge a car battery with an home inverter, since both are 12V systems and charge till 13-14V. Our car batteries usually have storage capacities ranging from 35-75Ah, depending on the model, whereas our home inverter batteries normally range from 90-150Ah. So, what the inverter takes for charging an inverter battery, it should do in much less time for a car battery.

Now, when you connect your car battery to your inverter, the light is constantly on and not blinking.

I think the light when constantly on means, the inverter is not charging/since the battery is fully charged. And when blinking, it means, the inverter is charging/since the battery is in a (partly) discharged state. If the blinking does not stop after some time/constantly blinks, it could mean, fully discharged state/not able to attain charged state, due to low specific gravity of the electrolyte/life of the cells over beyond chargeable condition etc.

Do you have a multimeter with you? Can you check the battery voltage when connected to the inverter and in disconnected condition?

When connected to the inverter, it should show anything between 13-14V for a healthy/charging battery and in disconnected condition, it should show anything above 4-6V. If it is less than 4V, it is normally because the battery is nearing its end of life, and even if revived by bench charging, it might not last much. If is more than 6V, then it should be able to be bench charged (at a battery dealer shop) with a higher/double charging rate than what the home inverter does. If it is above 10V, then the home inverter itself should be able to do the job.

[Swapnil4585]

I faced two issues in my car yesterday noon, which I shared elsewhere. One of the issue is a discharged battery.

The facts -

1. My car is unfortunately parked under direct hot sun since March.

2. I start it once every 10 days and drive it for around 15 minutes in our locality. While doing this I roll the windows down and up, start the fan, music, etc. I'm sure it does not help.

3. I had washed the engine bay 3-4 days back.

Now the car does not start. The headlights glow dim, the instrument cluster lit up very dim. Horn blows weak. The battery is drained, I'm sure. What do I do to charge it at home?

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by Swapnil4585

...

Now the car does not start. The headlights glow dim, the instrument cluster lit up very dim. Horn blows weak. The battery is drained, I'm sure. What do I do to charge it at home?

How old is the battery?

Your best bet is to get it bench-charged at a battery dealer. That will also serve as a precautionary check whether any specific cells have issues with holding charge.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Swapnil4585

Now the car does not start. The headlights glow dim, the instrument cluster lit up very dim. The horn blows weak. The battery is drained, I'm sure. What do I do to charge it at home?

If you have an inverter at home, maybe you can try charging it through that circuit (just a guess).

Aren't there any battery dealers near your house? Maybe another car with a healthy battery, jump start the car and then go to any battery dealer in your city (if you know anyone) and ask them to charge the battery overnight. They'll give you a spare battery till the one you gave is charged up. Next day, go pick your battery and drive the car around for a while if possible. Park the car and start it again the next day and see if it does or not.