Battery

[RM955I]

Electrics....never my strong point!

My battery is showing 12.45v at rest and will jump up to 13.5/14v when the car is running so it is charging properly.

However, I don't think it's putting out the CCAs that it should and therefore suspect it is failing. Is there a way to check the state of the battery other than a very basic test of Volts?

AFAIK putting it on charge overnight wont' really help much or tell me much as it'll hold the volts on charge but I need to get a better idea of the overall condition of the battery and its cranking amps. I haven't got one of those fancy battery testers (that would be too easy), just a digital voltmeter if that helps anyone suggest a test to run. I don't want to replace it if it not essential but my gut feel is that the battery is on its way out.

[itguy]

dont halfords do a free battery healthcheck on a machine if you take the battery in?

[Missing Lincs]

A quick trip to the local tyre and battery centre on the pretense of buying a new battery will get you a free test

Otherwise, you could measure the voltage when cranking the engine, anything below 11 volts is a sign of failing battery but a proper battery tester is usually a better indication.

[RM955I]

Well, Halfords had a Bosch gizmo that showed it only has 46% of the required CCAs so it's failed/failing.

What confuses me now is that the existing Volvo battery is 520 CCA, 70A/H but all the replacement batteries are physically larger (I see the battery clamp has 2 positions) and are all 720CCA.

A couple of phone calls suggest that I have an '075' battery which is not generally recommended as it should be an '096' type.....does anyone know if this is right?


So, has my car got the wrong battery, were they 'uprated' at some point or are all the re-sellers like Halfords and GSF wrong???

Help!....I don't know what to order.

[itguy]

Are halfords/gsf listing different batteries for the diesels vs the petrols?

In my experience the diesels tend to have a bigger battery but i wonder if halfords etc are just all saying it's the one and same battery?

[RM955I]

Yes, Halfords list a different battery for the diesel.

A bit more digging and it seems that P1 V70 had a type 075 battery fitted but P2 should have type 096....so, either the wrong battery was fitted to my car originally or it has been replaced with the wrong battery at some time which is most odd as it is a Volvo branded battery.

On the plus side I have bagged a bargain http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Exide-Exce...560#vi-content I phoned them to check fitment and they said it should be 69 pounds but they'd honour the price

[KBB]

You will not do any harm by fitting a higher capacity battery, if any thing you will gain a better cold start.

[RM955I]

Existing battery is 520...replacement is 680 which is quite a jump.

I still can't fathom out why it apparently has the wrong Volvo battery on it

[Georgeandkira]

Hello, Don't ponder the smaller or incorrect battery being in your cat too much. Any number of things could have happened. If, during a period of storage, your battery was allowed to die once too often, it would've been replaced with anything handy. Car lots shuffle batteries around as a matter of course. Your vehicle may have had the correct, larger, Volvo branded battery in it to start with, only to have it removed to install into another car. That car could've had a trailer hitch installed and the dealership/garage needed the larger battery fast. Be grateful a Volvo battery found its way into your car. From people's reports, they're well made. You did the better thing to catch it whilst it was aging, not as it was dying. Never forget, The first searing HOT day and the first frigid COLD day kills batteries. You never want to hear, "Ohhhh, a Volvo. You have a $pecia£ battery." Kira