AndyCrews Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 Despite many hours on charge, the battery on my Spitfire 1500 appears not to have survived the winter lay up. Even the clock had stopped. Does anyone have recommendations for a replacement, please. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 Evening Andy. I have used Yuasa / Varta / Bosch on various classics and rate them all. The important factors are amp hour and cold crank. For your car I would suggest 45AH and a cold crank of about 300 - 350. Bosch is top price, but a quality product. The others are slightly cheaper but IMHO equally good as Bosch. Price wise anything between £40 - £60 depending what you buy + the warranty offered. If you can, go for a 3 year deal. Currently running a Yuasa on my Mk2 Vitesse / Bosch on the Sunbeam Alpine and a Varta on my modern 4x4 diesel; cannot say fairer than that !! Hope that helps ?? Regards. Richard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerguzzi Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 Hello Andy Have a look at this site for good prices unless there is a local offer on? http://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/ 063 I think is what most people use? and a lot of these are 4 year warranty Roger http://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/wizard/Car+Battery+Finder/results/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 Was the battery stone dead flat? Many chargers will not charge a completely dead battery. This just happened to me, I left the door open and the interior light flattened the battery over winter. The only way to fix it is put the battery in parallel with the one in the modern. Leave it an hour, disconnect and then attach the charger. Back to normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 In many cases its the lack of cycling (charge and dischaging) needed to keep a battery fit even the best can give up with coated plates due to lack of use, I would tend towards get a 063 as these are a volume sales unit so priced well, go for the most ecconomical with a long warranty, bear in mind a lot have reducing age warranty but some dont, when it sulphates take back for replacement, Wont be everlasting warranty but you save some ££s its all down to preference pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyCrews Posted February 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 Many thanks for all the prompt and helpful replies. The battery was stone dead. Even after 10-12hours on charge, the headlights are dim, the indicators won't flash and the starter hardly turns, so new is the way to go. Had a look at the website and the 063 unit is cheaper than I thought a replacement would be. Will have a check locally and buy the best deal. Again many thanks for much useful info. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterH Posted February 19, 2015 Report Share Posted February 19, 2015 Try Halfords own brand. I've found them quite good. Reasonable price and guarantee. Also our local Halfords stock a good range (I guess they all do) if you need one in a hurry. One to suit a Spitfire = £39.99 with 3 year warranty. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted February 19, 2015 Report Share Posted February 19, 2015 I can also recommend Halford's own brand batteries. I used to buy batteries that looked like the original 1960s item from a specialist, but they only ever lasted a couple of years. I realised that this was because the reason they look like 60s batteries was because they are - built in exactly the same way, Since fitting Halford's batteries to both my cars they have never let me down, despite the fact that the cars sit in the garage unused most of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted February 19, 2015 Report Share Posted February 19, 2015 Eurocarparts were the cheapest when I replaced my 063, Exide, 4 year guarantee, £39. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyCrews Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Purchased Yasua battery with 5 year guarantee from local Halfords. Near instant start after lay up. Need some sunshine now, but forecast not good Many thanks to everyone who took the time to reply. Appreciated. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Despite many hours on charge, the battery on my Spitfire 1500 appears not to have survived the winter lay up. Even the clock had stopped. Does anyone have recommendations for a replacement, please. Andy "Even the clock has stopped" Do you mean that you left the car unused over winter - with the clock running? Experience is never cheap. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyCrews Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Yes, I did. Same thing last year and it was OK. Found the receipt for the old battery in the cars history file, it was just shy of five years old. Wasn't a cheap one either. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 Andy. All car batteries are dependent upon use. I bought a modern vehicle 10 years ago, brand new, and have just replaced the original battery as it went completely - not bad at all in my book. 10 years of virtual day-to-day use probably kept the battery in peak condition; whereas a battery that is used on a far less frequent basis will more than likely have a shorter life - it's all relative. What I would suggest and there are many to choose from, at various prices, is an automatic on/off trickle charger. They are very good. The cheaper alternative is to fire up the car every 10x days or so and let the it run for about 15 / 20 minutes. It will do the battery the world of good and of course will keep the engine running freely without any build up of moisture within from languishing doing nothing for weeks & months on end. Regards. Richard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mishmosh Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 Buy a conditioning battery charger. Not cheap but good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Yes, I did. Same thing last year and it was OK. Found the receipt for the old battery in the cars history file, it was just shy of five years old. Wasn't a cheap one either. Andy So presumably the year before that, and before that, right back five years, you let the clock discharge the battery in winter. Running a lead/acid battery down and leaving it there is the worst possible treatment. They are designed to discharge by giving a very large current to start the car, and then be immediately recharged by the dynamo/alternator system, which is also designed to provide a high recharging current to get the battery fully charged again. Lead/acids are not designed or intended to run electrical equipment for long periods. If you must have a clock, fit one that has it's own internal battery, like this one: http://www.meandmycar.co.uk/retro-dashboard-clock-p-383.html?osCsid=pk142dbao8502l4no9mqb09931 That runs off a 'pill' battery, the kind that runs hearing aids or, believe it or not, watches, and is designed to run continuously for long periods on its own charge. In the same way, leaving a car over winter and starting the engine every week or so is not what that was intended for, either! Most of the wear of an engine occurs at start up, when it is cold and there's little or no oil in the bearings. Combustion produces water, so the exhaust system gets another load of corrosion. Oil that never gets up to working temperature accumulates water, leading to engine corrosion. 15-20 minutes of quiet running in the garage (I hope you remember to open the doors, else you may be corroded by CO poisoning) will cause all this. The alternative is, as advised above, to buy a trickle charger. Look after your battery, and don't abuse your engine! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taffius Posted April 19, 2015 Report Share Posted April 19, 2015 "Even the clock has stopped" Do you mean that you left the car unused over winter - with the clock running? Experience is never cheap. John Having a look at this topic, I thought I also do not need the clock running but want to leave it in. However (newbie alert), I thought a simple "pull the wires off and insulate them up" would suffice. However before doing that, anyone with experience with respect too: 1. There is a red wired spade connector and a black wired spade connector. Pulled them clock keeps going - assumption is backlight connectors? 2. The main connector looks like a "pin barrel type" with earth to its centre and a live wire soldered by tag to its body. How do I isolate this without: a. destabilising the rest of the dash gauges (read somewhere about the 10v stabilising circuit somewhere - would it affect other gauges?) b. isolating this once pulled out - just tape it up? Don't want to cut any cables as would like to make it easy to re-install if required in the future. As always any contribution welcome please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted April 19, 2015 Report Share Posted April 19, 2015 some of the clocks were electronically would up (or something!) so will keep going for a while after disconnection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taffius Posted April 19, 2015 Report Share Posted April 19, 2015 1. There is a red wired spade connector and a black wired spade connector. Pulled them clock keeps going - assumption is backlight connectors? 2. The main connector looks like a "pin barrel type" with earth to its centre and a live wire soldered by tag to its body. How do I isolate this without: a. destabilising the rest of the dash gauges (read somewhere about the 10v stabilising circuit somewhere - would it affect other gauges?) b. isolating this once pulled out - just tape it up? Clive Thanks, but in essence there are 3 connectors (red wired, black wired then a comb with an earth and live attached to it). Will insulating them up be fine with affecting other gauges? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted April 20, 2015 Report Share Posted April 20, 2015 red is for the lamp I would think. Black an earth, the the connector for the clock?? Should have no effect anywhere else if individually insulated. However, are you concerned the clock is discharging the battery, I would look at a little solar charger. Or better, use the car regularly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taffius Posted April 20, 2015 Report Share Posted April 20, 2015 Cheers Clive - regular runs it is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 My brother inherited my father's Vauxhall Astra. 16 years old, original exhaust and battery. (The car not my brother!). The exhaust is on it's way out but the battery shows no sign of deterioration. It's his everyday runabout and although virtually worthless very low mileage and he won't part with it. More evidence of O.E. superiority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s.leah Posted April 27, 2015 Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 Why not just fit one of these? Battery isolator Simples! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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