After 11 years of service..

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modi
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After 11 years of service..

Post by modi »

Sorry to say i eventually had to change my battery this morning after long 11 year of service, the rac man was astonished.. but confirmed its the battery nothing else. But I was very happy with the car, after replacing the battery, a flashing light started to come on every 2-3 minutes, i thought here you go, trouble chain, but I quickly realized that I have the alarm disarmed, I activated it and everything back to normal, as if its saying to me put your alarm on love, thats romantic..
leonard1
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Post by leonard1 »

I bet you're sorry you got RAC to replace the battery. They are in the Kwik-Fit league for rip offs for car batteries.
Wookey
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Post by Wookey »

11 years is remarkable. What was the use profile (how often started, journey type/length etc) and what sort of batt was it?
xantiaBFY
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Post by xantiaBFY »

yes, its amazing. Over here the most mine would last is 3 years and thats if I am lucky.
JohnD
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Post by JohnD »

We have three 1998 Cits/Pugs in the family. The Xantia battery lasted just three years. The other two are still on the originals.
Daniel B
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Post by Daniel B »

Doesn't automatically mean he bought the battery off the RAC..........
11 years is stunning though, mines on about 3 at the moment, after the previousone died but within it's 5 year warranty.
Its a fairly big bugger, 565 IIRC.
modi
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Post by modi »

Daniel B, you are right, I am not that fool!! I called the RAC man so he check if there is a leak of power and check all possible causes, but he confirmed what I was waiting to hear (the battery is gone), it was Sunday, I checked Kwik-Fit they gave me a damn high price -as usual- then stright to my favorit local spare shop, I got new one for £38.00 + 2year warranty.[;)] thats 1/2 kwikfit price [:D]
The battery was just Citroen battery labeled (Don not use before/after Jan 2000 unless fully charged)
I only do 2 journies a day -light user- previous owner was srudent, 82k on the clock.
Stuart McB
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Post by Stuart McB »

Been out and checked the voltage on my Xsara (Citroen genuine) battery this morning. 12.3 volts on my meter but the little green indicator light was very faint, it's usualy quite bright. Only checked it, as yesterday when I started it up after 2 day lay up (I'm on annual leave at the mo) it just didn't catch first time, second and it was away. Just had a phone around in my area and they're all about £42 inc VAT except for Citroen which is £46 inc VAT. Problem is there are these funny looking caps on the battery poles. One RED the other GREEN. I know the obvious but how do they come off and do I need any special kind of adaptor if I don't buy a genuine Citroen battery? Going to check the voltage again tomorrow if it's dropped then it's looking like a new battery.
dnsey
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Post by dnsey »

The following is from the 'Battery University' website
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/index.htm
- very interesting reading if you're into such things:
"Heat is a killer of VRLA. Many stationary batteries are kept in shelters with no air conditioning. Every 8°C (15°F) rise in temperature cuts the battery life in half. A VRLA battery, which would last for 10 years at 25°C (77°F), will only be good for 5 years if operated at 33°C (95°F). Once damaged by heat, no remedy exists to improve capacity."
tomsheppard
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Post by tomsheppard »

Yet the capacity falls when they get cold. Sorry, this data I find untrustworthy.
dnsey
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Post by dnsey »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Yet the capacity falls when they get cold.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
True, but the two factors are not mutually exclusive by any means.
Stuart McB
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Post by Stuart McB »

Well checked the battery this morning and it's dropped to just about 12 volts [:(]. So off I go to Citroen who tell me that my genuine Citroen battery is the wrong one anyway and must have been fitted by the last owner. The dealer checked his computer and sure enough the battery was fitted in 2001, 3 years after the original battery from the factory. This battery, after 4([V]) years has gone and bit the dust. Anyhow they brought out a new citroen battery, the right one this time and told me that it has only a 3 year guarantee and would cost £46 + VAT. On asking who made the battery I was told that it was an 'Exide' brand name, just badged up for Citroen. With this info I was off down to the local motor quip factors. Now they had the same 'Exide' battery for £36 + VAT. The same battery [?][?]. I've handed over my cash and fitted the new battery with a 4 year guarantee. All's now OK. But how do they get the pricing so far apart for the same product [?]
tomsheppard
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Post by tomsheppard »

Stuart-
You know that a horizontal double chevron means fast forward >> or << fast backwards?
Think about it.
Stuart McB
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Post by Stuart McB »

Thanks for that I'd nearly forgotten. LOL
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