Xantia Battery selection

[arkweld]

Can anyone give some pointers to selecting a battery for Xantia Activa as the current one is venting its contents .
A Bosch S5 027 63ah CCA 610 has after four years begun to create whitey powder about , taking the paint off the tray .
apparently this discharge is the sulphating process caused from the charging cycle pattern . i.e.frequent low drain .
So after searching for a replacement many options , many different amps .
I could replace for another Bosch I'm unsure as to go higher with
the Amp hours , try other brands Varta with the similar size or any other .
Would be grateful for any suggestions or what any others are running in there Xantia'

ps i have read through many threads and glazed over purchasing drop down menu's
it's the specifics that i am after .

[Stickyfinger]

a 75ah should be more than good for a Xantia's needs, it is what I have in the V6 and it turns it well.

[arkweld]

Thank's
so generally the higher grade the better is that what to go for .
096 Varta Silver Dynamic Car Battery 12V 74Ah
Bosch S5 silver 100 Battery (S5007)
Bosch S4 Car Battery Type 096 74Ah 680cca

[Stickyfinger]

Both good makers....you will notice the difference on a cold winter day

[Zelandeth]

My approach to batteries is pretty simple - get the biggest that you can fit and afford. If you can afford an AGM type then go for it (the CCA rate they can handle is frankly ridiculous).

If the battery is in such a poor state though after only 4 years I would take a careful look at the charging system. It's not unknown for alternator regulators to fail in such a way that over charges the battery and causes massive outgassing. Stick a meter between the terminals with the engine running, you're looking for 13-14V, anything much over that means trouble and that your new battery will soon go the same way as your old one.

I generally take batteries out in the spring and autumn and run them through a conditioning cycle then a full slow charge on my charger, and thus far have yet to have a failure. Lead acid batteries can be surprisingly long lived with the right treatment, especially decent quality ones.

I don't think any of the ones I have in regular use are less than 10 years old, even in the Skoda with the puny 45A alternator! Had to charge the Xantia's once in the winter, but that was mainly due to a huge number of short runs (and dodgy glowplugs making for hard cold starts) I reckon.

Bosch and Varta are my brands of choice for standard batteries, and Optima for AGMs, just be prepared to remortgage your house to buy one!

(Edited to remove touchscreen induced paragraph switching!)

[arkweld]

Even though no non starts as such I was expecting maybe about 7 year with a new battery with a five year guarantee . Possibly using the car once a week could be the cause .
The idea is to find one with the caperbility to prevent this.

[Stickyfinger]

To be honest, any battery will struggle like that, a bigger one will just take longer. You should be low power charging it once a month

[macplaxton]

Bosch and Varta car batteries are the same thing with a different label

[VertVega]

I use(d) Exide batteries in my Xantia and C5. It is reliable and works fine also under very cold climate conditions.

Here is the link for the battery selection guide --> http://web.tecdoc.net/exide" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[myglaren]

Bosch and Varta car batteries are the same thing with a different label

That's interesting.
I wanted to replace my original Varta battery with another but at the time couldn't get hold of one quickly.
Turned out there was nothing wrong with it anyway.

On the current car opted for a Bosch as again a Varta wasn't immediately available.

[macplaxton]

Look at (say on Google Images) the Bosch case mouldings of a given spec to the equivalent Varta... they are the same, but a different colour.

I can't remember exactly what, but either Varta makes them for Bosch, or it's a joint venture. Either way they come out of the same factory.


I like Volvo batteries, not sure off the top of my head who makes them for Volvo, but they are presently a nice boring black case and I can unscrew the caps at the top of the cells.

[old-un77]

seeing as you mentioned Volvo, and an entirely different subject..........
the Volvo Penta marine engine, is/was a marine-ised Perkins Prima 2.0 litre derivative of the Leyland 'O' series engine

thought you might like to know that....LOL

Bob

[Zelandeth]

Interesting...my only experience with those engines is the O.680 as used in Leyland Atlanteans...never really had reason to work on them, but driven a few.

[Stewart(oily)]

With that usage something like an optimate is what you need, or a solar panel on the roof, parasitic drains all need keeping up with.

[dnsey]

@Zelandeth: as a matter of interest, what's your 'conditioning cycle'?