2015 Battery replacement....DIY???

[KerniwFire]

Good morning all, new to the forum, 1st post. Hope you are all well.

As in the title, is battery replacement, in a 2015 Grand C4 Picasso 2.0 HDi, a DIY job?

I'm currently looking at an AGM 096 start stop battery and I've found a video of removal and found the forum posts on reconnection but is it too difficult for someone with no mechanical experience.

I dont trust my local garages/Halfords etc to not mess it up

All advice most welcome. Thanks

[GiveMeABreak]

It can be simple to do if you follow basic precautions. These vehicles have a lot of sensitive electronic control units (ECUs). The BSI Reset / Battery Disconnect / Reconnect Procedure exists to help ensure several things - a) that the various ECUs have time to write their data back before the power is disconnected and b) to help avoid electrical issues when replacing the battery.

Obviously it goes without saying that reversing the terminal connections or short circuiting can be bad news for ECUs. So if you are concerned with the likes of Halfords, just call your dealer and get a quote for them to fit it for you.

If you are getting a battery of a different type (Flooded Cell / AGM) or of a much higher capacity than you had, then you may also need the Battery type configured in the Battery Charge Status Unit parameters, so it factors this in, due to the way it monitors battery health and informs the BSI.

[RichardW]

These can be a PITA depending on what's fitted on / too the battery. You often need to disconnect the fuse / connector board, and releasing it can be trying. The rear neg connection is stuffed well under the scuttle. Not to put you off, but just so know what you might be getting into!

[Dormouse]

These can be a PITA depending on what's fitted on / too the battery. You often need to disconnect the fuse / connector board, and releasing it can be trying. The rear neg connection is stuffed well under the scuttle. Not to put you off, but just so know what you might be getting into!

I agree and there are covers and air filter bits in the way that make handling the battery awkward. One bit of info that gets mixed up in what batteries will fit is the height. Be careful and measure the size of the battery and don't rely on online parts fitment guides. Type 100 batteries, for instance, actually come in two common heights and are actually given the same part number despite actually being different and having different part numbers. So, beware - parts lists can be wrong.

Having said all this, changing a battery is relatively easy if you are a careful, methodical person and have read and understood all the info in the other replies above.

PS welcome to FCF

[KerniwFire]

Thank you all for the replies, much appreciated.
I think I'm going to give it go.

Just to double check with all you knowledgeable ones my reasoning for thinking it's a battery:

Start / Stop was intermittent in working for a while theb completely stopped.
Then a few/6 months later started getting a yellow electrical fault warning when turning on the ignition but still started fine.
Month or so later failed to start. Did start eventually and seems to be starting fine if I make sure my drive home is over 30 minutes.

This has all led me to believe that a new battery is what's needed. I'm looking at the Halfords AGM 96 one that is recommended for my car and looking at giving it a go myself

[myglaren]

Halfords are usually very expensive, relatively, unless you have one of their discount cards.

Have a look at what TAYNA batteries have to offer, also The Battery Guys.

[GiveMeABreak]

If you are on the original battery for the vehicle - it will be well past useful life - especially with Stop Start. It's 7-8 years old depending on date it left the factory which can be well before the registration year, so is overdue a change.

[KerniwFire]

If you are on the original battery for the vehicle - it will be well past useful life - especially with Stop Start. It's 7-8 years old depending on date it left the factory which can be well before the registration year, so is overdue a change.

Thank you for such a quick reply. Wish me luck.

[MartinPhil]

Hello Kerniwfire,
Good to see you are replacing the battery. Did you have problems with the alarm going off when you tried to lock the car after? I have this problem and it's doing my head in. A car mechanic also told me that these stop start systems only work well in the summer here in the U.K. as there are so many accesories going on in the cooler months that it just won't kick in. I suggested replacing my battery but was told that would help for a few months but then not work because the battery needs so much juice to keep other things going. I realise that you have other issues so a BSI reset might resolve all that. Please let me know your findings. Thanks

[GiveMeABreak]

Stop Start relies on a lot more than just battery charge. It depends of course on the state of battery, but also on the Climate Control system temp. required, outside temperature, engine temperature, distance since last Stop / Start and a host of other things.

But unless you are doing decent, regular journeys, the battery won't be able to replenish the charge taken out from starting and all the use of equipment. Many people are having this issue with the pandemic and where vehicles are sitting for longer periods than usual. There is a residual drain when the car is doing nothing, so you have to factor that in.

I've just had a brand new battery installed by Citroen under warranty, and that cured the Stop Start not working for about 2 months and now it's not working again.

It's because we don't do the mileage on it at present. I'm going to leave it for now as if I recharge it, it'll just do the same in a few weeks again.

In your case, if you have the alarm going off too, then either you have a very weak battery on the car. This can cause the alarm module internal battery to become discharged if the main battery isn't recharging it.

So I think you'll need to do some investigation first.