Fabia vRS Battery Replacement

[d_lawton03]

Guys,

Now the cold weather has begun I am going to replace the battery as it is now 5yrs old.

I am wondering are there any recommended batteries? or any that are better than others?

Thanks in advance

[TrevorB33]

just got a bosch one from eurocarparts 5 year warranty, long as its 70amp itll be alright most come with 2-3 year warranty just depends how much you want to spend

[RADIOTWO]

just got a bosch one from eurocarparts 5 year warranty, long as its 70amp itll be alright most come with 2-3 year warranty just depends how much you want to spend

Go spill the beans ! What did you pay ?

Radiotwo

[TrevorB33]

retail is 67+ vat but obviously i paid alot less then that lol

[Soot1e]

Varta made the OE ones and they lasted about 7years on VRS's so I guess Varta is the favourite followed by Bosch and Exide. I have a Unipart battery £99 and fitted by the AA 2 weeks ago but didn't have any choice as it was breakdown.

[DRJ]

just got a bosch one from eurocarparts 5 year warranty, long as its 70amp itll be alright most come with 2-3 year warranty just depends how much you want to spend

Later vRS's have lower capacity batteries - mine has option code J0N = Battery 330 A (61 Ah) - but I don't know why and I don't know whether they're the same physical size or smaller. I presume the change occurred with the change in battery cover design but can't confirm that yet.

[TrevorB33]

mines an 05 facelift cant see why thered go to a smaller capacity

[DRJ]

mines an 05 facelift cant see why thered go to a smaller capacity

The change definitely occurred after facelift - I suspect it was when the BLT engine was introduced. Every last component on a car is value engineered to the hilt - so I suppose they cut down the capacity of the batteries to save a few pennies - or whatever they have where it's made...

[toothandnail]

Later vRS's have lower capacity batteries - mine has option code J0N = Battery 330 A (61 Ah) - but I don't know why and I don't know whether they're the same physical size or smaller. I presume the change occurred with the change in battery cover design but can't confirm that yet.

The original Varta in my 04 plate VRS was 278mm long, 175mm wide and 190mm high. Rated at 70AH, 350CSA (DIN). Not sure how that compares with the later, smaller battery, though I did see a shorter battery listed, so maybe that is the 60AH one.

I ended up having to change it in a hurry ( :( my own fault, knew it was getting old and sick), and I've ended up with a Yuasa. Not cheap, and a fairly rare beast in this part of the world (though all my Hondas had Yuasa battereis as OE). Its got a 5 year warranty, so I hope it was worth it.....

If it hadn't been so sudden, I was planning on buying a Varta from eBay.

Paul.

[DRJ]

My failing battery is a:

AKUMA 12V 61AH 330A DIN 540A EN/SAE

Part no 1J0 915 105 AD

Dimensions (as far as I could measure) - 238 long x 170 wide x 188 high

Can anyone please point out any other battery manufacturer's specification which will replace this battery - or am I going to have to buy a Skoda one?

All the online battery replacement websites ignore the later battery size fitted to (at least) the vRS.

I don't want to fit a physically larger one since Skoda must have provided the insulating jacket for a reason and others have reported leaving that off.

[ricardo_smooth]

I bought a varta battery yesterday rated at 74ah (biggest one that fits in the OE jacket ect without issue) couldn't tell you the dimesions if you had a gun to my head though! and I paid waaaay under trade price as my old man knows the battery shop man

I think its this one though http://www.carbatteryshop.co.uk/i-Type-096R-Varta-Blue-Dynamic-Car-Battery-12V-74Ah-Short-Code-E12-Varta-DIN-574-013-068-I3196.html

comes up when you search for fabia battery anyway

Edited 21 December, 2010 by ricardo_smooth

[vRSsunroof]

while this thread is going mine is due for replacement any recomendations when doing this?

Which terminals come off and go on first?

Will the alarm sound when the battery is removed? (GF golf did when that one got changed) if so any way to stop this happening?

[DRJ]

I bought a varta battery yesterday rated at 74ah (biggest one that fits in the OE jacket ect without issue) couldn't tell you the dimesions if you had a gun to my head though! and I paid waaaay under trade price as my old man knows the battery shop man

I think its this one though http://www.carbatteryshop.co.uk/i-Type-096R-Varta-Blue-Dynamic-Car-Battery-12V-74Ah-Short-Code-E12-Varta-DIN-574-013-068-I3196.html

comes up when you search for fabia battery anyway

I realise it might come up when you search for a fabia battery but it's 40mm longer than mine!

I can only conclude you've got the older car with the larger battery.

I reckon I could get a slightly larger battery beneath the electronics carrier - but only about +10mm longer

[ricardo_smooth]

I really should read things poperly. I do have the older battery type (04 plate) sorry dude. And FYI vrssunroof alarm doesn't sound and I did mine positive off first, then neg. Then neg on first. Pos on last for refit.

[newskoda]

http://www.tayna.co.uk/Type-096-Varta-Silver-Dynamic-Car-Battery-P3197.html

I had this one fitted to mine a few months ago. Is very good

[DRJ]

http://www.tayna.co.uk/Type-096-Varta-Silver-Dynamic-Car-Battery-P3197.html

I had this one fitted to mine a few months ago. Is very good

Please note that's the LARGE battery - my car needs the SMALL battery

[Black-Cat]

Which terminals come off and go on first?

Will the alarm sound when the battery is removed? (GF golf did when that one got changed) if so any way to stop this happening?

Negative off first and on last...

[grr666]

http://www.tayna.co.uk/Type-096-Varta-Silver-Dynamic-Car-Battery-P3197.html

I had this one fitted to mine a few months ago. Is very good

Me too. Great battery and great service from Tayna.

[DRJ]

BUMP - so has no one had to replace one of the small batteries yet?

[Polo6n1600i]

I've treated my VRS to a Bosch Silver s5 (HSB096) from Halfords on my trade card - only £84.99. Should sort out some of my cars woes!

[DRJ]

For info the Bosch battery noted above is the large one...

[Polo6n1600i]

Yeah - its the big battery! Sorry! should have put that! Mines a 53 plate on the ASZ engine code

[vindaloo]

while this thread is going mine is due for replacement any recomendations when doing this?

Which terminals come off and go on first?

Will the alarm sound when the battery is removed? (GF golf did when that one got changed) if so any way to stop this happening?

Negative off first and back on last when refitting. If you have and additional wiring on the positive (amp wiring etc.), undo that connection first as it saves wrestling with wires in the air.

Access to the battery clamp is tight. Take the front panel off the battery box for more space. You can also lift the battery cozy/insulator a tad. Battery's base is held under a recess at the back, so it'll tilt or need sliding forwards to remove.... And sliding backwards into place when refitting.

Remember which way up the clamp fits. I forgot and lost 15 minutes of my life swearing at it trying to get it back on upside-down.

Other things...

- One touch windows will reset to "normal" mode.

- Radio code "may" need to be entered if it's not "smart".

- All current and saved trip data is reset and the clock resets to midnight.

J.

[DRJ]

Since no one on here can advise the later car's battery specification I drove over to the nearest Skoda dealer today - only to find them closed for lunch !!!!! I could have bought a car but not booked a service or bought a spare part!

Edited 22 December, 2010 by DRJ

[ricardo_smooth]

bad times!