Red Studio

You can connect a standard lead acid battery of similar capacity in parallel with the AGM to charge it on a standard charger. It worked for my older battery but I've bought an AGM charger now too. Interestingly the supplier of the new battery states that the warranty on their Optima batteries is voided if the battery is allowed to fall below 10.5 volts as it will irreparably damage it. They give the same disclaimer on the blue top deep cycle version and the yellow top general purpose and not just the red top starting battery. I may have misunderstood what a deep cycle battery is but I thought they were able to be run down and recharged.

Well a new Optima red top arrived today so will fit it tomorrow. Even though I've pulled the fuse for the fog lights I'm not confident that it's not going to drain another so I've fitted an isolator. Don't fancy forking out another £154! The diesel Cruisers have an Optima AGM battery under the passenger seat as there's no room under the bonnet with the Mercedes diesel engine. The electrics are a nightmare - some is standard and some specific to the diesel so a lot of the books are wrong. I'll try to check for a drain with everything turned off - my main worry is that there'll be a fog lamp relay not protected by the fuse that will still drain it. None shown on the diagram in Haynes but for whatever reason the diesel's fog lamp fuse is in a second box under the bonnet and not in the main fuse box as per standard petrol version so Haynes may be wrong. After four Skodas I just fancied a change - see what happens when you don't drive a Skoda!

Have you tried pressing the ASR button on the dash? If you press it to disable it that puts the ABS light on in ours.

Just as an update if anyone else finds themselves with a flat AGM battery : It will get up to near 10v charging in parallel with the other battery but when I start charging on its own from there it rapidly falls back to 6v at which point the charger shuts off and flags it up as a battery fault. Looks like it's very easy to knacker an AGM by draining it completely - it seems that half the cells have gone down. I'm relying on the old battery at the moment but that was originally replaced as borderline so with the cold weather I've had to jump it off the Fabia twice this week. Going to have to order a new one. Thanks for the input, I think we knew how this would end though.

For sure, that's what it looks like to me too. I've got the old one in there now, 12.67 V in the cold this morning, 14.25 V with the car running at idle. I'll give the flat one another try at the weekend but I think it's had it.

Sounds like the backrest may have popped out of its bracket on one side where it mounts to the floor. They're designed so they can be removed when tilted part way forward. I think you can see one with the rear door open and the other will be visible if you take out the back of the narrow seat. That may give you a bit more wiggle room to free it. I've managed to get mine crooked but never managed to lock them like that. Sorry I'm not very descriptive - I left the car at work Friday so I'm working from memory.

It's nothing so sophisticated. It's a diesel PT Cruiser, the battery's an AGM as it is on its side under the passenger seat. Both new and old are Optimas of the same rating though the old one also has Chrysler branding but as the car is 2005 I doubt it's original. It is correct OEM for the car. I'm charging it out of the car, quite a job in itself as the passenger seat has to come out.

If only! Bought the car 2nd hand and he said he'd put a new battery in it for me. The new battery turned up a couple of months later, looked new but no receipt supplied. I hadn't had trouble before but the car wouldn't start after standing that weekend so I put the new one in and no trouble till last weekend when it happened again with the new battery this time. Fog lights are coming on by themselves so I assume that was the trouble before too. The old battery had stood in my garage since the summer but a friend borrowed it to start a car he had in storage in November and said it was fine when he charged it. I used it to jump start a car after Christmas and there was still plenty in it then too so this is the one I'm pinning my hopes on now. I wonder if the other is getting hot when the charged one dumps its charge into it. If I can get it to 7.5 volts I can get it on the smart charger alone and see how a slow charge goes.

Thanks AGFalco. When I took it off the car it showed less than a volt. It's near 6 now after a couple of goes charging, I think that's mostly from the other battery I was charging it in parallel with. The smart charger won't charge it alone unless it gets above 7.5 volts. It's the heat in one cell that bothers me - I chickened out when I felt that. Now I'm just charging the older battery in the hope of using that. Both batteries are out of the car at the moment so can't check voltage with it running.

Hi I've got a car with an AGM battery which completely flattened while the car was left over a weekend (faulty light switch). I've tried to bring it back up by piggy backing it with another while charging but not having much luck - it just seems to suck all the charge and its voltage falls rapidly once disconnected. One cell also seems warm. If I carry on I think I'll end up with 2 duff batteries. I'm using a 4 amp smart charger, both batteries are Optima AGM of the same rating. The other battery is an older one which holds charge but struggles starting the car. Has anyone any experience of these? Am I wasting time trying to recover the completely flat one? I think it may have been damaged being run completely flat. Any advice I'd be grateful. The flat battery is less than a year old and I don't want to fork out for a new one if I can avoid it, they're a hell of a price but because of where it is in the car it's the only type that fits. Thanks

It's been a while since I did mine but as I recall it didn't need a turn to release - it was just a push fit. I think you're right - check the ends to make sure inner and outer are firmly attached at both and then look for a break in the cable. I've never replaced the cable but if you find it's broken my advice would be don't pull it out until you know how you're going to put a new one in - you may need to use the old one to pull the new one through if it's routed through box sections.

Yep, the cable pops free of the end. I looped a cable tie round the socket, one round the cable end and then looped them together with the third: The tie round the socket/outer alone would probably be fine if pulled tight enough but this three tie solution hasn't gone again in four years.

All I can think is the surge fried something. The serial number matched the book so the code should be right. The book doesn't say anything about shutting you out completely like that, it implies you get unlimited tries if you're prepared to wait an hour each time. Got me foxed, maybe someone else can suggest something.

Sounds right. Mine is SKZAZ8C and a seven figure code then the four figure code is below that on the sticker in a bigger text.

I have just had to enter ours. I think the 1 and 2 May be the number of tries you have had. After you have had 2 goes it locks you out for an hour. There should be a 4 figure code. Once 1000 comes up you use the 1 key to enter the first number by tapping till you get the right one then the same for the second but using the 2 key and so on till you do the last with 4. Once 1000 is replaced with your number press the play button for a couple of seconds and all shoul be fine. (Mine came up LEARN after that but I ignored that and it returned to the radio.

I'd second looking closely at the fuses - our ABS one fractured in the summer and I missed it at first, it was almost imperceptible.

I have sort of the reverse of the problem - the power steering works fine but the light sometimes comes on when starting from cold and goes out after 5 minutes or so. I checked the fluid too and it was a bit low but now sits just above the lower mark when cold. The car has just been MOTd and no leaks or steering faults found (light had gone out by then). With the light on and a scanner plugged in I get no codes relating to steering either so does the steering pump sometimes not log faults? (Battery seems healthy, I frequently get the engine management light on with code P1178 but don't think that's connected - O2 sensor, but all other lights behave as they should.)

Hi Don't know if I'm after advice or just blowing off steam. 5 weeks ago I saw a car at a 2nd hand car lot that I fancied, 55 plate, turbo diesel, reasonable history and mileage. I tried it and liked it but the battery was on the way out and the dealer told me the clutch had problems when cold, making gear selection difficult. I agreed a price, paid a deposit and had him write "replace battery and repair clutch" on the receipt as part of the deal. (The clutch had already been replaced so he was blaming a slave cylinder.) I agreed to pick it up in three weeks as the dealer is some distance from me and I wanted to combine the trip with another I had to do. He said the fixes would probably be done in a week or two anyway. So - after numerous phonecalls and many excuses 3 weeks came and went and no car. By this time I'm borrowing a car as mine had sold. Fast forward another two weeks and many phonecalls and he arranged to meet me halfway between here and there with the car so I booked a day off work. Day before we're due to meet he phones with more excuses but says he can get it to me next day but the battery hasn't come so can I have that another time? By this point I'm desperate so say yes and book another day off - this time we meet half way, I hand over cash, and we arrange that I can pick up a battery in a few weeks. But... as I'm about to drive off he says take it easy on the way back as the clutch may need to bed in, don't go above 50 to 60, get someone to stick it on the ramp when we get back to adjust it and if it turns out not to be ok he'll refund us! I should have walked away at this point but we'd been an hour and a half in traffic and I wasn't keen to return empty handed! So we set off for home, my partner driving behind. The clutch biting point seems to get lower and lower until it's pretty much on the floor before it disengages and a couple of times I can't get 2nd gear (a journey of about an hour and a half). When we arrive I tell her this and she says the exhaust was smoking a lot too. Starting to really worry! I stuck it in my garage and we went for lunch. I have a piece of old kitchen worktop on the garage floor so I can see if I'm dropping oil - after just an hour and a half there is a dinner plate sized oil patch! I took it to the garage that does my servicing and they put it on the lift. There is no adjustment of the hydraulic clutch and the fluid level is still fine - basically it needs the gearbox out again and either another clutch kit fitting or a new actuator fork. On top of that there is a sizeable oil leak from a hose on the engine front and another at the turbo (I'm not sure if this is connected to the smoke in the exhaust). So, if anyone is still reading after this rant, I've been stupid in taking this in the first place but where do I stand legally? It's taken 5 weeks to get to this stage and the car is worse than when we first road tested it. It was part of the sales agreement that the clutch be fixed but clearly it isn't and added to that are two major oil leaks and a potential emissions problem. Do I have to give him a chance to fix it and possibly wait another 5 weeks to get fobbed off again or can I return the car and demand my money back? Thanks Mitch PS When I took my stuff out of the car just now I pulled a post it note out of the door pocket thinking it was the one I'd written my things not to forget on but it wasn't. It says "Almost No Clutch Be Careful".

Anyone ordered a fuel filter for a diesel Felicia recently? I just got one online and it has the same part number as usual, from the same maker but is completely different with only two connections - one on top and one on the bottom. There's no drain and no return. It's a Crossland and the part number on it is F30099 the same as the one in my car but the design is completely different. It was listed as being for the Felicia but obviously isn't. Must be that the part number has changed and the supplier hasn't kept up to date maybe? Watch out if you're ordering one, get them to check in the box that it's right.

Yes, the list in the pinned threads seems to back that up too - three alternatives, one of which is heavy duty. He's phoned and left a message to say it's ready. When I pick it up I'll see if he can let me know the part number he used and where it comes from. That may help someone else.

Hi uma thanks for the offer. I was away over the weekend so didn't see your reply. I think they've found a pair now but they're waiting for them to arrive. They fitted the other spring from the initial order to bring both sides level but now it sits so high at the front with both springs fitted that it looked like the engine was out or it was half way to being converted into a 4x4. They said they've tracked down a pair of the right length now though they're a bit vague as to whether these are Felicia springs or just some that happen to be the same dimensions. As a rough guide does anyone have an idea how much supplying and fitting a pair of front springs should be? I was originally quoted £130 for the one and realise it'll be a bit more than that but don't want to inadvertently pay for their mistake when the final bill arrives. Thanks Mitch

Thanks for replying. I thought the same as you but they seemed sure it was more than that. The pair should sort it but it looks like I've walked into a bill twice what I was expecting if they do that. No way back now. I didn't even know the original spring had broken, not like when the struts collapse. Drove, stopped and steered just fine. Snapped somewhere near the top apparently. (Looked in the online parts catalogue linked in the "pinned" threads above and there are two standard spring types plus another heavy duty listed for the 1.9 Combi. Looks like a new matched pair is the easiest option as I can't see us getting a part number off one of the old ones to see which one it is.)

Hi Long story short - Felicia diesel estate (pre-facelift) just failed its MOT on a broken front spring. Garage said they could do it at a decent price and as that was all it needed I decided to have it done. They've ordered a spring and fitted it but found it now rides about an inch and a half higher on that corner. They've checked with their supplier and they say they sent the right one but are sending a second anyway. If this still proves wrong they're planning fitting the two new ones to level it up but that entails double the labour and parts. My question is what can be the problem? Could it be that my car had the wrong springs fitted previously or is the one they received likely to be for a different Felicia? (I'd have thought that the diesel would have the longest or stiffest springs so can't see this being the case.) Any advice greatfully received. It's been a good old car so don't want to scrap it over something so straightforward to fix. Thanks Mitch

My best guess is they're sealed to stop you drawing any fumes from the engine bay into the cabin but the rubber is designed to sag under any weight of water which then flows out. I can't see any other reason.

Sorry not been on here a few days. Mine are marked DIN 73379 Type B 3.5 x 2.5mm. (I imagine that's the inner and outer diameter.) They're a cloth outer around a rubber inner. I think you can buy them as "spill-off hose". They're easy to replace - pull off the old and push on the new. The set I bought were pre-cut but you can buy it by the metre and cut it yourself. The pre-cut set included the rubber cap that you see on the last injector so worth having and I think they were under a tenner. Make sure whatever you buy is rated for diesel as when a garage fitted another type of fuel line to mine it started leaking within a couple of days.