I think my battery has died,(petrol vrs)car wouldn't start yesterday morning. Got it started using jump leads and it was ok when I came out of work.

I'm getting it tested today.How easy is it to remove the battery?

I took of the cover last night but couldn't see(it was a bit dark) how the battery was held in.Is it just the 13-14mm bolt at the base of the battery?

Also the owners manual says to only disconnect the battery with the ignition switched ON to prevent damage to the electrical components.

Is this correct? I've never heard of this.

Thanks in advance.

In regards to battery removal its just a matter of removing the top cover and there are 2 plastic pieces that surround the battery (not sure if you can remove it with them still in place but easy enough to remove and refit) and then a 13mm bolt (socket with extension will do the job)

I have disconnected and reconnected the battery easily 50 times while i have been rebuilding the car and never had the ignition on (never even heard of that before) and never had any issues.

My car's owner's manual says this on page 204:

Caution

You must only disconnect the battery if the ignition is switched off, otherwise the electrical system (electrical components) may be damaged.

My manual says 'on', but I couldn't help wondering if its a mis-translation/misprint and it should say off. I will check Elsawin later but I've a feeling it says to switch the ignition off rather than on.

My manual says it too, but I can't help wondering if its a mis-translation and it should say off. I will check Elsawin later but I've a feeling it says to switch the ignition off rather than on.

Yeah.page 259 "you must only disconnect the battery if the ignition is switched On" i think I will ignore that.

Thanks for all the other help lads,will let you know how I get on.

My manual is the 05/10. (2010) version.

I went through this a few weeks back and had no problem doing it with the ignition switched off.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/217762-which-battery-for-20-tdi/page__p__2569987__hl__battery__fromsearch__1#entry2569987

Edited 5 December, 201114 yr by mark antony

Safety first.

If the ignition is on then you will risk a spark when connecting / disconnecting. The more circuits that are energised then the bigger the spark.

Switch of ignition, ensure doors closed, lights off etc will minimise risk.

It did intrigue me how big the electricity crackle was when I connected the terminals; even with ignition switched off, doors shut etc.

Edited 5 December, 201114 yr by mark antony

Job done,about 15mins,a bit fiddly but ok.

Battery (Exide 3 yr warranty)cost me 62 quid including VAT from Eurcarparts,not a bad price I thought.

Edited 5 December, 201114 yr by gord

Not surprisingly Elsawin says 'Switch off all electrical components and take out the ignition key' before disconnecting the battery.

What an idiotic mistake to print in some versions of the owners manual that the ignition must be on! Doesn't anyone proofread them?

the best tip i can give when changing a battery is to open a window, and make sure you have the key on you. when i worked in a auto sparky garage when i left school we had people who had locked them selfs out of the cars when they changed the battery, when they connected the battery back up it set the central locking off and locked them out with the keys inside. the look on the faces when they were telling you how they did it was real funny.

Job done,about 15mins,a bit fiddly but ok.

Battery (Exide 3 yr warranty)cost me 62 quid including VAT from Eurcarparts,not a bad price I thought.

You did not get the Brisky discount then(for eurocarparts online, you can still pick up in store ) They are £54.94 before discount and £44.95 after , I got a bosch one, S4 £54.85 , similar from Halfords over a 100

You did not get the Brisky discount then(for eurocarparts online, you can still pick up in store ) They are £54.94 before discount and £44.95 after , I got a bosch one, S4 £54.85 , similar from Halfords over a 100

Drat... didn't know. Never mind.

By the way,forgot to mention,the new battery has a lug to fit a vent tube,do I need this?

The old one didn't have one,I assume it was the original battery.

Not got one on my bosch, and original did not have it, so you will be fine, enter BRISK25 as a code online for eurocarparts to get the 25% saving in the future ( they are a Briskoda sponser )

I've managed to get my new battery in (Bosch S4 096 from Eurocarparts with the Brisky discount, bargain it seems) and one point to note is that after changing the battery the auto up/down on the electric windows may not work but it's easily resolved by holding down until it clicks and then holding it up until it clicks. This is maybe obvious for some people but a new one on me.

The only slight issue I'm having after changing the battery is I'm getting a slight tapping noise from that side of the car (almost sounds like someone very lightly tapping the bottom of the windscreen whenever the the car is moving up and down at all over slight bumps) which I'm guessing is from the plastic parts round the battery which don't seem to sit very securely even though I've made sure both bits of plastic are clipped in. Does it sound like this could be the case and if so are there any simply solutions such as taping it down or tying it up?

Thanks,

John

You have used the clamp to secure it ?

The clamp as in the one at the bottom of the battery? Yep, that is screwed down tightly.

John

The clamp has markings on it a bit like large teeth. Have they lined up, I clamped down, then rewrapped the insulation around and then assembled the case it splits into 2, well it does on the petrol

Sounds the same on the diesel, I put the clamp back in the same way I took it out then clipped on the front plastic section (which has two clips along the bottom front) and then put the plastic bit on top. It seems to fit together fine but the plastic clips seem loose and that's all that's holding them together. The battery I took out was a 62Ah Akuma, did Skoda ever use those or is it likely that was a replacement battery? The specs on it seem quite a bit lower than I've seen discussed for the Octavias on here but then again there seems to have been many variations and changes made over the years.

I guess what I should do is take the plastic out, go for a short drive and see if there's still any noise that way I know for sure if it's that plastic causing it or not.

John

Edited 22 January, 201214 yr by JohnMcL7

Sounds like a plan

Gone to car yesterday,after it had been stood a week, and battery was flat.

Had to use my power pack to start it.

I must be losing power somewhere else,although if it is left only a few days it is ok.

Pretty sure it isn't the battery considering it is only 5 months old.

Checked usual stuff,interior lights,boot light etc,may have to start using her more regularly.

don't count the battery out, age means nothing the battery could already be damamged by the way it was stocked. I used to work for partco/unipart and i was the person who delt with the bats and warrantys. a big problem is the way they are kept at the motor factors alot keep them on concrete floors and that drains batterys and dont keep a eye on the charge levels while in stock. Put the battery on a very slow charge for no more than 18hrs then try again.

If your car has a Siren (that normally chirps when you lock the car) that is around 6 years old, that may be what is cauing your battery to discharge. Expect some other siren related symptoms around this point also, like absence of chirps when locking, or sounding the siren while driving. The siren is a "service" item...

If you are fitting a new car battery, check the dimensions of the existing one, to save yourself another trip to the battery suppliers: On mine, several alternative parts were listed but the height of the battery is important: I selected a Bosch S4 100 from the list, but found that a height of 175mm means the Negative lead terminal clamp fouls the plastic battery housing. For myself, a 190mm tall battery was required, with a Bosch S4 096 (74AH) now doing the job.