Hi all,

I will be taking my four year old Fabia 2 1.9 TDI for an extended trip to Europe later this year. I thought it might be a good idea at this age to replace the battery beforehand to prevent any possible problems.

Can anyone give any hints on how to remove the battery and the plastic retaining bracket please?

I know that if I start pulling at the bracket something will snap. I've done a search on Google but the answers I have found are either out of date or just plain wrong.

Cheers.

Virgo, have you noticed signs that your battery is flagging abit? To be honest, I doubt your battery will need to be replaced so early. But it is your choice of course. If you want to keep your existing one, then just make sure the fluid levels are correct in each cell. I would undo each cell to check this rather than relying on the single colour optical on the top of the battery. If any cell is getting low add some distilled water. The main thing it to remove the battery cables in the right order. Remove the negative (ground cable) first. Only then should you remove the live (main power cable). When refitting make sure it's the live cable that goes on first and the negative cable last. Reverse order in other words. You may know that of course but just saying as it's important. On my Fabia there are bolts at the base of the battery case with brackets that you undo. Make sure you remove all cables carefully and insulate them from contact with the battery posts.

Be aware the 'fly by wire' throttle on these will reset itself afterwards but if it doesn't you will notice your idle speed going up and down and you will need to reset it manually. The ecu will reset it's running order too so it may run like rubbish for a short period afterwards.

Edited 10 August, 201213 yr by Estate Man

In other words just leave it alone dude. Lol

As above, leave it be, unless it is playing up.

If worried then get European breakdown cover.

Guys, thanks for the replies and comments.

I am certain that I want to replace the battery before I go as it is flagging a bit in winter and also having the nightmare of a Fabia battery dieing whilst in Spain a couple of years ago. It was a nightmare because of various issues that you don't see in this country. I'll not go into the full details as it would take a page. Sufficient to say that it took several days out of our trip due to the incompetence of the rescue agency Skoda Assist used in Spain.

I'm more than capeable of this job, having built a kit car from scratch some years ago. I'm just interested if any kind soul could give a pointer as to the best method of removing the plastic shroud from above the battery without breaking it.

Thanks for any advice.

Edited 11 August, 201213 yr by virgo17

Hi virgo, yes I see where you are coming from. Just make sure you take off the battery cables in the correct order, earth first. Isolate that cable. Then unclip the positive cable plastic cover with the little lug. Remove that cable from the battery post. It's a short cable attaching to a long cable, but make sure you isolate that too. It's then a case of uncliping the plastic cage around the battery. It locks into place with lugs down near the battery base. These can be fiddly but if you are careful they undo ok. Don't use excessive force and use a torch to view how each one locks if something won't move as you can break something. I also don't know if all the plastic cages are the same. Mine is the 1422ccTDI which may be different. There is also a cover on top of the battery that covers the other cables and junctions that needs undoing, but the front cable section will remain in place after you remove the battery. It carries some pretty heavy amperage cables. Just go slow when you do this and you won't go far wrong. The worst that can happen is your car bursts into flames and is ruined!! Good luck.

Edit: as moist is saying in his post below...it could be a charging problem, alternator or regulator as the battery should be fine at 4 years old, unless you are doing very very short trips and they do need to be very very short to affect the battery. If the regulator is off beam that can make the battery seem as though it is going duff, as can the alternator. Might be worth getting the charge rate checked to see if the rectifier is ok. These can be changed on an alternator (these are situated under the cover at the back of the alternator) for peanuts and the result is a battery that is always full of charge, supposing the battery hasn't been ruined by over cooking with too much current. Just some thoughts before paying out on a new battery. Let us know how you get on if you will.

Edited 11 August, 201213 yr by Estate Man

As you are saying it is playing up then change is a good thing. But are you sure it is the battery that is the issue rather than the symptom? Only say this as the first diesel car I had developed an alternator problem which was put down to dodgey battery at first!

Hi Estate Man. Many thanks for the detail, it's just what I was looking for. I'm pretty sure the charging system is good. I had the battery tested and one of the cells was slightly down. It's a sealed battey so I don't have a way to top up each cell.

I'll pop the car into the local Skoda dealer workshop and ask them to verify that the charging circuit is working OK before I proceed.

Grateful for the battery mounting info.

Edit: Also forgot to mention that the car has been used for very short trips for it's whole life, until now. I have also charged the battery with a decent charger but the one cell is always slightly down on the others.

Edited 11 August, 201213 yr by virgo17