Because I love to spend my hard earned on my Feli pickup, it decided it needed a new battery (joy ) so popped over to eurocarparts at lunch and got one for £46 :|

Went to fit it and found that my strut brace was getting in the way. I know it wasn't factory fitted, but did come on the hatches. Is this normal or is there a petrol and diesel version and mines got one from a petrol?

Had to strip out the scuttle in the end (couldn't get a socket to sit properly on the strut tops) but its in and starting well

Yeah, it's a PITA, particularly if you have a larger battery. The plastic scuttle trim on the rally car was effectively broken, allowing me to remove the battery quickly if needs be (although this was only needed when I'd left the master switch on for weeks at a time). Strut brace should come off easy enough though.

My diesel's got a brace and the battery is struggling in the colder weather. Can I undo the brace without having to worry that it's disturbing the steering/suspension alignment?

I've seen a 64Ah 640CCA Exide battery for a reasonable price. Is that the best for it? It seems to be a higher rating than any others listed for the car, even the Bosch 5 star.

Undoing the brace won't allow anything to move - the strut tops have pretty accurate holes in them, and in addition the weight of the car will be on them, so nothing will move.

Bigger the better, IMO - my Mum's diesel Felicia was a great car, but it needed the battery to be decent in the colder weather; put the biggest capacity one on I could fit, and it needed every Ah when it was cold!

I had to replace the battery on mine when I bought it. Just remove and refit the brace for easy access (if you're worried about the suspension park the car on flat land - the suspension should be in equilibrium anyway due to the weight of the car). I wouldn't bother with removing the trim, it can be a b***h to get back on with all the clips.

hi there to replace battery on mine i have to remove the strut brace and the ecu carrier with coil and charcoal filter and air con relays fuses as mine has a different heater box to normal felicia as its got that added extra aircon its a right pain just to change a battery.......

Edited 9 December, 201213 yr by uma1998