Battery Replacement

[silver1011]

He kind of has a point, there isn't anything wrong with the battery or the alternator.

 

The issue is that the battery isn't suitable for the car. A cost saving exercise by Skoda.

 

I don't know if Skoda are now fitting higher spec batteries to new Superb's but the one's fitted to older Superb's (mine included) are generally good for the warranty period (approx. 3 years) then fail promptly after that. I'm not a betting man but I'd have a few quid that the one in your car is branded 'Banner' and is 70Ah with a CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) of around 360.

 

Try and squeeze a new one out of Skoda under warranty and if the car is a keeper plan to replace it again in the future for a decent spec battery, such as a Bosch S5008 or Varta E44 (096).

 

These latest batteries are 77Ah and 760CCA, light years better than the one Skoda fit as standard.

Edited 16 December, 2014 by silver1011

[Brockysuperb]

As I say, changed mine for Varta. Put into perspective, a reliable new battery for less than the price of a tank of fuel - even at today's price. My OEM had lasted 20 months and garage offered a warranty swap, but for the same low tech battery.

[WaveyDavey]

The dealership replaced the battery on mine before i collected it without me knowing till i picked it up as the previous one was flat. Just checked and its a Varta 72Ah 680CCA battery with Volkswagen parts stickers on it. Didn't cost me anything so we'll see how long it lasts. I usually go for Bosch batteries when replacing them myself but will see how the Varta goes.

[JakeBlade]

I remember someone saying on here before that Bosch and Varta batteries are normally the same, just different branding.

[WaveyDavey]

Googling does seem to show that Varta and Bosch batteries are made in the same factory by a company owned by Varta.

[JakeBlade]

Got my eye on one of these in the Machine Mart VAT-free sale: https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/jump-start-910-cw-12v-compressor?da=1&TC=SRC-jump

Edited 20 December, 2014 by JakeBlade

[WaveyDavey]

I'm a skinflint..... That's what the second car is for.

[JakeBlade]

Was feeling extravagant.  Bought one of these little puppies: http://www.geniuschargers.com/boost/

 

Principally to fire up the leisure car, but also handy for the big sko'. 

[JamboDave]

He kind of has a point, there isn't anything wrong with the battery or the alternator.

 

The issue is that the battery isn't suitable for the car. A cost saving exercise by Skoda.

 

I don't know if Skoda are now fitting higher spec batteries to new Superb's but the one's fitted to older Superb's (mine included) are generally good for the warranty period (approx. 3 years) then fail promptly after that. I'm not a betting man but I'd have a few quid that the one in your car is branded 'Banner' and is 70Ah with a CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) of around 360.

 

Try and squeeze a new one out of Skoda under warranty and if the car is a keeper plan to replace it again in the future for a decent spec battery, such as a Bosch S5008 or Varta E44 (096).

 

These latest batteries are 77Ah and 760CCA, light years better than the one Skoda fit as standard.

I will be going to try and Squeeze a new one out of Skoda tomorrow, had to get Skoda Assist out again on the 19th as the car would not start yet again.

I bought a volt meter which read 11.2v not what I would expect from a car battery.

The guy from the AA measured it also and he got 11.15v so my meter from Amazon was pretty close.

The car is charging the battery getting 14.5-14.7v, switch the engine off and I am getting 12.3-12.5v but the battery is not holding a charge, after about 2 days the voltage of the battery drops off to around 11.5v,

From my battery I see that it's a MLA MOLL 70Ah, 340A DIN, 540A. Don't know which figure relates to the CCA.  

http://i439.photobucket.com/albums/qq119/jambodave1874/10845970_10205321007445555_2671941210908690763_n_zps623a3501.jpg

 

[Pessimal]

whats the biggest battery you could get away with fitting for a superb??

 

mine generally struggles first thing in the morning, although it hasnt let me down yet.

 

some upgrades in the audio department might need to be factored in as well!

[silver1011]

An 096.

 

As mentioned go for a Bosch S5 or Varta E44 (same battery).

 

77Ah and 780CCA, all you need.

[silver1011]

 

 

From my battery I see that it's a MLA MOLL 70Ah, 340A DIN, 540A. Don't know which figure relates to the CCA.  
 

 

540CCA
 

[JamboDave]

540CCA

Got the car booked in to get the battery changed under warranty.

[Brockysuperb]

The dealers seem helpful...but the problem is the replacement Skoda provide will be the same crappy economy battery. Hence the Varta route for me -for less than a tank of fuel.

[Napier]

Wise move. Mine is so much better these colder days despite lights to n from work with short runs. Varta 44 was money well spent.

[JakeBlade]

If anyone is looking for a charger, the ctek 5.0 is in the Amazon lightning deal, tomorrow morning at 10 UK. Wouldn't be surprised if it is sub-£50.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00FC42HAA/ref=gbmh_mob_s-3_8307_1b0425e7?dealid=1b0425e7&pf_rd_p=571958307&pf_rd_s=slot-3&pf_rd_t=35801&pf_rd_i=19&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=12QVQ7FMRX2HF3PQZX8E

My NoCo power genie turned up today. This is taken from the spec sheet:

On paper it doesn't look like £80 worth of jump starter spec, but will find out later in the week. All of the reviews and YouTube videos suggest that I am in for a was any surprise. It certainly handles like an expensive bit of kit, and nice and robust despite weighing just 1kg. Charged from my old blackberry cable as well, in under 3 hours.

Edited 29 December, 2014 by JakeBlade

[Joelliott]

I know this is an ancient topic. But my Superb has been dead the past 3 days. My neighbors saw it flashing the emergency lights on Tuesday evening. Then Wednesday afternoon it was fully dead. I tried to use the jump start battery pack I have but it was not enough. Drained it completely after 3 tries to start the engine. My neighbor came w his car and it was enough to get mine started. The battery indicator on the top of the battery is black in color. And after reading this, it looks like a bad sign. I believe the battery is way under sized if I can understand the numbering correctly on mine. So I'm looking into the Varta E44 w 77Ah and 780 CCA. Is this really 60Ah and 480CcA??? 

[Racataian]

Dead battery can mean several things

 - the battery lifetime is over, meaning that it does not hold the charge too long - the residual current is too high and you need to replace it

 - the battery is empty - you just need to recharge it and find out why it got empty

The indicator becomes black in both of these conditions so don't mind about it

Try to charge it for min 12 Hs and then start the car and check the voltage- should be above 13.xV but not bigger than 14.4V(you can also test this with a new battery). If it is out of this value that your problem is the alternator

 

Also a battery charge can be drained by a short circuit - with the car completely shut down(all doors closed, trunk closed) you need to check the current consumption- it should stabilised to a 0.0x mAmps

     If it is above this value you have a short or come electronics is not going to " sleep" properly. You can continue to pin point the problem by checking the current consumption through each of the fuses. There are also some things that do not go through a fuse like the alternator or the electromotor and if you have a short there you just need to disconnect them and see if the current consumption decreased. You need a ampermeter to do this 

 

 

 

 

[D-Cunningham]

I bought exactly that Varta battery just before Christmas 2016 - Varta Silver Dynamic 77Ah - and it is excellent. I'd strongly recommend it.

[Joelliott]

Well I jumped off the Skoda on Saturday. Ran the car for for about 20 minutes at idle. Then took a drive for about 30 minutes. On Sunday we took another drive of about an hour to run some errands and had the car shut off one time while in the store. Started right back up w no issues. But my confidence in the battery is gone. Especially after reading about the battery issues and sizes. 

 

Ill have the new Verta E44 battery delivered tomorrow and will install that. I'll measure the circuits out to see if there's a drain or if I just accidentally hit the emergency lights last week and that caused the dead battery. 

 

Only other change was a automatic parking clock that I've had in 2 previous cars w zero issues. It's hard wired to the battery and to the ignition. So it does draw some small current constantly. Maybe it's time to get a new one? 

 

Thanks for your help gentlemen. 

Joe

[Racataian]

I bought an old Mercedes 2.0D with a 56Amps battery and the catalog said 72Amps minimum, every repair shop told me to replace  it immediately. I bought it like this and had it for 5 years without any issue until it finally died of old age.

The  battery only matters during cranking, after, the alternator steps in and charges back the battery and supplies the needed current to everything. The battery should match the maximum current absorbed by the electric motor during cranking - somewhere between 300Amps to even 900Amps depending on the size of the engine and the electric motor. If you have a less that required battery it will discharge more during cranking because the electric motor doesn't receive the needed current and so needs more time to rotate the engine until it cranks, but if your engine runs well this translate in a very small time and should not matter too much.

For a 1.8L gasoline, the electric motor should be able to withstand even such a small battery. You should feel some difference  during winter when you need to crank it for a longer time or if you have other problems and the engine does not start properly. My wife has a Honda civic 1.8L 140bhp and a 56Amps battery for 5 years now. For my superb 2.0 140 bhp I changed my original 72 maps battery after  5 years

What I want to say is that you should first check everything else before you change it, otherwise you may have the same problem in 1 month. There should be in any respectable shop a tool which can measure the battery state of health, if it's bellow 60-70% you could think to replace it.

[peterposh]

battery has just packed up on my 64 plate !

[Joelliott]

Finally got my battery in today. Quick swap without pulling the air intake or anything. The Verta E44 popped right into place with the factory covers etc fitting overnit nicely. Thanks for the help. I hope the starting issue is over now. 

Joe

[silver1011]

Send the old one back to Skoda with a note on top saying "You can have this piece of **** back!"

 

[bigjohn]

I've not heard of the orginal equipment battery in mine (unless it was changes in the first year) "MLA MOLL" - made in Germany

 

Amp hours looks a bit weedy at 59Ah - althought it's only got a little 1.4tsi to spin into life. Is that 640 cranking amps or 320?

 

Will want to replace with a Varta when it fails as that what was (and still is!) fitted to my previous 2003 Superb I 1.9pd - it's still fine at the moment

 

My question is can I do this ?- mine has stop start so has some extra gubbins (see the connector bottom left of the photo) which may be coded to the car.

When it fails if I ignore and just replace with a bigger battery will it throw an engine management light or will the stop start just not work (no bad thing I suppose)

 

 

Edited 11 May, 2017 by bigjohn