AGM Batteries - Expensive?

[BobbyG79]

Hi all,

 

My wife's Fabia has suffered (for as long as I can remember) with the old "battery voltage low" warning, and Stop/Start hasn't worked since we first got the car. It was a pre-reg so I suspect the battery might not be in the best shape having sat idle in a compound for 6 months+

 

I therefore started to look at replacing the battery. A very quick look on Euro Car Parts resulted in a Bosch AGM battery for about £250! Are AGM batteries really necessary, and if so are they really that much more expensive?

 

Bobby

[Bogwoppit]

Did you add the current discount code 'weekend37' to get the final price? As the above seems expensive

[sandman]

Would an EFB battery not do the job,I have one factory fit on my Yeti 1.2 TSi,seems ok and probably a lot cheaper than AGM 

[AGFalco]

First thing to do is charge the battery with a smart charger.

Check how you connect the charger so that you protect the BMU battery management unit if you have a Stop/Start car.

Normally you do NOT connect the negative charger lead to the battery but a separate place. Please check.

 

Battery grades going up are as follows:- Normal wet,  EFB,  AGM.

 

Normal wet type. Replace with normal wet.

But if you can get a bigger one in then this is good. eg go up from an 027 to an 096 size.

No advantage in fitting an EFB or AGM and the car won't have the correct charging system.

No programming required. It can be good to keep power to the car when fitting any battery.

 

EFB. Enhanced Flooded Battery. Replace with EFB.

But if you can get a bigger one in then this is good. eg go up from an 027 to an 096 size.

You will need to program the car's charging system if you go bigger.

You can fit an AGM but you need to program the car's charging system for it to work.

Do not fit a normal wet type as it cannot stand the higher charging and will fail within 6 months.

 

AGM. Absorbant Glass Mat. Replace with AGM.

But if you can get a bigger one in then this is good. eg go up from an 027 to an 096 size.

You will need to program the car's charging system if you go bigger.

Do not fit a normal wet type/EFB as it cannot stand the higher charging and will fail within 6 months.

 

On some cars with AGM/EFB you need to program/tell the car when you fit a new battery.

It might just need a new serial number noted.

 

So basically you can go up but don't go down. 

My Fabia has an EFB type 027 in size. I aim to fit an AGM 096 when required.

 

Thanks AG Falco

[ffox]

19 hours ago, BobbyG79 said:

My wife's Fabia has suffered (for as long as I can remember) with the old "battery voltage low" warning, and Stop/Start hasn't worked since we first got the car. 

 

Mine (2016 1.2TSi)  doesn't do many miles most weeks and I get the low battery warning often every winter.  It needs a run of 50+ miles before the stop/start cuts in, and silly things like having the fan showing more than 3 bars will stop it working.

 

My wife's Polo with similar engine does even less miles, but I have only seen the low battery warning once when it hadn't been out for 10 days. The stop/start always works OK after a few miles.

 

I had everything checked last April - the battery was OK, the settings are as per book, and a very recent check shows there are no outstanding campaigns.   I suspect that the Fabia settings err on the ultra careful side.   It always starts, so I'm not too bothered.  (Although I do have a jump start pack just in case!)

[Jim H]

If you do buy a new battery I'd certainly recommend buying it from Tayna  https://www.tayna.co.uk/  They seam much cheaper than ECP.  I've used many times for several cars and had great and quick service from them.  I've bought Varta batteries from them which have the same spec as Bosch but are far cheaper.

 

I was very surprised how long our mk1 Fabias lasted (well over 10 years), but have wondered how much stop/start will effect the life of one (even if it's a EFB/AGM one).

Edited 12 January, 2019 by Jim H

[rum4mo]

 

On 11/01/2019 at 19:51, AGFalco said:

Snip   - - -  -    Snip.

On some cars with AGM/EFB you need to program/tell the car when you fit a new battery.

It might just need a new serial number noted.

 

So basically you can go up but don't go down. 

My Fabia has an EFB type 027 in size. I aim to fit an AGM 096 when required.

 

Thanks AG Falco

I've just checked the plastic battery tray on my wife's 2015 VW Polo 1.2TSI and there is no room for a size 96 battery in that tray, if you plan to do this, you would need to swop for the Diesel equivalent car battery tray, there does seem to be just enough space for that longer tray, I'd think that it only needs to be 36mm longer to take a size 96 battery.

[AGFalco]

7 hours ago, rum4mo said:

there is no room for a size 96 battery

 

Had to modify the last car to fit a bigger battery in as well.

That went from a 012/079 to a 096.

 

Thanks AG Falco

[rum4mo]

20 hours ago, AGFalco said:

 

Had to modify the last car to fit a bigger battery in as well.

That went from a 012/079 to a 096.

 

Thanks AG Falco

 

I'd guess, if it was a recent VW Group car with a plastic battery tray (console), you just removed it and cut the ends raised part back down to the base level?

[AGFalco]

20 hours ago, rum4mo said:

if it was a recent VW Group car

 

PSA group car.

 

I have noticed that most manufactures make a space for the biggest battery that will fit the range of the car.

Yes, some modification can be required to fit a bigger battery.

 

Thanks AG Falco