Hello,

                    I have a 2013, 63 plate  petrol   Fabia estate TSI which its on  its original  maintenance free  battery. The car is starting fine in this cold weather but the weather has got me  thinking about the battery. I am thinking of getting one of the in car chargers , the type that plugs into an auxiliary socket or the cigarette lighter. I dont have a cigarette lighter but I do have an auxiliary socket. As I understand it if the battery is low the charger will put enough into it to start the car. I am not sure if I keep it in the glovebox to use if I have a starting problem  or keep it permanently plugged in and would appreciate advice on this. I have to say that the idea of staying in the car seems attractive as opposed to having to get out and fiddle round with jump leads.  The one i have seen in a catalogue is called "Genius", I dont know if any Briskoda readers are familiar with this  name?

          

                I used to think that car batteries needed replacing at 5 or 6 years old but I dont thnk that anymore. I have had batteries last for twelve years and my independent says they can last for fifteen years. The battery    doesnt seem very large and there are no markings on it to indicate a make or the amps per hour.  I am not that bothered about the make  but I have had the amps per hour on previous batteries and it would be useful to know this figure if I did need a new battery so as to get the correct one that didnt either undercharge or overcharge.  Can anyone tell me what the figure is for my battery? I would be getting the battery supplied and fitted from my independent who sells only Bosch batteries. I have checked the cost with a couple of Skoda dealers and frankly thought they were having a laugh! One wanted  156 supply and fit and one wanted 200 and my car doesnt even have start and stop. If anyone can tell me which Bosch battery is the right one for my car so it doesnt undercharge or overcharge that would be really great.

  

                           Thanks for reading.

  

              i

Generally, it would be the alternator that provides the charge so it is that, that would under or overcharge the battery. 

I would take a battery lasting 15 years with a pinch of salt, though!

A new battery, first fitted to a car, tends to last longer then replacements, for some reason. May be higher grade, may just be everything is new, including wiring, earth points, starter, alternator, etc.

 

A good replacement battery will have as much as a five year warranty but a cheap one may be as low as just one year. Bosch are quite a worthy brand, along with Varta and a few others I am sure people will recommend here soon. It may well be worth getting a free check from a battery replacement centre but they will most likely just use a traffic light style tester, you can obtain from any high street automotive lace for around £5- £7.

 

This gives you a basic idea as to whether the battery is in a good state of charge or not and if the alternator is charging correctly. (They just connect to the battery, you do a non-running test, then a running one, etc). 

At this age, I wouldn't be surprised if the battery is giving proper voltage but a week or lowered capacity. This will then be like running the car with a much smaller battery.

 

I have a 1.4 diesel and the Bosch battery fitted it mine is a 63ah capacity, s5 005 one, with 5 year warranty, Eurocarparts have now at around £83 if you type in the code batt50 where the checkout page is.  That code halves the price. They deliver for free and any garage will fit it for you for a few quid, perhaps up to a tenner, if you are unable. The radio will not need recoding but the windows auto function will need re-setting. 

 

If you type in your own reg, they may offer different batteries but be sure you are happy. You can always pay more, or less, depending on quality, capacity, brand, etc but the average sized one should be ok, unless you have a fair amount of added toys, such as high powered ICE systems, dash cam, etc, where you may want to upgrade.

 

As for chargers, I am unsure if you mean the emergency, jump start type thing, which charges itself from your car or at home. You then leave it in the boot or somewhere and use it if the battery fails to start the car. They are fine but need to be kept charged or they too, will let you down.

A n actual battery charger, a good solid performer these days will cost around £50 but you can get ones from anywhere from a fiver, to a few hundred. They all do the same thing but some perform better then others. If you have a good battery and alternator, a mid budget one will do hat you want. Just charge the battery up say, every three to six months if possible but definitely prior to winter, each year. Probably again, after, too, when the weather has settled again.

 

Good chargers tend to "Condition" The battery, helping maintain its longevity but if you have a good warranty, the car functions well and the battery fails within the warranty, they should replace it free. The replacment will though, only have the remainder of the ORIGINAL battery's warranty. 

 

EDIT, actually seen the dame battery on eBay, £76 delivered... The saving there, will pay for the fitment, however, the switchover might be trickier if a warranty claim is needed! Keep the receipt!

 

Edited 1 February, 20197 yr by mrgf

If your car has an options sticker on the boot floor, look for a (3-digit) code in the list that starts with a J, then has a number, then another letter. If you find that code I can tell you what battery was fitted at the factory. (Or look it up yourself, see link below)

 

List of all codes can be downloaded here: http://vag-codes.info/vag-option-codes

Edited 1 February, 20197 yr by Wino
added link to codes list

If it is a Bosch battery you think that you will be buying, look up the bosch website as I'd expect it to be a bit more accurate than ECP website which always needs you to dig a big deeper if you want to end up with the correct battery first time.

I have used this place for many batteries, often hard to beat on price

 

You can check via car on website, but this below is what you should need..

 

https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/enduroline/027/