Replacement Battery

[italiastar]

My neighbours battery packed up this morning (as well as yesterday) - you may recall my previous story. We went to the local motor factors who sold him a viper battery - never heard of this brand. The one they gave him was 80 amp, but the one we removed (original) was 92 amps. He phoned the retaileer who said the the figure on both batteries was a "cold start crank level" and that the battery he'd supplied was actually more powerfull and better - this sounds like ********* to me, particularly as the new battery is slightly smaller and lighter than the OEM one - any thoughts?

[Ivor_E_Tower]

The Ah figure is the storage capacity; the cold crank figure is a better indication of how much power the battery can produce when it is cold, but it all depends on what you mean by "better" - better for what? Higher cold crank figure will be better (more power) fr cold starts so long as the battery is fully charged, or nearly fully charged. And what is the difference at more normal temperatures?

[seatkid]

Mixed up b******t. Yes CCA is a better indicator of battery starting performance but its the large figure next to "CCA" IIRC should be in the range 380-480 (mine is 450) and IIRC is the no of amps it can pump out at 0 deg F for 30 seconds. Ah has no relation to CCA.

 

If by Motor Factor you mean a Motorist Discount centre then they usually sell cheap jack rubbish. But so long as you have a written guarantee......

 

Remember that Ford engines (2.0L and 2.3L) are fitted with smart alternators that require Silver Calcium tech batteries. Old tech batteries (Lead - antimony) will have a short life and could possibly split or explode....

[italiastar]

Thanks for that - the "motor factor" was the local "open-all-hours" place rather than a discounter, but the was no sign of a guarantee. Sounds like as usual with the motor industry, there is no wrong or right answer. He's got a 1.9 Alhambra - w-reg, so a bog-standard battery should be OK.