diesel battery on a petrol car

diesel battery on a petrol car

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shirt

Original Poster:

22,716 posts

203 months

Friday 8th August 2008
quotequote all
hi,

i recently bought a 1.3l skoda felicia for commuting [don't start!]. it is perfect apart from starting on cold damp mornings. i'm putting new leads, plugs and dizzy cap/rotor arm on it this afternoon, but i wanted to beef up the battery as well.

at the moment its got a cheap 35ah one on. what i want to know is whether i will cause any damage/problems by fitting the 60ah battery i have from my old clio diesel? with the 35 on, it gave about 3 attempts at a start before dying, so the extra juice would be welcome.

ta,
phil.

annodomini2

6,879 posts

253 months

Friday 8th August 2008
quotequote all
The AH rating indicates the capacity of the battery, i.e. 35AH @ 12v will run for 1 hour at 35A.

60AH just indicates that the battery stores more energy.

With cranking the key is load current, a starter motor can pull upto 800A (Big diesel) on a car while cranking.

As long as the voltage is the same and it can handle the load current you will be fine. Typical problems associated with larger capacity batteries are size, i.e. will it fit.

Busa_Rush

6,930 posts

253 months

Friday 8th August 2008
quotequote all
Before you buy a battery check the cold cranking current. Some cheap and nasty batteries have a much lower current compared to a similar one with the same overall Ah rating, as mentioned above.

A good quality battery of roughly the correct Ah will last longer and give you better starting than a bigger Ah chap/poor quality battery.

Your local motor factor wioll be able to tell you which battery will fit and give you the best bang for your buck.

leorest

2,346 posts

241 months

Friday 8th August 2008
quotequote all
IMO batteries are one of the few cases where if more is better then too much is about right.
The only downsides to a bigger battery are cost, size and weight.
I always spec my batteries using a tape measure on the battery tray followed by what funds are available.

shirt

Original Poster:

22,716 posts

203 months

Friday 8th August 2008
quotequote all
the 60ah battery i don't have to buy, i took it off my clio when i scrapped it as it cost close to £100! its the best one bosch did at the time, certainy a milion times better than the 'value power' one from the scud.

battery tray is tight though, will have a play around to see if i can make some space.

cheers though.
phil.

Boosted LS1

21,190 posts

262 months

Friday 8th August 2008
quotequote all
I always go for the best cranking power possible so long as it will fit. Big is certainly best imo.

That Daddy

18,991 posts

223 months

Friday 8th August 2008
quotequote all
Boosted LS1 said:
I always go for the best cranking power possible so long as it will fit. Big is certainly best imo.
Good advicewink