New Battery

[Battlecat]

Dear All,

Quick question, probably a stupid one, but it's a Friday afternoon so I'm thinking about the weekend.

I'm hoping to change the battery on the T350 this weekend but I've not got much time in which to do it.

I know it's behind the front passenger wheel, and on normal cars it's a 5 minute job but TVR being TVR, do you think its a job I can do in about half an hour? And are there any unexpected quirks that I need to be aware of?

Thanks

Ollie

[KillerJim]

Could be done in 30 mins if your handy with spanners and the like.

What may be the problem is that I found it very hard to get a battery that was a perfect match for the TVR. I sourced one (given the information here) and found out that the polarity was reversed. The second one I sourced was correct but the connectors were raised up about 30mm (for some reason).. So it took 3 goes to get the correct replacement.

J

[Battlecat]

I did a search on here and found this topic.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

So I went with m0ssy's recommendation and bought it through Performance Batteries. They said its the right one for the T350 so i'll be very disappointed if its wrong.

[Targarama]

I used performance batteries too - arrived the next day and fitted just fine (standard positive/negative fitment but I tidied the cables up while I was in there though).

[Battlecat]

Targarama said:

I used performance batteries too - arrived the next day and fitted just fine (standard positive/negative fitment but I tidied the cables up while I was in there though).

That's good to hear. Thanks.

[Targarama]

Battlecat said:

Targarama said:

I used performance batteries too - arrived the next day and fitted just fine (standard positive/negative fitment but I tidied the cables up while I was in there though).

That's good to hear. Thanks.

You might want to make the time to check all the cables and wrap them while you're in there. Around a year ago there were several car fires where the source of ignition wa suspected to be a T350's battery area (I think one was TVR Power's fire - but I could be mistaken). When I got my battery out it was easy to spot where some of the cables had chafed. The last thing you want is something rubbing through and touching the chassis (the live is close to the chassis and its even worse if the insulation has not been replaced properly during a service).

[Battlecat]

Thanks, I'll check while I'm there and maybe wrap the cable in some tape as a precaution. Presumably a good few layers of normal electrical tape is ok?

[Targarama]

Battlecat said:

Thanks, I'll check while I'm there and maybe wrap the cable in some tape as a precaution. Presumably a good few layers of normal electrical tape is ok?

Better than nothing. Obviously the ideal thing is to tidy up and reroute cables so they don't cause problems, not possible with some unless you reverse the battery terminals (Graham V did this). I bought a length of that curly stuff which wraps around cables and used that too.

[rolex]

What prices are people paying for batteries these days? Mine was £80+ a year ago.

[Nigeyboy]

Just replaced mine. Just over £70 with TVRCC discount at RG. You have to collect though!

If it is std way round for a T350 (ie +ve nearer exhaust side) then don't forget to add the protective rubber sheet to the battery

[Battlecat]

It cost just under £70 from Performance Batteries. Delivered the next day, all nicely packaged, and the right battery for the car.

Yes the terminals are standard: +ve nearest the engine, -ve nearest the kerb.

Apart from a bit of a struggle to get the old one out and new one in as its a very snug fit, no problems. And yes i re-fitted the foamy-rubber bit above the +ve terminal.

In case anyone else is doing this, also have a couple of cable ties to hand. The wheel arch panel that covers the battery box had a cable tie at the bottom so when its hooked around the chassis bar, there's a cable tie attached to double secure it.

Thanks for the replies guys.

[Nigeyboy]

Battlecat

What model of battery did you actually order from Performance batteries?

For others' info my new one from TG say type 72, with the old one a type 069/3 Lucas

Nige

[Battlecat]

It was the "Alphaline" as seen on their website. I wanted the Varta one but its out of stock. Afraid i don't know what type it is.

http://www.performancebatteries.co.uk/find_battery...