My 2007's battery is gradually loosing some of its juice, and I was considering a Ctek or Exide charger to keep it in good condtion.

But, then I thought of the battery's age and relatively harsh conditions with temperatures down to - 15-20 at the most, and how it will put a great deal of strain on a battery going on four years of heavy use.

Especially if the car is left in the garage for a few day's with no use what so ever, and then has to deliver juice at cold temperature's. That will surely put a strain on the battery, ultimately the car may not start at all.

If I'm to get a new battery, any recommendations, or should I stick to the initial plan and get a charger for those most wintery of days with low temp's? Leopard tank drivers never stop at anything.

2007 TD4 HSE Moon Roof Ebony Leather Navi...

My battery died few months ago. For a few days I had some problems starting (more time than usual). I went to the dealer, they put the battery in a diagnostic system, and the system gave some codes and a message 'replace battery'. So they replaced the battery under warranty. The car is almost 3 years old with 85000Km. My advice is to chage the battery since it can die anytime, any place. It is wise to have battery cables with you all the time.

Hi there,

My experience of batteries is that if they are starting to show signs of less spark then simply replace it. Your battery is 4 years old and has given you good service. I suspect it is nearing the end of its life and trying to keep it alive with a charger is only delaying the inevitable. You will waste ages and lots of electricity but the end is nigh!
Put the money towards the cost of a new battery and save yourself the grief. As for the make, I cannot offer any advice other than to go to a reputable battery retailer and look at what he has to offer. Most will have a choice on offer and much will depend on how much cash you are preapared to part with. I am fortuanate in that I have an excellent tyre, battery retailer locally and I just let him deal with these things! Good luck!

Well I'm leaning towards a battery replacment, especially now as my locar dealer has a 30 percent off on Varta batteries, it'll give me a 680 Amps 74 Ah battery for the cost of a charger essentially... Leopard tank drivers never stop at anything.

2007 TD4 HSE Moon Roof Ebony Leather Navi...

Hi again,

That's the right answer! I have had Varta batteries and they have never let me down.

Measured 11,88 volts on the battery, after the car had been stationary overnight, and that's simply to low. Imagine left stationary for a few days. Wouldn't be much juice left. Leopard tank drivers never stop at anything.

2007 TD4 HSE Moon Roof Ebony Leather Navi...

A battery voltage of less than 12V is very much discharged!
Drive your car for about 10 to 15 mins with some electrical loads switched on such as lamps, blower etc.
Check your battery voltage while the engine is at idle. It should be not less than 13.2 volts or thereabouts. This proves that the alternator is okay.
Then switch off the engine and the battery voltage should be about the same ie 13.2 volts.
Next, take regular voltage readings of the battery to check for the rate of discharge. Even after overnight you should still get around 13 volts. If you've only got just over 12 or even less, then your battery needs replacing.
Unless you've got a big battery drain for some reason. The quiescent drain measured after one hour of ign off should not be greater than 30 to 40Ma.

Some batteries will give many years of servicable use, do not replace a battery just because it's 3 or 4 years old; it could go on for much longer. Better the devil you know with batteries.

Hope this is of use.

The old battery is now officially history. Got a Varta Silver Dynamic 77Ah 780Amps, and now the car starts when I take the key fob out of my pocket  Leopard tank drivers never stop at anything.

2007 TD4 HSE Moon Roof Ebony Leather Navi...

That sounds great. Having some problems getting the car started lately. It's -15 C and the oem 80ah just doesn't seem to kick it anymore.
Was leaning towards the Varta. What did it run you? Did it fit perfect into the mount or? FL2, TD4 HSE
The flaming Orange!

The 77/780 Silver Dynamic (E44) was 1100 NOK, and fits perfectly in the B13 mount in the FL2.

Here it's about 8-10 below, and the car starts after a couple of seconds of glowing. Leopard tank drivers never stop at anything.

2007 TD4 HSE Moon Roof Ebony Leather Navi...

Thanks. I see it's a little smaller than the OEM one, but if you say it fits that's all good
Is there a way to controll how long it glows? Mine just tries to start right after I press the ignition.  FL2, TD4 HSE
The flaming Orange!

Mine did that too, but when the outisde temp dropped more, a warning first appeared in the info-window, and it glowed probably for two-three seconds before the cranking started. Leopard tank drivers never stop at anything.

2007 TD4 HSE Moon Roof Ebony Leather Navi...

Ok, so there is no way to manually control how long it glows?
What is the change intervals on our plugs? FL2, TD4 HSE
The flaming Orange!

Not that I know of.

About replacign glow plugs:

http://www.freel2.com/forum/post65601.html Leopard tank drivers never stop at anything.

2007 TD4 HSE Moon Roof Ebony Leather Navi...