Battery questions

[bunnishiwa]

Hi,

Might need to change the battery on my old VR before I sell as I think it's nearly cactus. In doing this I thought that I might just swap in my RA battery and buy a better one for the RA (as I will be installing amps etc later this year)

1) possibly stupid question, but the RA and NA lancer batteries are the same aren't they

2) Is it actually worth replacing the RA battery or is it good enough to run the car and 2 amps (would want approx 2 hrs usage without engine running - drive in cinema )

3) Can someone recommend a particular model/brand for the RA, or is it just as good to go via Repco or the like and get a decent brand name one?

Cheers

[Speedie]

I used to swear by Optima batteries until they would give warranty when I had 1 fail. You'd benefit from a AGM battery when running amps when the vehicle is off.

[Fitter]

I'm running dual battery

[au3]

Hi all,

Does changing the car battery affect any of the ECU tune settings after its been disconnected for a while? I know that it resets all the electrical components ex. Radio memory. Please shed some info. cj member thanks.

[Lancer1993]

I can affect the ECU and will affect the radio settings, best bet is to get a pro to do it, they hook up a 2nd battery to keep things powered.

Do you have a battery already?

[burfadel]

Connecting a second battery would ideally require a battery management system like you see on 4WD's so you don't flatten both batteries .

Something like this I guess:
http://www.redarc.com.au/products/produ ... _12v_100a/

Note that is the cheapest one from Redarc, not the best of their range . You could go for a cheaper imported brand, but Redarc are known for their absolute quality. If you do decide to go that route it's probably all you'll need.

[Lancer1993]

No I was talking about what battery fitters use, they hook up a temp battery that keeps power to the ECU and other systems. I would not recommend anyone attempting a DYI solution to do the same at home and you can fry expensive electronics. Using a dealer is a small price to pay to not kill your ECU.

[Swerve]

If you get a dual battery system make sure you get a normal car battery and a deep cycle battery. The deep cycle batteies don't normally give you a CCA and the ones that do are expensive. Deep cycles are good forrunning the radio, fridges, lights etc. when the cars off. Deep cycles are able to be discharged and recharged without damaging the batterys and are good at providing constant amperage. They aren't good at providing a large amount of amps to crank the car. I'd recommend an AGM deep cycle battery over a gel deep cycle battery as in an AGM battery the plates are wrapped in a glass fibre which helps hold them in place. In gel battery the plates are suspended in a gel and can be dislodged bby bumps. Considering it couldn't rattle/bounce around in the engine bay I'd go AGM.

You'll also need a regular car battery to supply the high surge of amps required to crank the car. You'll need a battery with a higher CCA then the car starter needs. When you need a battery to provide a sudden surge of amps you want one with lots of thin plates. A deep cycle battery won't be able to provide the surge to start the car as it has larger/thicker plates.

[burfadel]

Swerve has a point there. Going for something better than the stock 356 CCA battery would be a good start .

[Damir]

...................... fry your internals by changing the battery ?????

anyways after you disconnect the negative of your battery for 5 seconds it will reset everything which is not that big of a deal, just your radio stations go back to default

as for what battery to run, if you are just after a semi decent one that is better than factory then the century 55d23l or 75d23l for a bit more high performance

if you are running a soundsystem then you should look at investing money into an optima yellowtop or a fullriver battery

[Lancer1993]

Unless you have a charger that says other wise it's always good practice to disconnect the earth/negative. I'm having to do that with the old coupe I run every few weeks if the battery can't get it started.

As I said before its not always best to get a massively bigger CCA battery than stock, modern cars can only use what they were designed to use when starting the engine. if you run a lot of accessories when the car is not running then it is worth it other wise its a waste of time and money.

And again my point above was about changing the batter, specialists have a portable system that allows them to hook up the car while they change the battery and not loose your stereo setting and the ECU. Plus most include installing with the price of the battery, well worth it even if you end up paying a few dollars more as they dispose of the old one too.

[Swerve]

Just get a memory protection device runs off a 9V battery that you can plug into the car helps keep all your settings. As for the ECU it'll readjust itself. I've disconnected my battery for a few hours and had no issues except resetting the time clock.

[Lancer1993]

Can't remember is this was asked before but are the Optima battery clamps that hold the bottom of the battery legal here?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251110697328 ... EBIDX%3AIT

[aspir3]

Cant remember is this was asked before but are the Optima battery clamps that hold the bottom of the battery legal here? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251110697328 ... EBIDX%3AIT

I'm not sure but the other option is to fit a Ralliart battery cover which hides the battery and protects the wiring and battery terminals form being contacted. I painted mine body cover as per my engine and fuse cover to match in.