How long is the life of your D4 battery?

[eddomak]

The battery warning light just came on in my D4, and stays on when ignition is off. The car is exactly 3 years old.

I was wondering if this is reasonable for a D4 battery to last, or whether my recent install of a CB radio wired directly to the battery might be draining the battery (although the CB has been kept off and unused for all this time)? I just don't want to go replacing the battery if the underlying cause is something else (ie the CB).

I know this is somewhat of a "how long is a piece of string" and also a "your milage may vary" issue, but still interested in your experiences. The car is used daily for city use and many short (<10km) trips a day. Longer trips on weekends.

I will also try charging it up with a battery charger and seeing how long it will last.

[Scouse]

Looking at this post nearly 3 years ago:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-rrs/101402-my-d4-now-delivered-my-garage.html
your battery is still under warranty.

Roadside assist will replace it for you if their tests confirm it's a battery failure.

[eddomak]

Hah hah, yes, the car's 3rd birthday will be 23/3/2013, so I will also give the LR warranty a go. Thanks for that note!

[Graeme]

Do you happen to have the earth for the UHF going to the battery terminal?

[discojools]

Why do you ask that Graeme?

[eddomak]

Do you happen to have the earth for the UHF going to the battery terminal?

No - it goes to the earth bolt that is outside the battery box, below the positive terminal (where lots of other things seem to be earthed). This was based on advice in the thread asking about power for the CB (http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-rrs/168499-where-get-power-cb.html?highlight=cb+power).

[kenl]

My battery just got replaced after 20 months and 50K kms, it was covered by warranty.

Interestingly they replaced with a AGM battery rather than the original Calcium Battery.

[Disco4SE]

Mine was one of the first of the D4's......December 2009.
Had to replace the battery at around 83,000 Klm's.

Cheers, Craig

[101RRS]

My mid 2007 RRS is still on its first battery.

[ken224]

Mine lasted only two years. It was Varta and was replaced under warranty with a Korean product. Can't be worse than Varta, I hope.

[sniegy]

My mid 2007 RRS is still on its first battery.

You Sure ? ;-)

BTW mine lasted 2 1/2 years.

Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner

[101RRS]

You Sure ? ;-)



Yes but I do expect it to die this winter - the clues are appearing - one flat battery a little while back after having the radio and internal lights on for a while when working on the car. It came back on charging, but I have had a few low power episodes on the radio and once it was on with no volume at all for about 5 minutes after startup. No other dash indications.

We will see what happens on Canberra's -5 degree mornings in 5 months time.

Garry

[alpick]

My recently acquired 08MY D3 Tdv6 (Nov 07) still has the original calcium battery with only 80k km on the clock!!

[discotwinturbo]

I expect a decent period from my battery.

My patrol battery was 7 1/2 years old when she met her new owner, and my Touareg battery is just about to hit 5 years.

I have always given my batteries a tickle the 4th Sunday of each month with a multi stage battery charger.....since forever.

This I think is the key for me for batteries to last....the old man taught me that as car alternators have never been designed to properly charge batteries.

Brett.....

[Tote]

After replacing the battery in my 2008 D3 and finding out the problem was a dirty terminal the battery is doing sterling duty cranking a 5.2 litre Diesel to life in the tractor....
Regards,
Tote

[Graeme]

Why do you ask that Graeme?
I was thinking about the battery load sensor being shorted/bypassed at least to a degree due to the earth connections of the aerial shielding at the body and the UHF set but in reality any significant current draw (eg starter motor) would melt the UHF earth wire or the aerial shielding anyway, so it wouldn't last long.

[eddomak]

Thanks all for your replies!

The battery light is no longer on, and the car seems to start without any problems. I will monitor it and hope that it comes back within the next 2 weeks rather than in 4 weeks time...

Edit: Actually, since I need to go into a dealer to get warranty work (oil weep from turbo, 2nd time) done before the 3 years is up, I might as well tell them about the battery problem.

[SBD4]

Thanks all for your replies!

The battery light is no longer on, and the car seems to start without any problems. I will monitor it and hope that it comes back within the next 2 weeks rather than in 4 weeks time...

have you had, or you going to get, an end of warranty inspection done before the warranty runs out? It'd be a bugger to have something fail the day after....

[baldivistribe]

I place ours on the cetek charger for a few days every month or so. as im sick of the low battery warning message. Hopefully the battery lasts long time given the cost of replacing it.
Cheers
Steve

[Tombie]

I expect a decent period from my battery.

My patrol battery was 7 1/2 years old when she met her new owner, and my Touareg battery is just about to hit 5 years.

I have always given my batteries a tickle the 4th Sunday of each month with a multi stage battery charger.....since forever.

This I think is the key for me for batteries to last....the old man taught me that as car alternators have never been designed to properly charge batteries.

Brett.....

Brett

The statement is 1/2 right... :)

Modern alternators can charge to full (or so close it doesn't matter)
However, most driving done by most people is "Stop-Start" and the battery never gets a chance to reach this SOC.

What you're doing is going to really help the battery as the Stop-Start driving just kills them.

We had a case, a mate running a tyre shop, sold a new battery to an elderly woman who had a - of all things - Tank Fairlane!

Battery lasted 2 months...

Turns out she drove to the shops and went to the pokies next door every 2-3 days then drove home.

Problem was that the drive was 1.3km round trip :D

Battery never stood a chance as it couldn't replenish the charge taken by the starter!

[eddomak]

Live update....

SWMBO has just called to say the car refused to start. Battery dead. They are in a carpark with a full load of groceries & 2 kids...

Guess LR will be needing to look at it after all...


have you had, or you going to get, an end of warranty inspection done before the warranty runs out? It'd be a bugger to have something fail the day after....
Yeap - at the last service in January, I asked Graeme Cooper LR to do a end-of-warranty inspection. :) I have (Allianz) extended warranty but would still prefer to have no questions asked if necessary.

[Celtoid]

My D4 was one of the first Oz deliveries.

I'm on battery number 3....all under warranty. I've got an AGM now...so fingers crossed.

I never got any warning lights....car just cranked normally but wouldn't start.

At least I know now that if that happens again, first port of call will be a battery check and can easily be fixed temporary with a jump start.

LR started using AGMs in Brissy cause the originals kept failing.

[Ferret]

My battery lasted only 18 months and was replaced under warranty. As mentioned by others LR are now replacing the original Varta flooded cell units with Exide AGM units.

Maybe this is an indication LR also recognise there is a bit of a problem with D4 battery life. There certainly seems to be more than a fair share of D4 battery bellyaching around the interwebs.

[rovers1952]

My D3 S bought new Feb 07, Built Dec 06 still has original Varta Battery and seems good. Also Aux battery which absorbs load of CB, Fridge & camp lights. (92,000 klms)

[BMKal]

My battery lasted about 4 days from when I picked the D4 up.

The vehicle was a demo and had 1,000km on the clock. I commented that the battery sounded a bit "doughy" the day that I picked it up, but was told that it was most likely because it had not been used for a couple of days and would "pick up" once I took it for a drive.

It died on the Saturday morning. LR sent out a service vehicle to jump start me - I got him to put a multi-meter across the battery once we had it going and from that determined that the alternator output was normal - so must be the battery.

Drove straight out to the dealers and asked them to replace the battery. They wouldn't, as it was Saturday and there was nobody in the service department, and they wouldn't accept my advice that the battery was stuffed. So they gave me a new Freelander for the weekend. Service department called me about 10 on Monday morning to tell me that vehicle was ready to be collected. When I asked what the problem was - response was "battery was stuffed".

Have had no problems with it since - but I do drive between Perth & Kalgoorlie pretty regularly, so it gets plenty of long runs to bring the charge level back up to normal.

[Graeme]

Can someone provide the number of the AGM replacement please? I've been suspicious of mine since it wouldn't start the D4 last October so would like to have the details on hand in case I have to get one in a hurry.

[Ferret]

Graeme


The new battery fitted by the dealer is an Exide battery with a Jaguar sticker on it. Model No. is BH42-10655-BA which must be an OEM number because a search of Exide's Australian, UK and US web site shows that model No. is unknown.

A web search for this model No. shows a few hits but they are almost all foreign language web sites, eg Batterie EXIDE Technologies SAS EK920 pas cher - Démarrage et Charge : Batteries de démarrage - Batterie EK920 (http://www.oscaro.com/batterie-exide-technologies-sas-ek920-4144134-2585-p)

[eddomak]

My battery lasted about 4 days from when I picked the D4 up.

The vehicle was a demo and had 1,000km on the clock. I commented that the battery sounded a bit "doughy" the day that I picked it up, but was told that it was most likely because it had not been used for a couple of days and would "pick up" once I took it for a drive.

I don't know if it is still the case, but I remember that when the D4 was first in the showrooms they all had flat batteries from staying "awake" so much with the doors opened and closed etc. In the end a lot of them had their batteries disconnected, the doors unlocked on request, or the batteries connected up to chargers regularly. Wouldn't surprise me that the battery of a demo would be in bad condition. :)

[Graeme]

Maybe this is an indication LR also recognise there is a bit of a problem with D4 battery life. There certainly seems to be more than a fair share of D4 battery bellyaching around the interwebs.I wasn't impressed when at the end of warranty service my battery needed to be put on a charger to bring it up to full charge after I had just travelled 500 kms to get there and had reported that it had gone flat the day before but it wasn't replaced.

[gotaflat]

Mine died on the weekend, 2 years 1 month - Jump started for next few days with the Thumper until back in Perth.

Dealer in Perth was really good and replaced under warranty. They said they have not replaced many at Southerns (and the service guy was surprised at the size of the battery, not to mention the price on the order form at $530....) , but they got one over from Barbagallo and dropped in.

As the forum has noted, replaced the Varta with Exide 850cca AGM....

[Glynhouse]

I have a D3, 07, build Dec 06, replaced the original battery in Nov 12 as was about to do an extended run from Mt Isa down the Sandover then bush for over 700klms with no service or fuel, did like to trust a 6 year old battery.
It was carried hooked up through a relay to power the fridge, it stopped being usable February this year.
Until I removed it had given no trouble and tested O.K.

DD

[disco4now]

My Jan 2010 D4 battery replaced under warranty last November, i.e nearly 3 years.
I think it was on the edge a long time before that. Only indication was it would fail to start (no attempt to wind at all) if say I had doors open packing for a trip, or hooked up fault mate for a few minutes. A couple of minutes on the charger and it would start. Charger would indicated it was half way down, but to full charge in a few minutes.
I was getting intermittent water in fuel circuit alarms so thought it might be battery related. I took it in to Trivett and ask them to check, they said it was faultly and replaced under warranty. I got the Varta battery, should have hung on bit longer.
(Turned out water in fuel circuit intermittent faults continued, this was rectified under warranty by replacing fuel filter housing which has the intermittent wiring fault on water sensor circuit.)

Regards
Gerry

[eddomak]

In the end the roadside assistance guy didn't have the right size battery to swap over, so the car was driven home (2kms) and left at the side of the road for the tow truck to then tow it to the nearest dealer.

They did their testing, and a battery were ordered and fitted this morning, for a lunchtime pickup. All done under warranty. Woohoo! It is the new AGM battery.

Now... the oil weep from O/S turbo has recurred and they have ordered a new scavenger pipe and said it is blowing excessive smoke. All to also be done under warranty. Hopefully can get this all done by this coming week as well.

Thanks to you all for your input and experiences. Who would have guessed this topic would have brought so many reports out of the woodwork. :D

[Graeme]

Gotaflat, to where does that black wire from the battery negative terminal go? That looks suspiciously like incorrect wiring where the load doesn't pass through the battery load monitor.

[Graeme]

(Turned out water in fuel circuit intermittent faults continued, this was rectified under warranty by replacing fuel filter housing which has the intermittent wiring fault on water sensor circuit.)
Mine caused water faults when driven through puddles so I put silicone over the connector because the service people didn't read what I wrote and assumed there had been water inside so didn't fix it. Even when requested at a later service the faulty wiring was not replaced hence my silicone is the fix.

[gotaflat]

Gotaflat, to where does that black wire from the battery negative terminal go? That looks suspiciously like incorrect wiring where the load doesn't pass through the battery load monitor.

Its a good question. Its the system that charges the Thumper in the back (when and if I put it in and plug it in). So its the Blue Apple 50 amp charging kit/low voltage regulator. I had it installed some time ago back in Melbourne when I was living there.

I did wonder if it was right? is it wrong? as I had it installed by a 'professional' I assumed it was all ok? (yes assumptions are ..... ).

OS: I do want to take it out and install a full Traxide system with HC pass through (so still be able to charge the Thumper). I have not got around to it due to time constraints. and wondering if I leave it there for something else....

[Graeme]

If there is any earth connection to the body from the charger or its voltage regulator or from the Thumper then it will adversely affect the charging of the main battery. Regardless, any draw-down of the Thumper battery is not going to register via the main battery load monitor when recharging so has the ability to impact the charging of both batteries.

I would move the black wire to an earth stud near the battery.

[BMKal]

Mine died on the weekend, 2 years 1 month - Jump started for next few days with the Thumper until back in Perth.

Dealer in Perth was really good and replaced under warranty. They said they have not replaced many at Southerns (and the service guy was surprised at the size of the battery, not to mention the price on the order form at $530....) , but they got one over from Barbagallo and dropped in.

As the forum has noted, replaced the Varta with Exide 850cca AGM....

Didn't take any notice what the original in mine was, but the replacement in it now is the Exide. Was fitted by Barbagallo's where I bought it.

[BMKal]

I don't know if it is still the case, but I remember that when the D4 was first in the showrooms they all had flat batteries from staying "awake" so much with the doors opened and closed etc. In the end a lot of them had their batteries disconnected, the doors unlocked on request, or the batteries connected up to chargers regularly. Wouldn't surprise me that the battery of a demo would be in bad condition. :)

Yes - didn't really surprise me too much either. When I first saw it, was about the only demo of that model they had out the front and it was doing a lot of short, stop / start running around the neighbourhood. The salesperson who sold it to me was taking it home at night - she lives about 5 minutes from the dealership. They were very apologetic about it when it failed after only a few days, especially as I had pointed out when I collected it that it did not sound like it was carrying a full charge. No harm done though - I got to test drive a new Freelander for a couple of days - and that one was a Diesel HSE - very nice to drive, especially around the city.

[drivesafe]

Hi gotaflat, and as Graeme suggested, you should remove the negative wire from your cranking battery’s negative terminal.

The positive is fine.

BTW, in your case it will be a quick and simple job.

Just remove the wire from the battery’s negative terminal and bring the wire to the front of the cranking battery compartment.

In the inner guard wall, just in front of the cranking battery compartment, are two M6 earth studs. Just refit your wire to one of these and that’s all there is to do.

I also heard some info to day that may or may not relate to the LR AGMs, the Exides.

Some of Exide AGMs are being made by Optima.

If this is the case, and even better still, if the LR AGMs are rebadged Optimas, would be a very good move.

[gotaflat]

Hi gotaflat, and as Graeme suggested, you should remove the negative wire from your cranking battery’s negative terminal.

The positive is fine.

BTW, in your case it will be a quick and simple job.

Just remove the wire from the battery’s negative terminal and bring the wire to the front of the cranking battery compartment.

In the inner guard wall, just in front of the cranking battery compartment, are two M6 earth studs. Just refit your wire to one of these and that’s all there is to do.

I also heard some info to day that may or may not relate to the LR AGMs, the Exides.

Some of Exide AGMs are being made by Optima.

If this is the case, and even better still, if the LR AGMs are rebadged Optimas, would be a very good move.

Thanks Drivesafe and Graham. Not wanting to hijack the thread by the way...

Ok, I am concerned, and what you say makes sense to me, and its something I should and do know.... Any way wanting to be annoyed at the installer/auto sparky (and myself), but I went and checked the install instructions, which I gave to him before I left him with the car....here is what the install instructions say.

"50 Amp Heavy Duty Charge Kit Fitting Instructions
1. Mount the module fitted with the Anderson plug in the rear of your vehicle &ndash; close to where you would like your Thumper to be located.
2. Run the Twin Core cable under the carpet or kick panel from the engine bay to the location of the rear module
3. Mount the remaining control box under the bonnet as close to the existing battery as possible
4. Connect the 6mm black wire (cable with bare ends) to the positive and negative of your existing battery
5. Connect the 6mm cable to the yellow joiners on both the rear module (mounted in step 1) & the module mounted under the bonnet.
6. Connect the remaining thin black wire to an ignition activated wire (most often found within the loom to the windscreen wiper motor).
7. Start the engine of your vehicle and the voltage should start to increase on the Thumper display gauge."

http://www.australiandirect.com.au/newthumpers/Thumper%20Info%20Pdf.pdf


So, I can't get to upset really, and on reflection, I think I checked this in relation to the instructions when I got back. I guess Blue Apple have it wrong... Which is a worry. I actually really like the Thumper as it handy for what i do (80% utilised around the farm and the rest back of the disco for the fridge). I had better pull my finger out and get the Traxide system ordered and in.

I will move in the morning to the earth stud as you say.

Thanks

[Graeme]

Not wanting to hijack the thread by the way...Not hijacking the thread as it may have contributed to the premature demise of your battery. However you now have an AGM which is better suited to these vehicles the way they consume power.

[sniegy]

@ Graeme LR033179 Factory Part Number.

Cheers

[drivesafe]

Hi again gotaflat, and I would not be to concerned with the set you have, it’s easily fixed.

As for the what the auto electrician did, most auto electricians are unaware that many new vehicles, not just Land Rovers, now come with some form of BMS ( Battery Monitoring System ) and many of these BMS use the cranking battery’s negative cable to carryout the BMS requirements.

Remember, most auto electricians still think 6mm Auto ( 4.5mm2 ) is the thickest cable you need to use in dual battery systems.

Oh how things have changed. When I started working with dual battery “systems” nearly 25 years ago, we all used 6mm AUTO cable and it worked.

But back then, most vehicles had either a 45 or 55 amp alternator and the second battery was another small cranking battery and which was always fitted in the engine bay.

Today, people need ( “want” whether they need it or not ) more and more 12v power and this is really starting to stretch what can be sucsesfully achieved.

A company I work with has just finished setting up an LC200 with a 60 amp Battery-To-Battery set up in the rear of the LC200 and another 60 amp Battery-To-Battery set up in the caravan.

I’ve been carrying out tests with these 60 amp Battery-To-Battery set ups and if the auxiliary/house batteries are in a low state, the 60 amp Battery-To-Battery set up can draw as much as 90 amps from an alternator to be able to deliver an output of 60 amps.

Thats a potential current draw of 180 amps, just for the two 60 amp Battery-To-Battery set ups.

The LC200 also has had a 390 amp alternator installed.

Now this set up works well but I would be very interested to see the owners fuel consuption figures now?

BTW, when the owner was asked why he was setting up such a large capacity system? His answer was “Because he could”

[drivesafe]

@ Graeme LR033179 Factory Part Number.

Hi Peter and will that battery fit in the Vogue?

[sniegy]

@ Tim, the battery will physically fit into the cavity, but not sure if the rating is correct.

Will advise on Monday when I am back at work.

Cheers

Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner

[101RRS]

A question from a dummy on such things - why is the new D3/D4 battery an AGM - I understood these were basically deep cycle and high current draw like starting was a no no for them and they die quick.

The main reason I am interested is that I expect to have to replace my battery this winter and I will not be paying the dealer price for a battery (not sure why people are buying from the dealer anyway) and will be looking for suitable alternatives. Up do now I would have been looking for suitable calcium batteries rather than AGMs.

Garry

[sheerluck]

A question from a dummy on such things - why is the new D3/D4 battery an AGM - I understood these were basically deep cycle and high current draw like starting was a no no for them and they die quick.

The main reason I am interested is that I expect to have to replace my battery this winter and I will not be paying the dealer price for a battery (not sure why people are buying from the dealer anyway) and will be looking for suitable alternatives. Up do now I would have been looking for suitable calcium batteries rather than AGMs.

Garry

X2. I'm on the lookout to replace the battery now on my D3, there's a dead Century DIN85LMF in there at the minute, and the replacement choices are confusing me a little. Not to mention the prices :eek:

[drivesafe]

A question from a dummy on such things - why is the new D3/D4 battery an AGM - I understood these were basically deep cycle and high current draw like starting was a no no for them and they die quick.

Hi Garry and while most AGMs in RV use are deep cycle type ( actually they are mostly Standby Type ) AGMs, there are a number of AUTOMOTIVE grade type AGMs that can be used as a direct replacement for a flooded ( wet ) cell cranking battery.

The main difference between Standby type AGMs and AUTOMOTIVE AGMs is the maximum operating voltage and current levels.

Most Standby types will not tolerate voltages over 14.4v ( some now can take 14.7v ) and are current Charging and Discharging limited.

Whereas, AUTOMOTIVE AGMs will tolerate 15v and higher and accept high currents and an Optima Yellow Top actually has NO CHARGE CURRENT limit.

Here is a link to the charging specs for the Optima Yellow Tops. Some very impressive specs!

Support - Battery Care - Charging :: OPTIMA® Batteries (http://www.optimabatteries.com/us/en/support/battery-care/charging/)

[Ferret]

A question from a dummy on such things - why is the new D3/D4 battery an AGM - I understood these were basically deep cycle and high current draw like starting was a no no for them and they die quick.

Like I said before there appears to be little info about these batteries except on foreign web sites. When you translate the text of these websites to English it says these batteries are specified for vehicles which employ 'stop start' technology. - ie the engine shuts itself off while stopped at traffic lights, traffic queues etc. and re starts again when you put your foot on the accelerator to move off. ie lots of engine starting - not a lot of driving.

Wife bought a new BMW a few weeks ago which features 'stop start'. I wonder how long the battery will last when used solely for city driving.

[sheerluck]

.........Wife bought a new BMW a few weeks ago which features 'stop start'. I wonder how long the battery will last when used solely for city driving.

I had a similar worry about my Golf Bluemotion. Admittedly it gets <10% stop start use, but now 20 months old and 36000km in, and still it restarts before you've even got the clutch pedal halfway down.

It does seem to detect that if you're in prolonged stop-start traffic, then it will avoid cutting out, presumably once a low charge point is reached.

[Ferret]

Drivesafe

If the original D4 calcium Varta has been replaced by the new Exide AGM is there a need to do anything to the charging system on the D4.

ie does it matter that the characteristics of the newly installed AGM battery is very different to the characteristics of the old Calcium battery to the charging system.

[Celtoid]

I had a similar worry about my Golf Bluemotion. Admittedly it gets <10% stop start use, but now 20 months old and 36000km in, and still it restarts before you've even got the clutch pedal halfway down.

It does seem to detect that if you're in prolonged stop-start traffic, then it will avoid cutting out, presumably once a low charge point is reached.

If it's the same set-up as on my wife's Merc...it's got a secondry power source for stop start ... is that only to run accessories while stopped?

[drivesafe]

Hi Ferret and going on how the Optimas perform with my D3 and D4 DBS, you should have no problems and the system should work quite well with the new AGM cranking battery.

I have been trying to work out how I can fit two Optima D34, 55Ah batteries in the cranking battery compartment of my Vogue, but, and the reason for asking Peter about the new LR battery, I'll go with one of them if it suits the Vogue.

[sheerluck]

If it's the same set-up as on my wife's Merc...it's got a secondry power source for stop start ... is that only to run accessories while stopped?

Single battery on the Golf. The accessories seem to go into low power mode once it's stopped, and if it detects a high power draw (such as having the heated rear screen, wipers and lights all going at the same time) then you get the Stop/Start disabled symbol come up on the dash.

I know the alternator has a clutch in it so that it is only in use when the capacitor charging system from the braking can't charge the battery enough. Immensely clever bit of kit. Not sure I'd like to own a 15 year old one though. :D

[Celtoid]

Single battery on the Golf. The accessories seem to go into low power mode once it's stopped, and if it detects a high power draw (such as having the heated rear screen, wipers and lights all going at the same time) then you get the Stop/Start disabled symbol come up on the dash.

I know the alternator has a clutch in it so that it is only in use when the capacitor charging system from the braking can't charge the battery enough. Immensely clever bit of kit. Not sure I'd like to own a 15 year old one though. :D

Oh OK. The Merc has some weird looking device in the boot, next to the spare wheel. It doesn't look like a battery at all but apparently it is a power source for the stop/start system.

Same characteristics though...a/c, etc run on a reduced setting and the engine restarts when the system gets too low. The car has a green 'ECO' light that turns amber when charging with the car engine running.

There is a button on the dash to turn it off and on....but it defaults to on.

I've done a few quick searches but thus far haven't been able to find exactly how it works.

Cheers.

[drivesafe]

Not sure I'd like to own a 15 year old one though. :D

Don’t worry about 15 year old vehicles.

These new alternator/regenerative braking systems are a total waste of time when it comes to trying to charging an auxiliary/house battery and are proving a nightmare for European Police forces.

They can’t get enough 12v power to run all their electronics they need.

[Tote]

A comment re Drivesafe's reply regarding fuel economy and batteries. Years ago a workmate and I had to do some work in Wilcannia, we both had identical XF Panel vans and filled up for the return trip to Cobar in the evening. I had a pair of 150 Watt sealed beams on the bullbar so I went first. We both filled up in the morning and I had used 5 more litres of fuel from running the lights for 260 Km on the trip back.

Regards,
Tote

[drivesafe]

Hi Tote and I would love to know what are the fuel consumption figures for a vehicle with different current load being applied to an alternator.

The info is not available anywhere ( to my knowledge ) for any make of vehicle.

There are a few statistics for fuel consumption verses alternator loads for long distance trucking, but not for standard vehicles or 4x4s.

[superquag]

Would be interested too... but am too mathematically challenged / Engineering Ignorant to have a go at it...

But for starters (sorry, inintentional pun...) I'd work on average running wattage for charging the main battery, AUX battery, running the 101 ECU's, sound system, Navigation System(s), anti-collision radars... 10,000 lumen lighting, dash-cam, phone, CB.... - and powering the kid's iPods. :p

Then factor in the efficiency lost in converting mechanical energy to electric and any other losses such as Charge Regulators.

That should give you the Watts (or kW....) consumed at the alternator drive pulley.

Factor in the loss % in the lacky-band drive....

Now you know how many kW is coming out of your engine. - This is in addition to what your engine consumes to hurtle you along. Remember that electric energy is 'work done' and therefore comes out of your fuel tank...

Dunno where you'd find info regarding fuel consumption - litres per kW per hour...

Tote's figure of 2 litres per is pretty frightening, even allowing ONE litre per hundred for driving technique and vehicle differances.

'Safety' at night cost him $7.50 for around 3 hours driving...

Or 4.1 cents per minute...:eek:

[superquag]

There are a few statistics for fuel consumption verses alternator loads for long distance trucking, but not for standard vehicles or 4x4s.

From the discussion here... I can't see how a D4 would consume less kW's than a truck... :eek:

[gotaflat]

X2. I'm on the lookout to replace the battery now on my D3, there's a dead Century DIN85LMF in there at the minute, and the replacement choices are confusing me a little. Not to mention the prices :eek:

Sheerluck, the battery put in (and replaced) my D4 was DIN95 - another measure of CCA. You may not need a DIN95 battery in the D3? I am not familiar with the D3 battery, but its worth looking at.

FWIW i looked at several batteries on line that were equivilant (or close to) the original D4 VARTA (950CCA, 95Ah etc). This is what I found from VARTA, which looks the same as the Exide that LR put in place of the VARTA Lead acid original.

VARTA 595901 (G14) ULTRA DYNAMIC (http://www.batteriesdirect.com.au/shop/product/12768/595901-(g14).html)

Posts look to be in the right place etc for the D4 terminal leads etc.

[Graeme]

...I've been suspicious of mine since it wouldn't start the D4 last October ...My suspicions were correct as the battery was much too flat today to start the engine after having not been used for 3 days yet had done a 100 km drive as the last use. It should have been replaced at the end of warranty service in October after failing that morning for no reason, but not knowing they were being replaced by dealers elsewhere I didn't insist.

[Graeme]

I have found the Varta for $410 delivered or a Fiamm VR900 for $365 locally. The Fiamm has same 90 AH, slightly higher 900 CCA but weighs 24kg instead of Varta's 27kg, which suggests perhaps it could be less of a battery.

The distributor warned that the battery should only be used in a stop-start vehicle but did not give any reasons. I intend ignoring this warning.

Has anyone had a bad experience with a Fiamm battery?

Edit: As Varta has 2 ranges of start-stop batteries with the D4 size having the higher 3x higher level of cyclic endurance compared with 2X higher level for the lesser range, I suspect from the weight difference that the Fiamm might equate to the lesser Varta range so will pay the extra for the Varta.

[gghaggis]

I have found the Varta for $410 delivered or a Fiamm VR900 for $365 locally. The Fiamm has same 90 AH, slightly higher 900 CCA but weighs 24kg instead of Varta's 27kg, which suggests perhaps it could be less of a battery.

The distributor warned that the battery should only be used in a stop-start vehicle but did not give any reasons. I intend ignoring this warning.

Has anyone had a bad experience with a Fiamm battery?

Edit: As Varta has 2 ranges of start-stop batteries with the D4 size having the higher 3x higher level of cyclic endurance compared with 2X higher level for the lesser range, I suspect from the weight difference that the Fiamm might equate to the lesser Varta range so will pay the extra for the Varta.

I got the bigger Varta stop/start. Not sure if it's the same model as the one you're looking at, but I had to extend the battery tray to fit, which now means the top cover doesn't clip in correctly.

Cheers,

Gordon

[Graeme]

Ah, that must be the biggest one 605901, 40mm longer, RC 105A & 950CCA.

The advice not to fit a battery suitable for a stop-start vehicle to a vehicle that's not stop-start seemed strange.

[cruiser1]

New years day and went to use the D4 and it would not start. The dash light up like a christmas tree, but would not start. Called Roadside Assist (I was at home) and the Alliance Assist guy came. Tested battery and said that it was charged OK, but amps were down. Fitted a new battery and everything OK.
Just had a look at the new battery and cannot see a brand name - maybe it is on the side but I have not taken it out to have a look.

The label on top says:
MF88H
880 CCA
160 minutes
14.8 V

Did a Google search and it appears to be a Supercharge Gold. Assist guy said this is the battery LR them to use. The original was 18 months old and done 17,000 km - hope this one lasts longer.

[eddomak]

Cruiser1 - did they charge you for the battery replacement? You may find that the battery is covered under the factory warranty. Mine was.

[cruiser1]

Eddomak, thee was no charge. In fact it was all very easy, especially considering it was public holiday.

[RoverLander]

I have found the Varta for $410 delivered or a Fiamm VR900 for $365 locally. The Fiamm has same 90 AH, slightly higher 900 CCA but weighs 24kg instead of Varta's 27kg, which suggests perhaps it could be less of a battery.

The distributor warned that the battery should only be used in a stop-start vehicle but did not give any reasons. I intend ignoring this warning.

Has anyone had a bad experience with a Fiamm battery?

Edit: As Varta has 2 ranges of start-stop batteries with the D4 size having the higher 3x higher level of cyclic endurance compared with 2X higher level for the lesser range, I suspect from the weight difference that the Fiamm might equate to the lesser Varta range so will pay the extra for the Varta.


Graeme, how are you going with the Varta G14? Did you simply drop it in and did everything work OK after that?


I have also just ordered one for a 2010 D4 TDV3.0. The original hasn't failed me as yet but I am about to go on a long trip so I am doing a pre-emptive replacement. I have done 85,000 Kms.
Peter

[Graeme]

Nothing special about fitting the Varta G14. I'll know in a couple of years if it lasts longer than the original and hopefully quite a few more after that. I think the only reason not to fit a stop/start battery is if a lessor/cheaper one does the job but being a D4, lesser ones don't seem to do the job.

Edit: Mostly this D4 does only short drives so a fast recharge battery seems appropriate.

[PeterOZ]

Folks,
will be needing a new battery in my D3 in next couple of weeks. Seems the lates part number is LR033179. I'm in Brisbane area, where is best place to get one?

i.e best price? rang local dealer here and they want $625.80

Got to be other places to get one at a better price surely?

thanks
cheers
Peter

[Graeme]

Google Varta G14 to find a good price for this AGM. My supplier was Qld-based but the battery was supplied out of Melbourne IIRC. Most deliveries to my area are ex Melb.

[PeterOZ]

Is that the same as the LR One?

[WhiteD3]

Folks,
will be needing a new battery in my D3 in next couple of weeks. Seems the lates part number is LR033179. I'm in Brisbane area, where is best place to get one?

i.e best price? rang local dealer here and they want $625.80

Got to be other places to get one at a better price surely?

thanks
cheers
Peter

Peter,

Ring around. In October I got a century battery from Battery World for the D4 for $209 with a 2 year warranty.

[PeterOZ]

I see

[Graeme]

Is that the same as the LR One?
I understood that it was. However I dont know if a D3 needs such an expensive battery as much as a D4 does.

[Graeme]

I'm a little dissapointed that my expensive Varta AGM start-stop battery isn't getting charged enough with the mostly short drives the vehicle gets, even with a weekly haf-hour run to town. For a couple of weeks my indicator LED has frequently been showing that the voltage is down whilst parked and the multimeter today reveals that its just under 12V. I was hoping that being an AGM and designed for start-stop that it would recharge on the short trips but the fancy D4 charging philosophy favouring fuel economy over battery state obviously prevents it so the portable 120W solar panel is being put to work. It must be time for a decent drive.

[Tote]

I'm finding the same since the D3 has been semi retired. After a week of not being used it needs a substantial run to keep it charged. I disconnected both batteries for the six weeks we are overseas.
Regards,
Tote

[scarry]

Mines the same,after a few days of sitting around the voltage is around 12V or less.Still on the original battery.

The Traxide led is often flashing which means the main battery has dropped lower than approx 12V.

They need a good long run to charge them up.

I regularly put it on a charger.

[gotaflat]

Ok - reviving an old thread..

The Land Rover BH42-10655-BA battery is not keeping charge much - very cold weather finally killed it - wont kick over - low battery etc.. 3yrs 4 months (has been labouring for the last few months). Lucky we have the Traxide/Optima to keep it going.. :)

Anyway - any news/info on replacement batteries for LR4 (2011) BH42-10655 is whats there - last one replaced under warranty - but expecting I will get bent over if I walk into LR service and pick one up :( .

Any other brands/options (good ones)? I cant find an Exide EK920 (I think the OEM for this battery). And where to get in Perth?

Thanks

[eddomak]

Well our 2nd battery has died a couple of weeks ago, so that makes our battery life around 3 years (give or take a couple of months) each time with our type of usage (mainly city driving of 5 -10 kms).

The price of the replacement battery from an independent LR specialist was just under $300.

I was a bit surprised that another $200 or so was charged for checking/clearing faults and the physical swapover, but as they seem to have a good reputation with some folk here and the Range Rover Club, am inclined to trust them.

I wonder if getting a Traxide DBS would end up extending the life of the main battery?

P.S. I just read over the thread and was also surprised to find that I was the OP. :)

[gotaflat]

wow - thats a great price is it same battery? i.e the Exide AGM BH42-10655... I see Varta have the same spec battery now.. G14 - AGM/AH/CCA etc.

Price have 500+ for the Exide and Varta ! !! ! :censored::censored::censored:

[eddomak]

wow - thats a great price is it same battery? i.e the Exide AGM BH42-10655... I see Varta have the same spec battery now.. G14 - AGM/AH/CCA etc.

Price have 500+ for the Exide and Varta ! !! ! :censored::censored::censored:

I must admit I didn't check, as I trust them due to so many recommendations, so I just called and found out a little more. It was a "Austral Batteries Euro Plus 60038" (Googled it and found this PDF. Otherwise they use a Bosch.

It's not an AGM, but apparently they fit heaps of these batteries over the years and have had not problems. Oh well, I guess time will tell.

[BobD]

They (the indie you are talking about) used a Bosch on mine but it failed at Katherine Gorge Caravan Park a few weeks ago after about 12 months of lots of rough roads. After I got the D4 going I went straight to the Darwin dealer and bought one for $800. I had to fit it myself due to so much work in June in Darwin but it wasn't difficult and there was no need to clear any faults. I didn't have time to shop around and just paid the dealer asking price to get me back on the road.

[eddomak]

They (the indie you are talking about) used a Bosch on mine but it failed at Katherine Gorge Caravan Park a few weeks ago after about 12 months of lots of rough roads. After I got the D4 going I went straight to the Darwin dealer and bought one for $800. I had to fit it myself due to so much work in June in Darwin but it wasn't difficult and there was no need to clear any faults. I didn't have time to shop around and just paid the dealer asking price to get me back on the road.

Are we talking about the same independent (as mine is in Sydney)? I know it doesn't change the discussion (as the battery is the main talking point here), but was just interested.

Also with the battery from the dealer I understand you just wanted to get on the road at the time, but out of interest, would you buy the same Bosch battery again under less hurried circumstances?

Cheers!

[Celtoid]

I got just over 3yrs on my MY13 battery. Mainly trips of around 30 minutes but some longer 2hr plus trips on occasions.


I was surprised at how quickly it died in the end. In reality it may have been slowing down for a while but that wasn't evident until the new battery was fitted under warranty. The faster cranking speed was very noticeable.


When I really noticed the battery was in trouble, it went from definite slow start to wouldn't crank, within two days. Which is odd compared to my MY2009 D4 which used to crank fine but not fire when it's batteries were dying. Pre fitment of the AGM, I had about three batteries changed under warranty on that car.


This recent occasion was a comedy of errors, which I'd rather not repeat.


I was heading out to a rugby game and I stopped to refuel. Car then gives a weak attempt at a crank and then flashes lights and spins the analogue clock, while throwing up fault codes. So I'm stuck at the bowser.


I call a mate, figuring it will be quicker than LR Assist. He turns up within 5 but the car won't jump. I call LR who send RACQ. RACQ turn up pretty quickly, so my chances of making the game looked OK. Then he informed me that they won't jump start at the bowser.


I decide to refresh my knowledge of the car via the handbook, only to find that the manual release of the 8 speed transmission isn't covered in the handbook (I'm sure it was in the 6 speed's). The handbook has messages about only letting a qualified LR guy move the car. Mr RACQ has no idea how to unlock the transmission. I found the red manual release handle but was reluctant to try it, not knowing how it operates and what it would or wouldn't do. I was obviously also concerned about resetting it after start. It was sort of a mute point anyway, as the only direction we could push was uphill and considering there was only the two of us, I thought success would be unlikely.


Unbeknown to me, my mate wouldn't accept failure and returned with big heavy duty leads and a bigger battery. I release RACQ of their OH&S responsibilities and my mate gets the car started first kick :-).


I make the game in plenty of time.


My first inquiry with LR was about that bloody red handle .... LOL!!!

[gotaflat]

I must admit I didn't check, as I trust them due to so many recommendations, so I just called and found out a little more. It was a "Austral Batteries Euro Plus 60038" (Googled it and found this PDF (http://www.australbatteries.com.au/pdf/Austral-Euro-Plus.pdf). Otherwise they use a Bosch.

It's not an AGM, but apparently they fit heaps of these batteries over the years and have had not problems. Oh well, I guess time will tell.

The AGM 100 down the bottom of the aoge look like its fits?

[gotaflat]

Just got quoted $258 + GST for a Varta G14 (trade price)

http://goodchild.com.au/automotive-passenger-vehicle/varta-367.html

Not sure about getting a Exide - cant find them any where

[jonesy63]

I was a bit surprised that another $200 or so was charged for checking/clearing faults and the physical swapover,

Hi Edwin,
I wonder if that charge was to update the CCF - to change from AGM to normal wet cell?

There are different charging regimes for each type.

Cheers,
Rob

[BobD]

Are we talking about the same independent (as mine is in Sydney)? I know it doesn't change the discussion (as the battery is the main talking point here), but was just interested.

Also with the battery from the dealer I understand you just wanted to get on the road at the time, but out of interest, would you buy the same Bosch battery again under less hurried circumstances?

Cheers!


Sorry, I thought you were Gotaflat. I was talking about the Perth indie.


My Bosch was leaking acid at the terminal so I wouldn't buy another one. With the standard LR battery I've never had corrosion at the terminals. I didn't know it was leaking until I went to remove it because I had never looked at the battery since it was installed! The Bosch was the first replacement battery my car has had since 2010.

[LandyAndy]

Gottaflat.
Give Westrac in guildford(open 24 hours I believe) or bunbury a ring and see what they can do.MANY of us fitted CAT batteries to our D2's.
You can pay cash(no account needed) and they were very well priced for the oversized D2 battery we all ran.They are made for earthmoving gear so tough.It all gets down to IF they can supply the D4 size battery.
Andrew

[Plane Fixer]

So far I have the original battery (4.5y) so far.
I do long runs and give it a charge with the Ctec every week if I do short runs.
When it dies eventually I will replace with a Varta G14 which is also an AGM as is the original Exide (Jaguar brand)
As a side note my wife's 2008 TDI Golf Pacific still has its factory original Varta but I think it is on its last legs, yet it started the car when we came back from a 5 week holiday.

[Geedublya]

Well our 2nd battery has died a couple of weeks ago, so that makes our battery life around 3 years (give or take a couple of months) each time with our type of usage (mainly city driving of 5 -10 kms).



The price of the replacement battery from an independent LR specialist was just under $300.



I was a bit surprised that another $200 or so was charged for checking/clearing faults and the physical swapover, but as they seem to have a good reputation with some folk here and the Range Rover Club, am inclined to trust them.



I wonder if getting a Traxide DBS would end up extending the life of the main battery?



P.S. I just read over the thread and was also surprised to find that I was the OP. :)



If your Indy is near North Sydney, I had a similar experience with a $300 wheel alignment. It took the apprentices a long time to get it done and a very short while later I get steering sensor calibration errors. Fortunately I had an IID tool and sorted that out myself.
I only went there because of the recommendation of other forum members and due to my preferred Indy being unavailable. I won't return.

I replaced my original battery with a Varta G14 bought from a forum member in Canberra (RRD Turbo?) The price was very good and the battery has proven to be excellent.

[drivesafe]

I wonder if getting a Traxide DBS would end up extending the life of the main battery?

Hi eddomak and my isolators do help to extend the operating life span of both the auxiliary battery and the cranking battery.

The isolators not only share the load while you are camping and powering your accessories, but my isolators also work in reverse.

All other isolators turn off when the motor is turned off ( or turn of shortly after ) but because my isolators are specifically designed to keep the cranking battery and the auxiliary batteries connected, when you start your motor, around 20% of the energy used to start your motor will come from the auxiliary battery.

This gives a multitude of advantages.

First off, your total available CCA while starting your motor is much higher and this means the voltage while starting is higher and this makes it easier for the starter motor to turn your motor over. ( better starts ).

Once started, because your cranking battery has not had to provide as much energy to start your motor than it would need to if starting under the normal single battery setup, your starting battery will not be as low as it would be.

Because the starting battery is not as low, means the used energy will e replaced in a shorter drive time, and this helps to reduce the problems caused by continual short trips around around town.

Also because of the way my isolators work, your auxiliary battery is always going to be in a higher state of charge than the cranking battery and this has the advantage of when you turn your motor off, again, because my isolators do not turn off at this time, the higher charged auxiliary battery will slowly discharged back into the cranking battery.

This one simple operating, over a period of time, progressively brings your cranking battery up to a far higher state of charge than it would normally be in and then keeps it there.

All this works to help extend the operating life of your cranking battery.

ALSO NOTE, my systems are ideal for use in new LRs with STOP/START operations. Again this is because my systems share the continual starting loads over two batteries.

[rar110]

Hi eddomak and my isolators do help to extend the operating life span of both the auxiliary battery and the cranking battery. The isolators not only share the load while you are camping and powering your accessories, but my isolators also work in reverse. All other isolators turn off when the motor is turned off ( or turn of shortly after ) but because my isolators are specifically designed to keep the cranking battery and the auxiliary batteries connected, when you start your motor, around 20% of the energy used to start your motor will come from the auxiliary battery. This gives a multitude of advantages. First off, your total available CCA while starting your motor is much higher and this means the voltage while starting is higher and this makes it easier for the starter motor to turn your motor over. ( better starts ). Once started, because your cranking battery has not had to provide as much energy to start your motor than it would need to if starting under the normal single battery setup, your starting battery will not be as low as it would be. Because the starting battery is not as low, means the used energy will e replaced in a shorter drive time, and this helps to reduce the problems caused by continual short trips around around town. Also because of the way my isolators work, your auxiliary battery is always going to be in a higher state of charge than the cranking battery and this has the advantage of when you turn your motor off, again, because my isolators do not turn off at this time, the higher charged auxiliary battery will slowly discharged back into the cranking battery. This one simple operating, over a period of time, progressively brings your cranking battery up to a far higher state of charge than it would normally be in and then keeps it there. All this works to help extend the operating life of your cranking battery. ALSO NOTE, my systems are ideal for use in new LRs with STOP/START operations. Again this is because my systems share the continual starting loads over two batteries.

I have just fitted Tim's kit to my 2008 tdv8 L322. The car seems to definitely like the extra amps, including starting better. It's a good kit.

[Stuart02]

RACV put a battery in our car for $286 all up. It's above standard spec for CCAs but we have a traxide so hard to say how it performs.
As BobD alludes to, I don't know how strong it'd be for constant offroad use but that's (sadly) not an issue for us.

Sent from my SM-G900I using AULRO mobile app

[Bytemrk]

Mine is sitting in the driveway on the ctek right now, having failed to proceed :mad:

Seems the car likes this weather less than I do! :angel:

It hasn't been holding charge well for a few weeks so after 4 years on the original battery, looks like I'm buying one too.

[LandyAndy]

Mine is sitting in the driveway on the ctek right now, having failed to proceed :mad:

Seems the car likes this weather less than I do! :angel:

It hasn't been holding charge well for a few weeks so after 4 years on the original battery, looks like I'm buying one too.

-4 here this morning.
Took this pic at 8.00am.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/07/758.jpg (http://s113.photobucket.com/user/LandyAndy_2006/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-07/20160713_080709_zps8kdnr1cs.jpg.html)
Andrew

[Mungus]

Just had my 2 year old original battery replaced under warranty last week during the 24 month service. Four times with a flat battery in the last three weeks. Charged three times with a CTek, but unfortunately longest period was 36 hours, so none long enough for float charge to take effect. 9.8V dead battery the night before service. Charge overnight to get it into dealer and replaced with new under warranty as a premature fault. Now I have the CTek and because most of my drives this year are short 15-20 minutes, I will be charging (including float) every month or two to keep it in good SoC.
Took it for a drive the week before it's first flat charge episode, solely to try and get a bit of charge into it, but forgot that under load it does not charge and I spent most of the time overtaking road trains so probably just made it worse.
Traxide USI 160 and Yellow top is up next, but after I let the trouble and strife get over the recent cost of GOE rims and imminent cost of ARB bar.

[cjc_td5]

Gottaflat.
Give Westrac in guildford(open 24 hours I believe) or bunbury a ring and see what they can do.MANY of us fitted CAT batteries to our D2's.
You can pay cash(no account needed) and they were very well priced for the oversized D2 battery we all ran.They are made for earthmoving gear so tough.It all gets down to IF they can supply the D4 size battery.
Andrew

Hi Andy.
The battery in my D4 is showing signs of failure at 2 years old (occasional low battery warning) and I was wondering about the CAT battery option. I'll have to get my head around the different battery types then see if they can supply a suitable battery size.

My D4 is sitting at Perth airport at the moment and I am setting myself for a "fail to proceed" when I arrive back after 3 weeks OS on Sunday. I am even carrying Gordon's book in my luggage so I can do a "no power" entry and have a known good battery and jumper leads in the car :-/ .

Ciao
Chris

Sent from my Nexus 7 using AULRO mobile app

[LandyAndy]

See if you can get a warranty claim!!!!
Gett Land Rover assist to come and start it at the airport if its flat.
Worth asking the question.
Andrew

[scarry]

Just had my 2 year old original battery replaced under warranty last week during the 24 month service. Four times with a flat battery in the last three weeks. Charged three times with a CTek, but unfortunately longest period was 36 hours, so none long enough for float charge to take effect. 9.8V dead battery the night before service. Charge overnight to get it into dealer and replaced with new under warranty as a premature fault. Now I have the CTek and because most of my drives this year are short 15-20 minutes, I will be charging (including float) every month or two to keep it in good SoC.
Took it for a drive the week before it's first flat charge episode, solely to try and get a bit of charge into it, but forgot that under load it does not charge and I spent most of the time overtaking road trains so probably just made it worse.
Traxide USI 160 and Yellow top is up next, but after I let the trouble and strife get over the recent cost of GOE rims and imminent cost of ARB bar.

Mine gets short runs as well,at times,as we have company vehicles.It may also sit around for a week or two at a time.I have the old model SC80,and D4 traxide kit.
I found the current used by the traxide relay, added to the limited use of the vehicle, caused the batteries to be continually in a low state of charge.I now turn off the relay at times to stop this happening.The newer relays use less current,but it is something to keep an eye on.
For a D4 that is used a lot,there is no need to worry about this issue.Dont get me wrong,the benefits of the Traxide system far outweigh any negatives.


I have always charged the D4 batteries regularly with a Cteck charger.

Batteries in these vehicles don't seem to last long:(

As a comparison,i replaced the battery in our spare work van.This van sits around a lot,actually has done less than 10000k's in the last 2 yrs.I have never charged the battery with the Cteck,until recently.The old battery was date stamped 6/6/2010.

[BMKal]

Hi Andy.
The battery in my D4 is showing signs of failure at 2 years old (occasional low battery warning) and I was wondering about the CAT battery option. I'll have to get my head around the different battery types then see if they can supply a suitable battery size.

My D4 is sitting at Perth airport at the moment and I am setting myself for a "fail to proceed" when I arrive back after 3 weeks OS on Sunday. I am even carrying Gordon's book in my luggage so I can do a "no power" entry and have a known good battery and jumper leads in the car :-/ .

Ciao
Chris

Sent from my Nexus 7 using AULRO mobile app


See if you can get a warranty claim!!!!
Gett Land Rover assist to come and start it at the airport if its flat.
Worth asking the question.
Andrew

The "Land Rover Assist" mob in Perth (one of the insurance companies, can't remember who it is) normally carry a new battery for the D4 in the back of their ute. I called them out once when I was working down in Perth, and the technician replaced my battery in the car park under the apartment block in Adelaide Tce. He checked on the age and warranty status of the old battery, and discovered that it was still under warranty (battery warranty is separate to the vehicle warranty). The replacement never cost me a cent.

[Tombie]

Mine is sitting in the driveway on the ctek right now, having failed to proceed :mad:

Seems the car likes this weather less than I do! :angel:

It hasn't been holding charge well for a few weeks so after 4 years on the original battery, looks like I'm buying one too.



Mines beginning to slow a little now. 4 yrs and 8 months of short runs with long runs every few weeks has kept it going (USI kit helping for sure)...

About to order a replacement before it all stops!

[Tombie]

Geez Mungus. 15-20 min...
My work runs when in town were 4 min door to door...

[Tombie]

So I'm looking at an Odyssey PC1350 at the moment as an option.

Had them before with success in other vehicles. Has anyone given them a go in a D3/4?

[Bytemrk]

I found Varta G14 locally that I'm going with.

[Grentarc]

I found Varta G14 locally that I'm going with.

Mine has a Varta G14, it is quite old now, Graeme could probably tell you how old it is as I think it was put in during warranty period.

[Mungus]

Geez Mungus. 15-20 min...
My work runs when in town were 4 min door to door...
Just one trip to a bus park & ride to work site, then one trip back home. 15min ea. Not enough time in the seat I reckon.

[PeterOZ]

2007 MY08 D3 TDV6.
I got a Bosch battery, forget the model but it is only 650CCA I think. Not up to the job and runs down quite quickly. I've actually fitted the old LR unit back in as it has better cranking capacity.


Throw the deep cycle charger on it at the end of the week.


Will probably need a new battery in due course.


Anyone have the latest LR P/N for the battery?

[Tombie]

I found Varta G14 locally that I'm going with.



What price did you find it for Mark?

[hv_man]

My Battery died within 2wks of me picking up my used D4. Has 100k on it so no idea if it was original which I doubt but it was a LR battery.
I drove it for a couple days and then I started getting the low battery start engine warnings. Then other errors started, transmission fault, engine fault, cruise control not available, TR disabled. But would still start ok.

I was concerned I'd just purchased a lemon....
Called the LR dealer I purchased it from they where very apologetic and they told me to come down asap. Just made it to the LR dealer where we bought it stopped for fuel and it took a few attempts to restart.

They confirmed all problems where related to the battery and they replaced with a new one.

new battery details
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/07/730.jpg

Now looking to add a Traxide DBS

[Stuart02]

So I'm looking at an Odyssey PC1350 at the moment as an option.

Had them before with success in other vehicles. Has anyone given them a go in a D3/4?

What're the specs on that?

[Grentarc]

What're the specs on that?
PC1350 - Odyssey batteries (http://www.odysseybatteries.com/batteries/pc1350.htm)
Varta G14 - Optima Batteries (http://www.optimabatteries.com.au/product/g14/)

[Bytemrk]

What price did you find it for Mark?

$429 the first quotes I got were up around $499.

[cjc_td5]

So I'm looking at an Odyssey PC1350 at the moment as an option.

Had them before with success in other vehicles. Has anyone given them a go in a D3/4?

What type of battery is the Odyssey Tombie (AGM/ wet lead acid etc)??

Sent from my Nexus 7 using AULRO mobile app

[Grentarc]

What type of battery is the Odyssey Tombie (AGM/ wet lead acid etc)??



The photo on the link I provided shows AGM on the label.

[Graeme]

Mine has a Varta G14, it is quite old now, Graeme could probably tell you how old it is as I think it was put in during warranty period.May 2013 at 106,600 kms

[eddy]

I have had a good run with an Odyssey in my D1.Maybe a tight fit in the D4 with the 377mm vs the Varta 353mm.Does it fit?

[Tombie]

What type of battery is the Odyssey Tombie (AGM/ wet lead acid etc)??

Sent from my Nexus 7 using AULRO mobile app



AGM - huge 5 second pulse, and much quicker charge take up...

[DiscoMick]

I have no idea what's right for a D4, but I do know the original Varta in my Defender lasted 6 years and my battery guy said Vartas are very good batteries.

Sent from my GT-P5210 using AULRO mobile app

[cjc_td5]

I've been offered a Delkor LN5 as an alternative to the Varta G14.

DELKOR AGM START STOP CAR BATTERY LN5 DIN88LH - Batteries Plus (http://www.batteriesplus.com.au/shop/car-truck/start-stop-premium/delkor-agm-start-stop-car-battery-ln5-din88lh/)
(Not this shop but same battery).

Seems it has the right CCA and capacity. Price is $352 which is WAY cheaper than any Varta or Odyssey pricing I can get.

Any comments?????

Cheers,

[l00kin4]

I've been offered a Delkor LN5 as an alternative to the Varta G14.

DELKOR AGM START STOP CAR BATTERY LN5 DIN88LH - Batteries Plus (http://www.batteriesplus.com.au/shop/car-truck/start-stop-premium/delkor-agm-start-stop-car-battery-ln5-din88lh/)
(Not this shop but same battery).

Seems it has the right CCA and capacity. Price is $352 which is WAY cheaper than any Varta or Odyssey pricing I can get.

Any comments?????

Cheers,


I just had mine replaced under warranty Chris - isn't yours covered by warranty?


David

[cjc_td5]

I just had mine replaced under warranty Chris - isn't yours covered by warranty?


David

It quite possibly might be, but the nearest dealer is 180km away and I can't afford to waste a day going to Perth on the off chance that they may replace it under warranty.....

I also don't need the hassle of a "fail to proceed" episode to get Landrover Assist interested in replacing it that way. Even then, nobody in Bunbury appears to carry the Varta battery, so I don't know how they could replace it locally and would probably end up on a tilt tray to Perth?:(:(

I'm all for getting warranty satisfaction where possible, but one has to be pragmatic when living regionally. (If only LR would reopen their Bunbury dealer (closed in 2004):mad::mad::mad:).

[l00kin4]

It quite possibly might be, but the nearest dealer is 180km away and I can't afford to waste a day going to Perth on the off chance that they may replace it under warranty.....

I also don't need the hassle of a "fail to proceed" episode to get Landrover Assist interested in replacing it that way. Even then, nobody in Bunbury appears to carry the Varta battery, so I don't know how they could replace it locally and would probably end up on a tilt tray to Perth?:(:(

I'm all for getting warranty satisfaction where possible, but one has to be pragmatic when living regionally. (If only LR would reopen their Bunbury dealer (closed in 2004):mad::mad::mad:).


Ah Ok Understood. What a pain. Your concern about the stuffing around is probably warranted given my experience. Despite the mechanic / autolec basically stating that it needed replacement after I described (and he witnessed) the symptoms, the dealer fluffed around trying to charge it for 2 days - with me sans car, although there were some other more major repairs going on - and then decided that it was stuffed and ordered a new one overnight. Car returned with new battery (plus suspension bushes and front brake pads) on the 3rd day. hmm


Happy they replaced it but lucky that getting to and from the dealer is relatively easy for me so not too much of an inconvenience.


David

[Tombie]

CJC - only 360km round trip [emoji6]
That's nothing!!!

[PeterJ]

Has any one looked at a Lithium Iron (LiFePo4) replacement, much lighter, excellent cranking current and much better life but big $$$. If you are like me and plan on keeping the vehicle for a while it might be a good proposition from economic perspective. One of the unknowns is compatibility with charging system. I realise LiFePo4 batteries must have their own battery management system which is designed to protect from high and low voltage and to maintain correct cell balance but the so called "smart" alternators and electrical system might not be compatible.
On the other hand, as seen from this thread, traditional batteries are lasting quite a while anyway so perhaps lead is not yet dead!

[phl]

Don't think lithium batteries like heat; will degrade lifespan.

[eddomak]

Well, I am yet to find out, but I think the Austral Batteries Euro Plus 60038 battery that was installed 2 months ago is not going so well.

The first start in these cold winter morning is going fine. Then, after the 15 minute drive to drop off the kids at school, the 2nd start is often resulting in a "Restricted Performance Mode" error. Immediate stop and restarts don't solve the problem. If I then drive and leave the car for some time, then no error anymore.

When I charge up the battery at home using the Ctek, it seems to be a bit low, and it brings it back to fully charged. For the next couple of days every start is fine with no "Restricted Performance", but it eventually comes back until I use the Ctek again.

A service is being done on the car this week, and the same mechanics will be looking at the battery to see if it might be the issue.

I am thinking of asking for the battery to be changed back to the factory recommended one or similar AGM option - surely LR must know something to up-spec the battery since the launch of the car.

On YouTube Jay Leno's Garage just did a segment on Odessy batteries, so I noticed that Tombie mentioned them earlier.

@Tombie - did you end up getting the Odessy yourself, and if so, can you confirm the PC1350 will fit?

[Tombie]

Hello.. yes. Fits perfectly and works very well....

[LRD414]

Is there any problem with buying a new battery early so as to be ready for quick replacement in future?
Do they have a shelf life, just sitting unused?

Cheers,
Scott

[DiscoMick]

Well, I am yet to find out, but I think the Austral Batteries Euro Plus 60038 battery that was installed 2 months ago is not going so well.

The first start in these cold winter morning is going fine. Then, after the 15 minute drive to drop off the kids at school, the 2nd start is often resulting in a "Restricted Performance Mode" error. Immediate stop and restarts don't solve the problem. If I then drive and leave the car for some time, then no error anymore.

When I charge up the battery at home using the Ctek, it seems to be a bit low, and it brings it back to fully charged. For the next couple of days every start is fine with no "Restricted Performance", but it eventually comes back until I use the Ctek again.

A service is being done on the car this week, and the same mechanics will be looking at the battery to see if it might be the issue.

I am thinking of asking for the battery to be changed back to the factory recommended one or similar AGM option - surely LR must know something to up-spec the battery since the launch of the car.

On YouTube Jay Leno's Garage just did a segment on Odessy batteries, so I noticed that Tombie mentioned them earlier.

@Tombie - did you end up getting the Odessy yourself, and if so, can you confirm the PC1350 will fit?


I didn't think Odysseys were starting batteries. Aren't they AGMs and slower to recharge than starting batteries?

[Tombie]

I didn't think Odysseys were starting batteries. Aren't they AGMs and slower to recharge than starting batteries?



They have a faster (significantly) charge rate than a Flooded Cell, can discharge at well over 1500a for 5 seconds and will cycle deep without damage as well.

Also known as an SLI battery (similar to Optima Yellow) - used where Starting and heavier loads are imposed..
Eg, Police and Emergency vehicles where lights may be left on..

[Tombie]

Is there any problem with buying a new battery early so as to be ready for quick replacement in future?

Do they have a shelf life, just sitting unused?



Cheers,

Scott



Odyssey will sit without issues for months without discharging or damage.

[scarry]

Is there any problem with buying a new battery early so as to be ready for quick replacement in future?
Do they have a shelf life, just sitting unused?

Cheers,
Scott

But you will eat into the warranty on the battery.
Warranty usually starts from date of purchase.

[drivesafe]

Is there any problem with buying a new battery early so as to be ready for quick replacement in future?
Do they have a shelf life, just sitting unused?

Cheers,
Scott

Hi Scott, there is no real way to determine, in advance, when cranking battery is going to die, so you might buy a backup and your cranking battery lasts for a few more years, and then when you change it out for the new one, you find the new one is cactus because it was not maintained properly.

You are far better off using the battery you have, while is is doing its job and then replacing only once it does die.

And yes, batteries do have a shelf life of sorts.

[Tombie]

Or replace preemptively before a trip that would make it a bastard to source..

[eddomak]

Well, I am yet to find out, but I think the Austral Batteries Euro Plus 60038 battery that was installed 2 months ago is not going so well...


Service has been done and everything checked out. It wasn't the battery, but was the Water in Fuel Sensor problem that is being talked about in the other thread. I am very thankful for this forum as it seems as though that problem is not uncommon in early D4's.

Having said that, I would rather it have been the battery and spent the money on upgrading to the Odessey over paying for a new sensor.

Now I'm thinking about a IID Tool, given that I have paid $95 twice for codes to be cleared etc.

[LRD414]

Or replace preemptively before a trip that would make it a bastard to source..
Yep that's the line I was thinking .... buy a bit early, install before trip.
And perhaps carry old one as a spare if towing CT and space/weight allows, depending on remoteness, etc.

Cheers,
Scott

[Tombie]

Carry one as a spare is overkill..
You can always use an Aux battery to keep moving.

[catch-22]

The Odyssey PC1350 has a much lower CCA than the Genuine batteries. Does this matter when running a Traxide SC80?

[drivesafe]

Hi catch, if the Odyssey is being used as the auxiliary battery, then the CCA does not effect the Ah of the battery or how that battery operates with any of my isolators.

Cheers

[catch-22]

Hi Tim,

Nar I have the yellow top as the Auxiliary. The PC1350 would replace the cranking.

Cheers