Thread: How long is the life of your D4 battery?

Originally Posted by sheerluck

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

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

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

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

Originally Posted by 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.

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

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.

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.

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

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