Car Battery - Tray Too Big For Battery?

Baileycat

Hi all, wonder if anyone else has ever heard of or experienced anything like this?

Green Flag have just come out to jump start our car, due to a flat battery. It's not the first time it's happened - it's failed to start 3 times since November and we do plan to replace the battery but have struggled to find the cash to do so either side of the festive period. I intend to purchase a replacement in the next few weeks.

Anyway - as my partner is out on his own and I am not there, I asked if he'd find out from the technician whether the issue is with the battery or the alternator (so that I don't get ripped off having to buy both when I visit the garage). The technician advised that the alternator is fine, but the battery has seen better days - this is fine, at least I know what to buy.

However he then allegedly made a comment about how the issue is compounded by the fact that the battery is too small for the tray that holds it? He stated that dealerships are well known for tricks like this as that's how they "make their money". I have no faith whatsoever in Arnold Clark after another issue I had with this car that they failed to tell me about when I purchased it. It sounds very far-fetched but I wonder what motivation the technician would have had for making an allegation like this if it was completely baseless? Is having a bigger tray than the size of the battery even something that would cause an issue? I admit to being a bit naive about things like this, so have decided to research it but can't find any similar complaints or mention of this on the web.

DUTR

Basically, replace the battery with the recommended one for your car, the current one maybe a smaller capacity and not the original.

robotrobo

DUTR wrote: »

Basically, replace the battery with the recommended one for your car, the current one maybe a smaller capacity and not the original.

about £39 at europarts on line

Joe_Horner

Baileycat wrote: »

[...]Is having a bigger tray than the size of the battery even something that would cause an issue? I admit to being a bit naive about things like this, so have decided to research it but can't find any similar complaints or mention of this on the web.

It's not a problem as such, but can be an indication that a smaller capacity battery has been fitted.

If you have, say, the 1.0l version of a car that comes in everything from 1.0l petrol up to 2.0l diesel then the battery tray will often be the same and the specified battery for the 1.0l will look "small" for the space available. On the other hand, if you have the 2.0l diesel version and the battery looks small then it's proably been replaced with the (cheaper) small battery specified for the small petrol versions.

It's worth bearing in mind that even if it has had a smaller battery fitted that won't automatically give problems. The batteries tend to be specified for the worst conditions the maker expects te car to be used in - so will be up to (for example) getting it going in the middle of a Scandinavian winter. In the UK we rarely get conditions that really tax batteries if they're in good condition.

daveyjp

A clue as to the car may provide better responses, but the Green Flag technician could be proved to be a complete plank!

Our Aygo had a tray which was far larger than the battery, but it is quite normal.

Ours was a petrol with a 40/45Ah battery, however the same car (and the C1,107) was available with a diesel engine which means a higher capacity battery, so a larger tray is required. On a cheap car it costs less to install a one size fits all solution.

gilbert_and_sullivan

The breakdown chap probably meant the battery appears undersized, in most cases the correct battery fits the holder like a glove, and he will have seen (and jumpstarted) more than enough cars with undersized underperforming batteries to know what he's talking about.

Be glad it wasn't one of the main players in the breakdown industry who came out, or they'd have hard sold the correct size battery but at a very inflated price.

There is nothing worse than a cheap or undersized battery with 'just about' performance, always let you down in the end.

C_Mababejive

Go here

http://www.eurocarparts.com/

Enter reg number

click and collect

simples..

forgotmyname

You usually get the option of a standard battery or a higher power one.

If the car gets parked up for a long time without use or lots of shorter journey's the the higher spec one maybe worthwhile.

Ive run old V8's on a mini battery with no issues. If the car ever failed to start first time though that little battery would not have cranked it over for long.

marlot

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Go here

http://www.eurocarparts.com/

Enter reg number

click and collect

simples..

I ordered one for delivery. It's fine unless they have the wrong battery listed! As they did for my mk3 MX-5. Then despite me giving them the correct battery code, they wouldn't swap it to the right one. In the end, I made a trip out to costco and got one there.

AdrianC

Is the battery securely located in the tray? If so, whether it fills the tray or not is not particularly important, so long as the car starts happily at all times.

Norman_Castle

Tray Too Big For Battery?

Or battery too small for tray?. When you replace the battery buy the correct one for the car rather than assume the one you have is correct and matching it.

It is possible that someone selling a car with a tired battery could replace it with one that is underpowered but works.