Starter battery advice please?

[Bucket]

There's loads of threads here about leisure batteries but I couldn't find anything about the engine battery.

Although it's never let me down yet I am getting some dodgy meter readings on the starter battery so figure it might be a good time to replace it.
The existing battery is the original and since the MoHo is 15 years old now that's pretty good I reckon.

Here's a picture, Renault original. My base vehicle is a 3 litre Renault Master.

It's decades since the days when I used to mess about under the lid so am somewhat rusty

My questions are
a) any advice on what to replace it with and where from?
and
b) I suspect there's a sequence for disconnecting and reconnecting, can someone please tell me what it is?
For info I have solar and a battery master.


Thank you funsters.

 

[John H.]

Always disconnect the negative first ... (all the wires should be on one easily removed connector, so they all come off together)
... and reconnect last.

Make sure the EHU is not connected before starting.

Not so sure about the battery master.

 

[John H.]

I was given a recommendation on here for Yuasa Siliver from Halfords.
HSB019 if it will pysically fit your vehecle - looks OK from your photo.

It has been very good.

You can order online at Halfords and colllect from you local store. No need to go in the shop. They will bring it out. You need at least the 95aH capacity and 850 cold cranking amps as shown on the original battery.

 

[Itsmcb]

A decent motor factors will be able to supply a replacement using your registration number or vin number to match the correct type/size. Disconnect as suggested above but remember to pull the fuse on your battery master first or the positive battery cable could still be 'live' if the battery master is supplying current.

 

[Bucket]

A decent motor factors will be able to supply a replacement using your registration number or vin number to match the correct type/size. Disconnect as suggested above but remember to pull the fuse on your battery master first or the positive battery cable could still be 'live' if the battery master is supplying current.

That's helpful. Looking at the setup there appears to be a couple of retro-fit fuses, I guess I should just pull them all?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Lenny HB]

I was given a recommendation on here for Yuasa Siliver from Halfords.
HSB019 if it will pysically fit your vehecle - looks OK from your photo.

It has been very good.

You can order online at Halfords and colllect from you local store. No need to go in the shop. They will bring it out. You need at least the 95aH capacity and 850 cold cranking amps as shown on the original battery.

If you are getting one from Halfords don't forget to sign up for their trade card. A Yuasa 5000 battery for my van was £105 their standard price was £143, which made it cheaper than Battery Megastore.

 

[Itsmcb]

That's helpful. Looking at the setup there appears to be a couple of retro-fit fuses, I guess I should just pull them all?

Impossible to if they would be the correct ones. It might be worth you trying to work out what those fuses protect just for future reference. My battery master has a fuse right next to it on the output side. An alternative might be to carefully tape up the positive battery connector whilst its disconnected just in case its still live.

 

[GeoffnDee]

The battery master should be no problem ,as stated, remove its fuse if it has one, which it should. If the solar panel system is connected to your starter battery via a solar controller you need to stop the feed to the solar controller from the solar panel either by removing a fuse , switching off or disconnecting the solar panel or if possible you could cover the panel to stop its input while changing the battery.
With some systems this is needed because the battery should be connected to the solar controller before the solar panel input is made or activated for correct operation.
If the solar is feeding just the leisure battery, as I would expect if you have a battery master fitted, then all of this will not be needed as the leisure battery will remain connected to the solar controller and disconnecting the starter battery will not effect the solar system settings.

 

[Itsmcb]

 

[Bucket]

Impossible to if they would be the correct ones. It might be worth you trying to work out what those fuses protect just for future reference. My battery master has a fuse right next to it on the output side. An alternative might be to carefully tape up the positive battery connector whilst its disconnected just in case its still live.

Lots of helpful advice here, many thanks. the BM was fitted last winter so I will start by digging down to that. If no fuse there I reckon it's safer to disconnect the Solar. That's easy enough.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Itsmcb]

Lots of helpful advice here, many thanks. the BM was fitted last winter so I will start by digging down to that. If no fuse there I reckon it's safer to disconnect the Solar. That's easy enough.

If you can't find the appropriate fuse and decide to disconnect your solar you will need to disconnect the leisure battery as well as the battery master power is supplied by the leisure battery. If you do that don't forget to reconnect the leisure battery BEFORE the solar so that your solar controller recognises the battery voltage.

 

[John H.]

If you are getting one from Halfords don't forget to sign up for their trade card.

Too late for me to do that for this battery, but what do I need to sign up?

 

[Lenny HB]

Too late for me to do that for this battery, but what do I need to sign up?

Just sign up on line and go and collect your card, says you are supposed to take a business card with you but never got asked the store just checked their email and gave me a card. If you need a card easy enough to produce on a PC.

Trade Card Sign Up | Halfords UK

The Halfords Trade Card brings you exclusive deals on thousands of car parts, tools and engine oils. What's more, if you sign up online, you'll have access to trade prices online and order items for collection at your local Halfords store.

www.halfords.com

 

[Jev88]

If it is the 017 battery check height clearance and go for 019 model - same footprint, bit taller, more CCA for starting.

 

[Vipar]

Just sign up on line and go and collect your card, says you are supposed to take a business card with you but never got asked the store just checked their email and gave me a card. If you need a card easy enough to produce on a PC.

Trade Card Sign Up | Halfords UK

The Halfords Trade Card brings you exclusive deals on thousands of car parts, tools and engine oils. What's more, if you sign up online, you'll have access to trade prices online and order items for collection at your local Halfords store.

www.halfords.com

Signed up. So am I correct take my phoney business card to the store and they will give me my number then job done?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Lenny HB]

Signed up. So am I correct take my phoney business card to the store and they will give me my number then job done?

yep probably won't ask for card

 

[Vipar]

Coming down to AMC on Wednesday night looking to wild camp so they can get a early start on my drivers seat

 

[Jev88]

If you signed up the store should issue the card for you? They always ask me to swipe my trade card.

 

[pappajohn]

Disconnect the solar INPUT Neg wire from the controller or it may not revert to the correct voltage when the battery is reconnected.
Connect the battery, THEN reconnect the solar Neg lead.


Huh! Ignore that diatribe. Wrong battery.
That applies to leisure battery.

 

[Vipar]

Thanks Lenny got my trade card today they never asked for a business card. Just told them I was an electrician for motor racing E cars ( liar liar fish fat fryer). I told her that I was a bright spark

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Bucket]

If you can't find the appropriate fuse and decide to disconnect your solar you will need to disconnect the leisure battery as well as the battery master power is supplied by the leisure battery. If you do that don't forget to reconnect the leisure battery BEFORE the solar so that your solar controller recognises the battery voltage.

Sorry to be a bit unsure. When you say disconnect the leisure battery as well, do you mean it's feed or supply or both?

 

[Itsmcb]

Sorry to be a bit unsure. When you say disconnect the leisure battery as well, do you mean it's feed or supply or both?

Hi, post #8 above explains it well. Did you find the fuse for the battery master? If not you need to disconnect the negative and positive cables from the leisure battery as it will still be supplying power to the starter battery BUT prior to that you need to isolate the solar panel from the solar controller as that will still be supplying power to the leisure battery.Does that make sense?

 

[Itsmcb]

Also when you reconnect everything you should connect the cable from the solar controller to the leisure battery before connecting the solar panel back to the controller as the controller needs to recognise the battery voltage before the panel is connected.

 

[Bucket]

The battery master should be no problem ,as stated, remove its fuse if it has one, which it should. If the solar panel system is connected to your starter battery via a solar controller you need to stop the feed to the solar controller from the solar panel either by removing a fuse , switching off or disconnecting the solar panel or if possible you could cover the panel to stop its input while changing the battery.
With some systems this is needed because the battery should be connected to the solar controller before the solar panel input is made or activated for correct operation.
If the solar is feeding just the leisure battery, as I would expect if you have a battery master fitted, then all of this will not be needed as the leisure battery will remain connected to the solar controller and disconnecting the starter battery will not effect the solar system settings.

I'm doing the switch tomorrow. Can I just clarify your advice?
Are you advising I can just ignore the solar/battery master side as long as I have found and isolated the feed from the BM to the starter battery?
2ndly, as I think I'm reading it, if I can't find a fuse or similar means of disconnecting that feed then I should either disconnect the feed from the solar panels to controller OR cover the panel to stop its feed for the duration?

Thanks again

 

[Bucket]

Hi, post #8 above explains it well. Did you find the fuse for the battery master? If not you need to disconnect the negative and positive cables from the leisure battery as it will still be supplying power to the starter battery BUT prior to that you need to isolate the solar panel from the solar controller as that will still be supplying power to the leisure battery.Does that make sense?

I am digging down to the Leisure batteries tomorrow, It's all boxed in so I haven't yet explored but the fitter said he had placed the BM in that box, fingers crossed it's fused in there too. He has always installed a fuse on other jobs.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Itsmcb]

The problem you currently have is that the battery master could be sending current to the starter battery from the leisure battery so when you disconnect your starter battery the positive engine battery cable and the clamp could still be live. If you can disconnect the feed from the battery master then that's your problem solved and you don't need to worry about the rest

 

[Itsmcb]

Secondly, if you can't disconnect the supply from the battery master then you have to stop the supply going to the battery master and then on to the starter battery. The solar panel complicates the issue as even if you disconnect the clamps off the leisure battery power can still be getting through to the battery master as the cables are almost certainly connected somewhere, possibly at the battery clamp but could be at a junction box or fuse box etc. SO you need to disconnect the power from the solar panel as well. I hope that's a reasonable explanation?

 

[Itsmcb]

PS
If you disconnect the positive clamp off the leisure battery without disconnecting the solar panel input your positive battery clamp will still be live !

 

[GeoffnDee]

If it is a Vanbitz battery master it will have a red wire going to the leisure battery + from it and a brown wire going to the starter battery + with the black wire going to earth (-). if there is not a fuse, disconnect the battery master red wire from the + terminal on the leisure battery (the power only flows one way through the battery master and the light on it will go out). The solar can be left alone (as long as it is only going to the leisure battery from the solar controller).

 

[Bucket]

If it is a Vanbitz battery master it will have a red wire going to the leisure battery + from it and a brown wire going to the starter battery + with the black wire going to earth (-). if there is not a fuse, disconnect the battery master red wire from the + terminal on the leisure battery (the power only flows one way through the battery master and the light on it will go out). The solar can be left alone (as long as it is only going to the leisure battery from the solar controller).

Found it first go, no fuse but Red and brown as you advised. Red disconnected - Bingo, light out!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}