Replacement Car Battery

[brad]

We generally have batteries last a long while when others with the same car don't so I would err on the side of it having lots of life yet. I've not seen any signs of it struggling. Any special tips needed to replace the Octavia's battery ie any codes needed for the audio system or the alarm?

You hook up another 12v source when doing the changeover. This should be standard procedure at a good battery supplier.

Yeah I was thinking about that. It would be nice if the Skoda dealers themselves had it as part of a time based servicing, not hard to do. Many years ago when I was a uni student places like Beaurepaires used to test free. Wonder if RACV have any deals like that, probably not as they have their own service these days.

I used to have a battery load tester at Goodyear. I could make 90% of batteries show as failures if I wanted to. Even new ones. This came in very handy at the end of the month if we hadn't reached quota as a replacement claim back to the supplier was counted as a sale. I'd just test all the budget batteries as they would fall over with a load on them. ;-P

[Mysticality]

I've not seen any signs of it struggling. Any special tips needed to replace the Octavia's battery ie any codes needed for the audio system or the alarm?

Nope. You're good to just disconnect and swap out.
Don't need audio or alarm code. The sat nav unit checks via CANBUS to see if its still installed in the same car as when it was turned off. If it is - it'll work.
If not then it'll start yelling at you

[K1W1]

Yep, spend good money on a quality battery...no compromises, as it is a vital component that you want to work ALL the time properly.
Good brands will also have a replacement warranty too I think...
I never understand those who are tight with purchases of batteries....

Virtually all automotive batteries are now made in China. After the Chinese Governments clean up of the battery industry two or three years ago most of the manufacturers who are left are of acceptable quality. the brand name on the battery has NO RELATIONSHIP to the manufacturer. Batteries are made under contract and batteries with the same brand name could be made by several different manufacturing plants.
There is very little difference in the quality of any brand of batteries these days generally when you buy one of the more well known brands that have already been mentioned in this thread you are paying additional for the name not the quality of manufacture.
Auto batteries have a design life of 5 years. That means in practical terms depending on where you live, what the ambient temperatures are and how you drive the battery will last between 4 and 6 years in most cases before replacement is required. A more expensive battery will last the same time as a cheaper battery because they are built to the same spec.

[K1W1]

Many years ago when I was a uni student places like Beaurepaires used to test free.

Many years ago when Service Stations were service stations the attendant would check peoples oil on the forecourt. The oldest trick in the forecourt attendants manual was to not push the dip stick all the way down. I could sell a 1/2 litre of oil to well over 90% of cars I checked if I wanted to. Same thing applies to battery testers. You need a very sophisticated tester and an operator who knows how to use it for them to be meaningful. Simply checking voltage tells you nothing about the batteries condition.

[K1W1]

You hook up another 12v source when doing the changeover. This should be standard procedure at a good battery supplier

Not required at all in fact potentially very dangerous if you have exposed connections.
Just disconnect the terminals take the old battery out and replace it with the new one then tighten the terminals.
On VW group cars you will sometimes get an ESC error when you first restart the car after a battery change. That goes away after about 30 seconds of driving when the car has had a chance to recalibrate itself.

[spiff]

Question then. I've got dealers and repairers telling me that they have to reset codes, have software updates and whatnot after a battery is replaced. Are they lying?

[K1W1]

Did not have to do it on our Audi. All that happened was that the ESC or some other light stayed on for the first 30 seconds or so of driving until it relearned its parameters. That is exactly what I was told would happen and I cannot see why there would be any difference in the Skoda.

[brad]

Question then. I've got dealers and repairers telling me that they have to reset codes, have software updates and whatnot after a battery is replaced. Are they lying?

Probably more that they haven't a clue.

As others have said, you just swap it out. This makes sense if you consider how low the current draw is when the car is locked.

My experience from many years back was that you hooked up a 12v source (everyready lantern battery or another car battery or the battery you are about to fit) in parallell to the old battery so that all the dormant electrics kept receiving 12v. A good battery retailer knows this. I'd steer clear of anywhere that thinks otherwise.

[K1W1]

My experience from many years back was that you hooked up a 12v source (everyready lantern battery or another car battery or the battery you are about to fit) in parallell to the old battery so that all the dormant electrics kept receiving 12v. A good battery retailer knows this. I'd steer clear of anywhere that thinks otherwise.

Not necessary and imo way to potentially dangerous for somebody who does not know what they are doing. It would be so easy to short something as you juggle a 17kg battery in out of the car with the extra leads attached. A short on a modern car could potentially be very expensive.
If you do the preliminary work taking the battery covers and clamps off and having the new battery beside the car ready to go it's only going to be less than a minute from the time you disconnect the leads of the old battery before you start reconnectin them to the new one.

[spiff]

Probably more that they haven't a clue.

As others have said, you just swap it out. This makes sense if you consider how low the current draw is when the car is locked.

My experience from many years back was that you hooked up a 12v source (everyready lantern battery or another car battery or the battery you are about to fit) in parallell to the old battery so that all the dormant electrics kept receiving 12v. A good battery retailer knows this. I'd steer clear of anywhere that thinks otherwise.

thanks k1w1 and brad.
does a battery tender/trickle charger count as a 12v source?

[brad]

Not necessary and imo way to potentially dangerous for somebody who does not know what they are doing. It would be so easy to short something as you juggle a 17kg battery in out of the car with the extra leads attached. A short on a modern car could potentially be very expensive.
If you do the preliminary work taking the battery covers and clamps off and having the new battery beside the car ready to go it's only going to be less than a minute from the time you disconnect the leads of the old battery before you start reconnectin them to the new one.

Kiwi
have you ever seen the process done? While I agree that the process is potentially dangerous for somebody who does not know what they are doing I did say that a good battery retailer should know this. If the battery retailer doesn't, then steer clear.

Some of the 12v sources plug straight into the cigarette lighter.

If you are using a 12v battery then you connect some ~10swg wire with alligator clips from the battery to an earth (nowhere near the actual battery being replaced) and the positive to somewhere downstream of the +ve terminal.

Sure, if you don't feel confident, don't do it. There are plenty of full service retailers out there that can do the job.


spiff: I've never used a trickle charge to do that job. I know if I tried to use my trickle charger at home it would spike to 6amps & overheat & shut down for 30 seconds & spike again but it's 30 years old & cost peanuts.

[spud75]

Just did the '09 A3 tdi. Careful with Diesels as they need bigger CCA, and cost more

I got a quote from Audi at 380+, RACV 310+ (member price), Century in for just over $210.

I spoke to the engineer at Audi and he said I may have to reset some settings etc, and auto windows, but if I had any issues to give them a call.

Disconnected terminals. Pulled old battery out. Put New battery in, reconnected terminals.

ESC on for about 100m of driving, then went out, as handbook said it would. MFD in German!!?? Worked how to get to the menu to swap back to English. Doubled checked all other settings in MFD while I was there. No Biggie.

Otherwise all good. No stuffing around with other connections etc.

[K1W1]

I've changed hundreds of car batteries in my life in the auto industry and never once needed to supply extra back up power nor have I actually seen any fully qualified mechanics or auto electricians do it whilst changing batteries.
In the old pre electronic days all you had to worry about was resetting the clock and radio stations. On the last four vehicles that I have owned and changed batteries on (all late model BMW, Land Rover, Audi and Ducati) the Ducati was the only one that needed the clock reset none of the others needed anything done after the battery was changed.
If anybody wants to add a supplementary source of power while they change the battery go ahead but it is just not necessary unless you plan on leaving the vehicle for some considerable time without the battery installed.

[K1W1]

Just did the '09 A3 tdi. Careful with Diesels as they need bigger CCA, and cost more

Our petrol audi and diesel Skoda both use the same battery.

[spiff]

thanks for that k1w1.
going to have to find a place that does good prices on either varta (which i have now) or bosch (which i hear is a good alternative).