Battery replacement

[Dohnut]

Battery is at about 12.2 volts and with lights and stereo on drops to 11.1v so it's time for a new battery. Steady 14.4v from alternator so seems to be getting the right charge applied.

Replaced a few batteries but never an AGM don't think actually makes any difference, or does it? Any special procedure before or after the battery replacement? What about stereo code?

Any guides would be great to even get the battery out, only had a very quick look and with the casing and nearby stuff no obvious way to remove it.


Thanks
-MM

[Flash2]

Have you had the battery fully charged and properly tested? Maybe the battery is just discharged. The alternator showing 14V doesn't mean the battery is being fully recharged after every start of the engine. Since you have an AGM battery, I'm guessing your car has auto stop/start too. How has that been working lately?

Anyway, replacing an AGM battery is no different than replacing any other car battery. Just be sure to replace it with an AGM of the same capacity.
If your battery has the plastic casing around it, remove the top cover and unclip the half of the casing that is nearest you as you look into the engine. The battery has a clamp at the bottom on the engine side. You need to remove 1 M8 bolt that is securing the clamp, so you'll need a 13mm socket, ratchet and an extension that is longer than the battery is high. Be careful not to drop the bolt or you'll probably need to remove the engine under tray which isn't much fun to do with the car on on the ground. And as usual, remove the negative battery terminal first.

You shouldn't need the radio code on your car. You will have a steering/ESP warning light on when you refit the new battery but it should go out once you drive a few yards.

Not exactly a guide but I hope it helps a bit.

Jim.

[Dohnut]

Thanks for the info. I fully charged the battery a few days ago which was meant to recondition the battery. I had noticed the interior lights and car sidelights fluctuating between bright/dim continually like a sort of flicker with or without the engine running but more noticeable with it not running. The clock has lost about 3 minutes in a month or so too. And it would normally start on first press of the key instantly now it cranks for a second or two then starts. Before I charged it, had been on a 700 mile trip and the battery was showing 20% charged, so looks like it's giving up. As for stop/start I never use it always disable it before every journey. If I could find a way to completely disable this via VCDS I'd be very happy.

Thanks for the guide though, I'll keep an eye on eurocarparts who do offers on batteries now and then normally every couple of weeks with 20-30% off so I'll pick one up next time the offer is on.