New BIGGER battery

[pauljones]

Hi everyone,

As the title suggests I'm after a new battery for my plus 2.The one I'm using now is a NUMAX type 015. Rated at 42ah and 350amps sae.

I poped into my local Halfords to see about a direct replacement but they don't have one that's same size. What they did have was a 110ah at 900 amps. This could be made to fit with a bit of glassing here and there I'm sure.

Has anyone had any luck with a good battery change recently.

The one above is only costing ?125

Must say at same time ill be replacing the still original power lead from battery to solinoid and earth lead from battery to chassis at rear.

Any pointers would be great.
Many thanks.

Paul

[KevJ+2]

Paul, I would have thought that an 065 battery would do and cost about half your price.
If changing the main positive cable, it's a good time to fit a battery isolator, I put mine under the dash before it goes into the engine bay / solenoid. It also acts as good added security, although I've now told everyone where mine is
Kev.

[pauljones]

Kev.

Should that not go on the earth return?

I'm also not an electrician

Where does that battery come from tho?

Paul

[KevJ+2]

Paul, a couple of ebay links for examples.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EXIDE-065-54A ... 3a7ecc1636
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Battery-Isola ... 419a0898ab

Kev.

[661]

In the Exige I use a lead acid gel battery, Odyssey 25 if I recall. When the Elan battery goes I'll look into something similar, perhaps even the same. Colin would approve of the added lightness.

[jbeach]

Hi Paul,

I installed an Odyssey PC925 in my S4:

It's compact and powerful. I highly recommend it.

Best,

John

[StressCraxx]

Odyssey PC680 weighs 13.5 lbs and is more than sufficient to start and Elan.

I have one in my Elan and one in my Formula Ford. The Formula Ford is a total loss system, will cover spinning up to build oil pressure from the dry sump, 7 or 8 starts over the course of a weekend for 2+ hours of track time, all without recharging. It will still crank the engine at the end of the weekend, so there is plenty of reserve.

Regards,
Dan Wise

[StressCraxx]

Hi Paul,

I installed an Odyssey PC925 in my S4:

IMG_0475.JPG

It's compact and powerful. I highly recommend it.

Best,

John

John,

May I suggest terminal covers for your battery leads to prevent your battery from becoming a DC arc welder!

Regards,
Dan Wise

[pauljones]

I bet it costs a fair bit to..so..what's the damage to my wallet on that

[jeff jackson]

Hi Paul,
I cut a very small section out of the rear battery compartment and re glassed the area to fit a Bosh S5 battery from
http://www.carparts4less.co.uk/car-battery
Or the ebay link:
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/CarParts4Less- ... 573.c0.m57

Mine was a Bosch S5 61AH 600CCA, but they do go higher.
I went for the highest CCA that I thought was the most reasonable price. Im sure I paid around the 60 pounds mark, as they did have opffers on at the time. Someting around 600CCA is about 80 quid.
That is more than enough to start an elan!
Hope it helps
Jeff 72+2

[stugilmour]

Paul, as you are replacing the ground lead anyway, I would suggest considering moving the primary chassis ground to the main body bolt on the right rear shock tower. It is less susceptible to road grime and water, and as it threads in to a tapped hole in the chassis it provides way more reliable ground contact than the nut and bolt at the base of the boot.

In the Plus 2 I use a conventional lead acid battery. Based on my experience in my Esprit, next time I would go with an Optima Red Top AGM.

HTH

Stu

[jbeach]

Paul,

I don't have the invoice with me, but in fairly certain my PC925 was about $145, including shipping.

Dan, I agree with you on terminal covers. My car is presently in my garage on a lift getting its suspension refurbished. I'll take care of the terminal covers (along with boot carpet!) when I'm ready to be truly back on the road.

Best,

John

[StressCraxx]

Paul,

I don't have the invoice with me, but in fairly certain my PC925 was about $145, including shipping.

Dan, I agree with you on terminal covers. My car is presently in my garage on a lift getting its suspension refurbished. I'll take care of the terminal covers (along with boot carpet!) when I'm ready to be truly back on the road.

Best,

John

John,
One more thing, that is one of the nicest made battery hold-downs I have ever seen. I may copy what you have done for my PC680.

The other big benefit of the AGM gel cells is their safety. They will not leak acid, even if they are punctured. I had an off road excursion with my Formula Ford. The battery was mounted in the nose at the time. The battery tray was bent back and punted the battery into the master cylinders. The masters penetrated the case, but there was no leak. Even though the battery was heavily damaged, I was able to restart the car and drive it back to the paddock. These batteries are now used by the military, the only difference is the miltary buys them assembled with a metal jacket. They also hold their charge for many months without top-up.

Regards,
Dan

[jbeach]

Thanks, Dan. The fabricated aluminum hold-down came from the supplier from whom I purchased my Odyssey (can't remember their name at the moment). I just fabricated a couple of pieces to securely fasten it to the bobbins in the Elan's battery tray.

I really believe you made the smart choice in using the Odyssey 680. It performs all necessary functions and is amazingly compact. The 925, while still small when compared to conventional batteries, is probably overkill. Either way, the Odyssey is a truly superior product.

Best,

John

[spyzee]

There is no other battery that is a direct replacement for the type 038 fitted as the 038 is very narrow. However it is possible to get a type 038 with a 40 AH rating which is slightly better that the 35 AH offered by the standard one. Even then the battery poles may be the wrong way around so you'll have to do a bit of surgery.

I have a +2 Spyder Zetec and the 35AH Type 038 simply wasn't up to the job so I've done an awful lot of research to find a battery that I could fit without having to modify the original battery box. (yes I know I've modified just about everything else). Result of all this is that by using a Type 75 rated at 60AH, a piece of wood and a couple of metal clips the battery will fit but again the poles will be the wrong way around.

The trick is in using the height of the battery because although the type 75 is much wider it is not as tall as the type 038 so if you place a thick piece of wood into the battery box to level out the floor then the Type 75 will now fit on top of it. The piece of wood will need to be properly secured to the floor of course and the battery will need to be firmly secured to the wood. I've screwed two pieces of metal into the wood at the end where it meets the boot wall and as the Type 75 has the securing fitments at the base of the battery I can slide the battery under the metal pieces and then use the existing restraining fitting to secure the other end.

The battery cost me ?36 at Euro car parts with a 3 year guarantee. There are cheaper places online but not by much.