New Battery

[pete.chiswell]

I an looking for a new battery for my Elan +2 130/5. No manufacture lists an equivalent to the Exide 6 VTA 29 l. I have no preference on terminals as I am rewiring the car.

[GLB]

Don't know if this is relevant, but my series one Elan uses the same battery as a Mazda MX-5 Miata. My +2S has either that one or one from a Honda Civic.

[plus2-0174]

I use a NAPA 7551R in my Plus 2.
Plenty big, 600 CCA

[Barney]

You can enter dimensions on the Tayna website and get options for your perusal.
Found them to be an excellent company.
https://www.tayna.co.uk/

[richardcox_lotus]

You can enter dimensions on the Tayna website and get options for your perusal.
Found them to be an excellent company.
https://www.tayna.co.uk/

+1 for Tanya. No affiliation, just a happy customer. The batteries are old school, but fit my Elan re dimensions and post design.

Regards
Richard

[draenog]

I believe the original battery was a type 037, with square Ford style terminals. My car has been changed to standard round post leads, and I use a type 038, which is the same size but has the terminals reversed (so the battery is turned round). This is the same battery as used by the classic mini and is widely available. It is however, a bit marginal in power and a lot of people fit bigger batteries requiring either modifications to the fibre glass or blocks of wood to raise the battery. For what it's worth, I've never had problems starting the car with the 038, although I do keep a spare fully charged battery as a backup.

[steponit]

I have one of these and use a battery conditioner, the car starts every time.

https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/lion-037 ... print=true

Regards

Steve

[TBG]

Probably teaching grandma to suck eggs - but the key to a long and happy life for your battery is a cutoff switch on the terminal. Never had a conditioner and never had a problem with starting in any weather.

[Andy8421]

Probably teaching grandma to suck eggs - but the key to a long and happy life for your battery is a cutoff switch on the terminal. Never had a conditioner and never had a problem with starting in any weather.

Unless you have an alarm fitted, with everything 'off' the Elan it should draw no current, and a cuttoff switch will make no difference to the state of the battery - though its not a bad idea from a security or fire prevention perspective. A lead acid battery left to its own devices will however self discharge, and when flat will start to sulphate which (if you will excuse the pun) is terminal. A battery conditioner will avoid this - particularly for a car left for long periods unused over the winter.

Modern cars are never fully 'off', and can run a lead acid battery down in a matter of weeks. I am not sure if true for current models, but I believe Aston Martin supplied a conditioner to plug into the mains to keep the battery topped up if the car was to be left unused for a period of time.

Edit: Seems my memory isn't as bad as I thought - https://aston1936.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/battery-disconnect-switch-bds-and-notes-on-seat-module-calibration-for-an-aston-martin-db9.pdf

[TBG]

" A lead acid battery left to its own devices will however self discharge"

Very true. However if I forget to turn off my isolator the battery does go flat after a few week.Turning it off at the terminal and it lasts for goodness knows how long as it has never gone flat.

I suspect mice are using it for central heating when the cables are live. I have tried to detect leakage but to no avail.

[The Veg]

I an looking for a new battery for my Elan +2 130/5. No manufacture lists an equivalent to the Exide 6 VTA 29 l. I have no preference on terminals as I am rewiring the car.

If the spot the battery sits in is the same as in my early Plus 2, any Group 51 battery should fit.

[Andy8421]

" A lead acid battery left to its own devices will however self discharge"

Very true. However if I forget to turn off my isolator the battery does go flat after a few week.Turning it off at the terminal and it lasts for goodness knows how long as it has never gone flat.

I suspect mice are using it for central heating when the cables are live. I have tried to detect leakage but to no avail.

I would look into that if I were you. It really should make no difference, and as long as there are no after-market devices fitted (radio, amp, tracker etc) then something is adrift - as with everything off there should be no electrical circuit for current to flow. Many an Elan has been lost to an electrical fire so it would be worth checking the wiring out.

You could try putting a multimeter on its mA range across your isolation switch when everything is off to see if there really is any current draw.

Do make sure everything is off first, or you will be trying to find where the fuse is located in your meter in order to replace it.

[alan.barker]

The only Lotus i have ever fitted a Cut Off Switch to was a 1973 +2S130/4 because it had a Clock which would run the Battery down.
Otherwise i don't fit them, personal choice.
When i need a new Battery i just measure the Foot Print/also Height of the Battery and note where i need the + and - Terminals.
Go to the shop and buy that size with the most Amp/Hours.
It seems to work for me.
Alan

[MarkDa]

My personal choice of provider is BatteryMegastore - they are near me and have a good selection at competitive prices.
In my two seater I have a round post battery with terminals out of the way on body side.
I installed an on terminal isolater thinking I could use it as "anti theft" but it was a bit awkward to get to (would have been easier with boot side terminals)
It became a tiny bit loose and wouldn't deliver full current for starter - took a bit of tracking that down.

So yes look at footprint and hold down type choose crank amperage desired and shop around.
For our cars with low electrical demands and minimal residual draw - zero on 2 seater but flick on +2 I don't think we need anything fancy.

I use a ctek battery monitor that flashes amber when charging is needed - hardly ever!

[Bigbaldybloke]

This is what I fitted, the original securing fixings were badly corroded so I had to make a new one anyway.