JohnRoss Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 My old Megane, circa 2001, now spends most of its time in the driveway and the battery will not hold a charge for more than a few days. Have removed the battery and observed that three of the cells are not gassing when on charge so I guess it is time to get a new one. Can anyone suggest an outlet where I can get a new one at a reasonable price. I am located near St Maixent L'Ecole in Deux Sevres. The battery is a Tudor 12V 70Ah 640A and on-line prices seem to go from 125 to 189 Euros, seems a bit pricey!..................................JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gosub Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Battery's are expensive in France, you can try Feu vert, Roady or Leclerc or any of the other chaines, but they are not cheap.Comparison for a diesel battery in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharp Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Well!!. there in France we really Need our Car Battery work's good even it should be More like New One!... So Yeah the deal will work's good!!............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRoss Posted May 8, 2009 Author Share Posted May 8, 2009 Well thanks for that and yes they would appear to be cheaper in the UK. We have a new Roadys just opened up in the town and there is a Leclerc here too so will pop in and get a quote. I imagine the ones you order on-line are sent without acid so you would have to buy that locally I assume or am I wrong?.......................JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Worth a read http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1481029/ShowPost.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gosub Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 [quote user="JohnRoss"]Well thanks for that and yes they would appear to be cheaper in the UK. We have a new Roadys just opened up in the town and there is a Leclerc here too so will pop in and get a quote. I imagine the ones you order on-line are sent without acid so you would have to buy that locally I assume or am I wrong?.......................JR[/quote]I am not sure it would be cost effective or even possible to by one online, however you can buy the acid without problem in France, some battery's you buy are dry, depends on where you buy them from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRoss Posted May 9, 2009 Author Share Posted May 9, 2009 Just to wind it up got one today from Roadys at 114 Euros. Sealed zero maintenance type, not too keen on these but it seems to do the job. Terminal voltage is at 14.2 Volts when the engine is running on tick over and there is a drain of 170mA when the car is parked with nothing switched on, maybe the receiver for the radio key locking system. Problem is the car sits in the driveway most of the time now and only gets the odd short run which is no good for it or the battery! Maybe I ought to trickle charge it once a week?.......................................JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMB Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 Get a battery charger conditioner.You can leave it on all the time and it maintaines the battery at optimum charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krusty Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 JMB I have never heard of a battery conditioner , so I just googled them ....sound good.How do you rate solar powered trickle charge ?http://www.vertar.com/battery-chargers-conditioners/solar-battery-charger-se135/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMB Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Battery conditioners stop charging when the battery reaches its correct charge level and starts charging when the charge drops so you don't have a overcharged and damaged battery. You can also wire the plug into the car and then you can just plug the conditioner in when you need it. I use them on my modern and classic cars plus my lawn tractor and alway have a crisp quick start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gluestick Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Where Lead Acid Batteries ae used infrequently, the way to ensure optimum life and prevent the plates sulphating (which is generally what "Kills" such a battery as the plates then short out within the cell), is to use the sort of conditioning charger which runs the battery through complete cycles of Charge-Discharge.This approach should be used for batteries on for example, Boats, Classic Cars, Ride-On Mowers, and etc.The way the best ones work is quite simple: they measure the open circuit voltage of the battery, and once it is fully charged, automatically switch over to a discharge cycle (using an inbuilt resistance) and then discharge the battery until the voltage detector identifies the battyer is fully discharged: whereupon it charges again.Trickle charging is always preferred to charging at a plate-bending amperage as used by "Boosters": which overheat the cells and damage the plates.The Specific Gravity of the Electrolyte changes as the acidity increases towards full charge: and decreases towards fully discharged.With a really good battery and ideal levels of controlled Charge-Discharge, since the chemical reaction is enabled and maintained by addition-subtraction of the electrical current flowing (in either direction), then in theory, a battery could last almost infinitely.The "Paste" infilled in the honeycomb construction of the plates, however, is in practice semi-sacrificial: and is this becomes increasingly depleted then the battery starts sulphating, shorting internally and then dies.Excessive charge current (Amps) causes the battery electrolyte to "Boil", which hastens the process of destruction of the paste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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