Club 80-90 Forums

Can anyone recommend the best starter battery for my 1986 1.9 watercooled van. Mine doesnt seem to be holding its charge. Any help would be great cheers

Have a search, Alpha Batteries seem to get good reports for their prices. About to order a new secondary one from them this week myself.

best batteries are Lucas or Bosch.

A UK code 096 will fit snugly in the battery box, or an 067 which is smaller... and weedier
the size of you battery matters as the box size limits choice

The petrol engined 'wasserboxer' models had a 54ah battery from new but as Kev points out the bigger the better or should I say....the higher capacity the better and that means about 72ah (which is generally about the highest amp hour rated starter battery that will fit in to a VW battery box)

Batteries have become taller since the 80's so just be aware of your battery box's height and terminal orientation then get the highest capacity that will fit.
Note CCA figure on the battery label (cold cranking amps) is also a very important indicator of how good the battery is (higher the better) especially important on Diesel vehicles.

Other good brands: Bosch/Lucas/Varta/Exide/Yuasa

Martin

How old is your current battery?

Have you checked it out for a current drain?
have you charged it up with a charger and left it 12 hours to see if it holds it's charge?

Having the same problem at the moment brand new battery but gone flat in a week, today I have disconnected all extra cables that lead nowhere so hoping that will stop the drain other than that I am at a loss.

have you used a meter to check if there is a drain?

Modern car radios are often guilty of excessive battery drain even when off, esp when the van is only used occasionally.

Hi
Follow this video to record amp drain:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFCT-YZbU5o" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Note* all you are checking is the 'hopefully' small drain that effects most batteries. This small amp draw is due to several consumers 1) the clock which obviously is working all the time and 2) the radio memory circuit so that it doesn't loose it's preset radio stations (otherwise you would have to retune the radio everytime you started the car.

Typically you shouldn't see more than 250ma (a quarter of an amp) and this is quite normal and sustainable given that any stored battery (in a parked up Camper over winter) should have a seperate boost charge (overnight or 12 - 14 hours) every 6 weeks or so, with a home vehicle charger (typically around 4amps)
In the video he left one of the front doors open which meant the interior light was on, that is why his reading was at 0.89amps, if he had closed the door the reading would have dropped to the normal 150-250ma we talked about (radio/clock)

However...if your amp draw reading during this test is significantly higher you need to trace the fault (the electrical circuit that is flattening your battery)
This is done by leaving the meter connected and removing each fuse in the fuse box one at a time...until the amp draw drops. This will tell you which circuit is faulty and where to proceed to in order to trace the excessive draw.
In the past I've seen faulty radios, boot light switches leaving courtesy lights on, glove box lights on permanently and DIY wiring to things like carb heater circuits that have been wired with permanent live feeds.

A word of caution DO NOT turn anything on that draws more than 20 amps ie: heated rear window etc or try to start your car as all the current (140amps plus from the starter) will go through your ameter and melt it.

Hope this helps.

Martin

thank you for all your comments. The battery came with the van when i bought it in july last year, the battery looks new and i have put on all new connections on the battery. The battery has gone from 12.5 volts to 0.00 in two weeks without use it has been minus 10 for a few days up here in north scotland but still. The van has always had trouble starting since i bought it . so all in a new battery me thinks.

you thinks correct..
But I would look for a drain as going down to zero means you have one

Great thread, as I too have a battery problem since the cold snap has arrived. -20 or so here, and battery not holding its charge enough to start my engine.

Took the battery out to disocer its like a block of ice, so removed it, brought it indoors, and will try and revive it with a charger, (Need to buy one first ), and will try and get a 72ah replacement. This old one is only 50ah.



My wife is going to love me

Get it on a slow charge as quickly as you can..batteries don't like being left in a flat state of charge and cold is a killer.

Martin

Cheera MArtin, Im in the process of hunting the house over for means of a trickle charger option/method.

i have taken my old battery out and have it on charge. on inspection the old battery is only 45ah and 380 cca so probably one of the reasons why my van has trouble starting. still to find if i have a drain problem though. New battery needed.