Solomongrundy Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 A Biblical character had more chance of being revived from the dead than my Fiat Ducato starter battery. Pictured below is the battery – do I have to replace with exactly the same size battery or can any make be used? Recommendations? Ducato – 2013 – 2300cc – Diesel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 go to a site like Manbat, put in vehicle details and you will get a choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 Solomongrundy The OE (Original Equipment) battery fitted to your Ducato will have the following (nominal) dimensions 353mm (length) x 175mm (width) x 190mm (height). A battery with those dimensions is generally referred to as a “019”-size battery and the OE one is probably “FIAMM”-branded. Any replacement battery would obviously need to have dimensions that would allow it to be fitted in your Ducato’s under-carpet battery compartment. FIAMM batteries may be tricky to source (a Fiat dealership might have them) but any “019”-size battery with a technical specification equivalent or superior to the OE one should do. Expert advice on this forum is that a Varta battery would be an excellent choice - either the “Silver Dynamic” H3 shown here http://www.varta-automotive.com/en-gb/products/automotive/silver-dynamic/600-402-083 https://www.tayna.co.uk/Type-019-Varta-Silver-Dynamic-Car-Battery-P3127.html or the “Professional Dual Purpose” LFD90 shown here http://www.varta-automotive.com/en-gb/products/leisure/professional-dual-purpose/930-090-080 https://www.tayna.co.uk/LFD90-Varta-Professional-DC-Leisure-Battery-930090080-P3638.html The H3 is marketed as a ‘pure’ starter-battery. The LFD 90 is sold as a starter/leisure battery, which may be advantageous in a motorhome that often stands idle for extended periods. The H3 and LFD90 batteries are both ‘maintenance free’ in that their electrolyte-level cannot be topped up. The OE battery in your Ducato will (should) have a vent-tube fitted and this can be transferred to either of the Varta batteries mentioned above. Ducato X250s with the 3.0litre motor had a longer “020”-size battery (example here) https://www.tayna.co.uk/610-200-Varta-Silver-Dynamic-Car-Battery-020-Short-Code-I1-Varta-DIN-610-402-092--P3200.html and this size SHOULD fit in your Ducato’s under-carpet battery compartment without any modifications being needed. But a good quality 019-size battery like the Varta H3 or LFD90 should be perfectly adequate for your 2.3litre-powered motorhome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Your radio and dash board settings would probably need resetting unless you use a special 12v socket charger to keep your codes while it is disconnected. Most garages seem to use Yuasa batteries now, as they make them for the big companies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 These earlier forum threads may be of interest http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Fiat-130-Battery-change-precautions/45963/ http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Fiat-vehicle-battery-access/45861/#M515234 .......................................................................................................................... A general caveat - the position of the “+” and “-“ terminals on a battery can vary. For example, the two Varta “Silver Dynamic” 61Ah starter-batteries in the following links http://www.varta-automotive.com/en-gb/products/automotive/silver-dynamic/561-400-060 http://www.varta-automotive.com/en-gb/products/automotive/silver-dynamic/563-401-061 have the same technical specifications and physical dimensions, but the terminal layouts are different. If a replacement battery with a different terminal layout to the original is chosen, installation may prove to be impracticable. Terminal layout is mentioned here https://www.tayna.co.uk/tutorials/how-to-choose-a-car-battery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solomongrundy Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 Many thanks for your time, help and advice. As I'm not wanting to spend money I don't have to - I've managed to extract the battery from under the cab floor and charged it up. After 24 hours the charger said it was full, and while still connected to the power, it read 14.6 on my voltmeter. As soon as I switched off the power source it read 13.2. After about three hours it's reading 12.8. I've checked each cell with a hydrometer and they are all in the red zone at around 11.5. Does this mean the battery is beyond hope or is their still a chance it's got some mileage left in it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 1: After 24 hours the charger said it was full, and while still connected to the power, it read 14.6 on my voltmeter. 14.6 was just the voltage that the battery-charger was producing. 2: As soon as I switched off the power source it read 13.2. The voltage fell because you had switched off the battery-charger, and it would continue to fall until the battery’s voltage stabilised. 3: After about three hours it's reading 12.8. I've checked each cell with a hydrometer and they are all in the red zone at around 11.5. Assuming that your voltmeter is accurate (!!!) a reading of 12.8V might suggest a well-charged battery. I think you are misreading your hydrometer and that the ‘red zone’ reading is more likely to be 1.15. This link shows comparative hydrometer/voltmeter battery charge-state values http://www.yuasabatteries.com/faqs.php?action=1&id=30 I suggest you place a lightish load on the battery (eg. connect a 12V bulb across the terminals) and see what happens. I recall a similar instance with another forum-member’s battery where a battery-charger indicated full-charge had been reached and voltage measurements taken a couple of days later appeared to confirm this and that the charge-state was not diminishing. However, as soon as the battery was placed under even a light load its voltage plummeted. The original battery of my wife’s 2009 Skoda car has just been replaced. Although the battery had always started the car, its age was starting to show and I could tell that it was gradually losing charge at an uncomfortable rate when the car was not being driven regularly. I retained the original battery and, as an experiment, charged it fully, took a voltage reading then and another a week later by which time 50% of the charge had been lost. Realistically, if your battery seems capable of holding full-charge even when a load is placed on it, all you can do is put it back in your motorhome, keep an eye on its charge-state and hope it won’t go flat again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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