About this message...I guess it’s an automatic message. I charged fully the battery, turned on system (without engine) for 20 minutes because I was cleaning inside and...it gives me the message, but I checked the battery with the tester and was still fully charged ahah. So it’s a message that has no meaning, more or less.

Has anyone decided to disconnect their battery in light of the current travel restrictions and lack of use of their car ?

We have 3x vehicles and are alternating them for shopping (both mine and the Mrs' self employment has stopped) but they are only short journeys and once every week.

Seems a difficult situation, if I leave it, the battery will go flat, if I disconnect it the car will be un-alarmed etc, but if it goes flat it will be anyway.

Considering one of these maybe ?

Solar trickle charger:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-solar-Maintainer-Cigarette-Alligator-Motorcycle/dp/B07RXKN9MF/ref=sr_1_7?crid=2N9GJ7OFK7U5N&dchild=1&keywords=solar+car+battery+trickle+charger&qid=1586446961&sprefix=solar+car+ba%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-7

Looks like you can just plug it into the utility socket in the car and leave the panel on the dash ... assuming the socket stays live (which I thought it did hence the need to hardwire the dashcam on my MK8).

 

Anyway, not the biggest issue at the minute I agree but I'm trying to find other things to worry about ... hope everyone's staying safe...

 

The utility socket on my Mk8 only remains live for about 20 minutes after the ignition is turnd off.

1 minute ago, jsk said:

The utility socket on my Mk8 only remains live for about 20 minutes after the ignition is turnd off.

Thanks for confirming that, I had a feeling I'd been a bit too quick to assume it was permanent.  Oh well, guess I'd have use the crocodile clips fed into the cabin in that case then.

5 hours ago, jsk said:

The utility socket on my Mk8 only remains live for about 20 minutes after the ignition is turned off.

Interesting to know, when you do change your battery and use a memory saver (permanent 12v live charger) plugged in to the socket. You only have less than 20 mins to change it.

On 4/9/2020 at 11:18 PM, Jim H said:

Interesting to know, when you do change your battery and use a memory saver (permanent 12v live charger) plugged in to the socket. You only have less than 20 mins to change it.

This afternoon I've been topping up Fusso Coat sealant and had the ignition on to listen to the radio. The ignition annoyingly turned off every 5 mins to save the battery.  Radio turns off even quicker if you turn off the ignition.

14 hours ago, Jim H said:

This afternoon I've been topping up Fusso Coat sealant and had the ignition on to listen to the radio. The ignition annoyingly turned off every 5 mins to save the battery.  Radio turns off even quicker if you turn off the ignition.

There doesn't seem to be easily understandable logic to it I agree. 

Did some shopping and deliveries to several family members / vulnerable people isolating a few days ago, the car was running for near enough two hours with no stopping as my other half was in the car. Tested the start stop and it activated at 10 minutes in, but not after a further hour and a half (with nothing else being used that would drain it). 

Tempted to disconnect the smart charging sensor as was suggested earlier. 

A very basic question I’m afraid. On a 2018 fiesta eco boost, I have what they call a 'smart charger' bought from Aldi. Can I just connect the croc clips to the battery whilst it’s connected to the car, or do I have to remove the clamps on the terminals first. 

52 minutes ago, Pjollop said:

A very basic question I’m afraid. On a 2018 fiesta eco boost, I have what they call a 'smart charger' bought from Aldi. Can I just connect the croc clips to the battery whilst it’s connected to the car, or do I have to remove the clamps on the terminals first. 

Hello and Welcome to the Forum.

No need to disconnect anything, just connect the clips to the correct terminals (+ to +) and (- to -), and set it to go. You don't normally disconnect when using a normal charger or jump leads.

Negitive cable should be connected to a vehicle ground point and not the terminal on the battery. As the car needs to know how much power is going in to the battery. And state of charge of said battery. If you recharge the battery with the negitive to negitive terminal on battery then it's best to leave it overnight. So that the car can learn its new battery charge values.

On 2/29/2020 at 8:53 PM, Scorpion993 said:

I used Tayna too sometimes! They're very good, selling batteries with max 3-5 month from production date. Just check the compatibility with the MK8, because, for example, the Yuasa battery website gives MK8 compatibility for the Yuasa YBX7100...but...nope ahah. It's shorter than the stock one, I attach you a pic. Fiesta MK8 requires a 195cm battery.

 

By the way, I bought a Fiesta MK8 in september 2018, and battery failed last month using it for long travels everyday. I guess they left the car stationary for months and damaged the battery. So...everything is possible.

Managed to fit the Yuasa YBX7100 today, yes it’s 15mm too short, so I cut a 15mm thick sheet of plastic to fit the battery tray - result it now fits perfectly.

On 3/2/2020 at 7:04 PM, Scorpion993 said:

 

 

I agree, months of short runs + inactivity was always likely to give me a problem.  Had a different job until recently, now I'm based in the same town or working from home.

To elaborate on the posting of Cjay1; he is quite right about connecting the negative lead to the body earth. Modern cars have clever charging systems that disconnect the alternator when it is not needed in order to save fuel, charge batteries at voltages traditionalists would consider strange and work batteries very hard while still getting a good working life out of them. Key to this is a little widget between the negative terminal and the car's body. The charging and discharging currents are sensed by this and it allows the computer to get a picture of the actual state of the battery. Measurement of the terminal voltage cannot do this so the message is not meaningless because the computer is cleverer than we are. Connecting  a charger directly to the battery bypasses the widget and doing so will not allow the car to recalculate the correct state of charge so it looks to be playing up when it is simply not being correctly charged.

I agree, months of short runs + inactivity was always likely to give me a problem.

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Does anyone know if this Varta battery is compatible, the measurements are the same but the powers are higher, between this and the original which one did you buy?

https://www.varta-automotive.pt/pt-pt/produtos/varta-silver-dynamic/577-400-078

7 hours ago, Master7 said:

Does anyone know if this Varta battery is compatible, the measurements are the same but the powers are higher, between this and the original which one did you buy?

https://www.varta-automotive.pt/pt-pt/produtos/varta-silver-dynamic/577-400-078

Your car will have start/stop function and you need a battery that will cope with that. The above is "a quality battery for non-start-stop vehicles". You will need a Enhanced Flooded Battery (EFB) or Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) type. 

I have bought Varta Silver Dynamic for several of our cars and had no problems with them so would recommend them if yours did not have stop start.

 

16 hours ago, Jim H said:

Your car will have start/stop function and you need a battery that will cope with that. The above is "a quality battery for non-start-stop vehicles". You will need a Enhanced Flooded Battery (EFB) or Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) type. 

I have bought Varta Silver Dynamic for several of our cars and had no problems with them so would recommend them if yours did not have stop start.

 

https://www.varta-automotive.pt/pt-pt/produtos/varta-silver-dynamic-agm/570-901-076

 

So is this already a good choice?
my car has start stop.

is there a problem with higher specs i think the original is 60ah 600a and this varta is 70ah and 760a?

3 minutes ago, Master7 said:

https://www.varta-automotive.pt/pt-pt/produtos/varta-silver-dynamic-agm/570-901-076

 

So is this already a good choice?
my car has start stop.

is there a problem with higher specs i think the original is 60ah 600a and this varta is 70ah and 760a?

It is a good choice but the physical size of it may be different and it might not fit properly.

A higher spec is better. It will provide the same voltage and current, but for longer.

Presumably, the non start/stop batteries are ok if you disable that particular feature every time you use the car, as I do..?

3 minutes ago, BlueMike2021 said:

Presumably, the non start/stop batteries are ok if you disable that particular feature every time you use the car, as I do..?

I doubt it in a modern car because as well as the Start Stop, the Current draw in them is so much more than an less modern one and the charging system will be optimised for a EFB or AGM Battery.  

30 minutes ago, Tizer said:

It is a good choice but the physical size of it may be different and it might not fit properly.

A higher spec is better. It will provide the same voltage and current, but for longer.

from what I researched the battery of the fiesta mk8 1.0 is 278x175x190 so I think this must be perfect.

Hi all, i changed my original battery last june with a bosch type100 EFB,

with not using car most days, and only driving short journeys i bought a

AA car battery solar charger from Amazon, plugs into EOBD socket,if not using car

for 3 to 5 days will plug it in.  Never had problem since ! battery always fully charged

and stop/start works all the time. 

55 minutes ago, Steveostit14 said:

Hi all, i changed my original battery last june with a bosch type100 EFB,

with not using car most days, and only driving short journeys i bought a

AA car battery solar charger from Amazon, plugs into EOBD socket,if not using car

for 3 to 5 days will plug it in.  Never had problem since ! battery always fully charged

and stop/start works all the time. 

It probably works fine on a 2014 Fiesta but on the newer models if they have a different charging system  ( like the mk4 Focus) the AA charger is no use nor ornament unless you can keep the car unlocked during the charging period.

 

I'm a bit clueless  when talking about a battery .I have a 2013 1 ltr eccoboost,  with stop/start  and at the moment only doing about 10 miles aweek. If I need to buy a new battery ,what would people out there  recommend I buy?