The 75 and ZT Owners Club Forums - View Single Post - Non-MG - Recommendations for stop/start EFB battery

c-j2 · 14th June 2020, 20:59

Cheers all - really appreciate the suggestions so far, especially re others using Yuasa. Not heard of Napa - but now found their website and will take a look.

Re warranty, there are some with Tayna at 4 years, and probably a 5 year option if I search enough. However it is more a case of presumably non of them will be dead simple to action if needed - however Halfords will probably be easier to return to, or at least get them to load test. Returning others by post will be a pain. Fingers crossed the next battery lasts what I consider to be decent number of years and no returning will be required! Strategy now is to buy something decent and hope never to need to purchase again. For a laugh I looked at the base ECP price - approx £450 - even with a discount that is £200!

The car in question is late Mk4 Mondeo with a whopping 1.6 diesel. To be fair it does all the family stuff fine. Bought from a family member selling their company car - and at the time my MG was at 222k mls, but had a couple of issues - and the Mondeo was cheaper than a divorce.

I put stop/start in the category of 'solving a problem that doesn't exist'. In the Mondeo I don't just get 'stop/start', I also get 'smart changing' thrown in for free! It may charge at 14.8 v or 14.4 or 13.something, or not at all!!! In other vehicles I've used a cigarette lighter cheapie plug-in to monitor voltage whilst driving and check that the alternator charging voltage is constant - in the Mondeo I can look at the same plug-in - and because it fluctuates anyway, it doesn't help me!

To make things slightly more complicated, some sources suggest that the vehicle 'might' need to be 'told it has received a new battery'. Other sources suggest not required. Anyone know? At least with Halfords I could swap in their carpark, and pop back in with an embarrassed expression if I can't swap a battery on my own (madness). I've had the old one out today - removal is a bit of a faff until the contortionist technique for removing the air-box was mastered. Only required 4 different tools too.

Rant over. Electrickery is not my strong point. Please keep the suggestions going, much appreciated.

14th June 2020, 20:59	#8
c-j2 Regular poster MG ZT-T Diesel Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Oxford Posts: 78 Thanks: 13 Thanked 11 Times in 11 Posts	Cheers all - really appreciate the suggestions so far, especially re others using Yuasa. Not heard of Napa - but now found their website and will take a look. Re warranty, there are some with Tayna at 4 years, and probably a 5 year option if I search enough. However it is more a case of presumably non of them will be dead simple to action if needed - however Halfords will probably be easier to return to, or at least get them to load test. Returning others by post will be a pain. Fingers crossed the next battery lasts what I consider to be decent number of years and no returning will be required! Strategy now is to buy something decent and hope never to need to purchase again. For a laugh I looked at the base ECP price - approx £450 - even with a discount that is £200! The car in question is late Mk4 Mondeo with a whopping 1.6 diesel. To be fair it does all the family stuff fine. Bought from a family member selling their company car - and at the time my MG was at 222k mls, but had a couple of issues - and the Mondeo was cheaper than a divorce. I put stop/start in the category of 'solving a problem that doesn't exist'. In the Mondeo I don't just get 'stop/start', I also get 'smart changing' thrown in for free! It may charge at 14.8 v or 14.4 or 13.something, or not at all!!! In other vehicles I've used a cigarette lighter cheapie plug-in to monitor voltage whilst driving and check that the alternator charging voltage is constant - in the Mondeo I can look at the same plug-in - and because it fluctuates anyway, it doesn't help me! To make things slightly more complicated, some sources suggest that the vehicle 'might' need to be 'told it has received a new battery'. Other sources suggest not required. Anyone know? At least with Halfords I could swap in their carpark, and pop back in with an embarrassed expression if I can't swap a battery on my own (madness). I've had the old one out today - removal is a bit of a faff until the contortionist technique for removing the air-box was mastered. Only required 4 different tools too. Rant over. Electrickery is not my strong point. Please keep the suggestions going, much appreciated. Last edited by c-j2; 15th June 2020 at 08:20.. Reason: Correct typos / clarity