Yuasa battery

[AMGeed]

Yesterday morning I got in the S204 to go to Southampton West Quays shopping centre to find the battery totally dead, reading 7.8v after using it a couple of days previously to do a 70 mile round trip. I had noticed the start up wasn't as brisk as expected and did think the battery was suspect. So it let me down as expected.

Being short on time, I needed a replacement quickly and couldn't source a Varta or Bosch immediately. This left me with a Yuasa 5000 battery 85Ah, 800 Amp with 5yrs guarantee for £120 from Halfords. Not my usual venue for a battery but needs must. They offered to fit it for £18 and to be honest I just wanted it done and be on my way. (I boosted the dead battery to start the car to get there)

Yuasa HSB110 Silver 12V Car Battery 5 Year Guarantee | Halfords UK​

Shop the latest Yuasa 5 Year Guarantee HSB110 Silver 12V Car Battery at Halfords UK

www.halfords.com

The parts guy checked the battery against my reg # and told me I needed an AGM which I queried, (current Varta is lead acid and no stop start) but he showed me the details on the Yuasa website. A Halfords branded (but made by Yuasa) was the one he recommended (at £186) so I gave the go ahead.
A spotty lad who looked about 12 years old wheeled the battery out in a shopping trolley as it was too heavy for him to carry and he was the chosen one to fit it.
I didn't think this was going to go well, and it didn't.
First he couldn't remove the positive lead, then struggled to get the bolt out of the holding plate in the tray. Lifting out the old battery nearly gave him a hernia.
Then the fun started.
After struggling for 10 minutes he managed to get the battery in the tray without trapping either lead, then spent literally 40 minutes trying to get the bolt in the tray to secure the battery. I tried to help him when a beefy girl with tattoos told him off for letting a customer use Halfords tools. She was chief fitter for batteries, bulbs alarms she informed me. She's get the job done.
No chance, after another 15 minutes, the guy who sold me the battery came out, wondering what was taking so long. (They promise a 15 minute battery fitting service). He had a go but nope, the bolt would not line up with the hole. I suggested the battery was a fraction too long and it was agreed he would try a different battery, the one I had selected before being told I needed another.
Battery dropped straight in and secured in minutes, terminals reattached and asked to start it up.
Totally dead, not even ignition lights and its a new battery.

Much head scratching and the MOT tester comes out and seems to know what he is talking about. Remember the battery isolator that had been fitted in one of my photos? He found it was drawing over 50amps on his multimeter with the new battery connected.
So off came the isolator, on came the ignition lights and up she fired It had taken almost 2 hrs to change a battery.
No pics today, but I'm happy with my choice of battery, don't entirely blame Halfords for wrong info as it was taken from the Yuasa website and they all tried to help.

I then went to West Quays, parked up and "lost" my car but that's for another day.
There are two car parks and I was looking for an hour in the wrong car park!!!!

 

[AnthonyUK]

I fitted that exact one too and I must admit it was a bit tricky but only took 10 mins or so.
I only paid around £10 less than Halfords online so that is a good price.

 

[AMGeed]

^ Like you I would normally have done a battery change myself but I had the Grandson in the car, promised him a shopping trip to West Quays as a treat for a good school report and couldn't be ar$ed to DIY this time.
It may have been fortunate it didn't start after they fitted it so they sorted out the isolator issue for free.

 

[Chrishazle]

I've replied to your post on t'other side about what Halfrauds did to my C220 S204!

 

[mattkh]

It may have been fortunate it didn't start after they fitted it so they sorted out the isolator issue for free.

Glad its sorted, but why was the isolator draining so much current..?

 

[Wearsafoxhat]

I put a Yuasa AGM in the ’55 last year.
No problems with it though it just never seems to get above 12.4 with the dash display, no mater how well it is charged.

“ Have you put a meter across it”.

Nope.. but might next time I’m in the boot.. and have my dvm handy.


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[Snake Charmer]

Keep the receipt in a safe place and if you have a warranty claim do not let them take it off you. Both my stepsons worked for them in their Uni days.

 

[Chrishazle]

It's also worth immediately photo copying the receipt as the print on the original fades quite quickly and the warranty is 5 years!

 

[Wighty]

Yep , i found changing my CLK battery a right painful saga , it’s a big heavy battery in a right sod of a position.

 

[Wighty]

It's also worth immediately photo copying the receipt as the print on the original fades quite quickly and the warranty is 5 years!

Very sneaky buddy

 

[Snake Charmer]

I know someone who regularly taped the customer receipt to the battery in a plastic bag. Great idea on thermal paper!

 

[Chrishazle]

If you search back for my thread a couple of years back about the problems I had with Halfords after they changed the battery on my S204 you'll see why! After getting the fault caused by them attaching a 12V to the OBD port, it was not that long until the battery failed again so had to be replaced under warranty, then the second one also failed quite quickly but they would not accept it had failed! As a result I took the car to my local indie who tested it and gave me a letter saying the battery was toast, replaced it with an almost new BMW battery he happened to have laying around (£60 instead of £150!) and Halfords then agreed to a refund.

Interestingly, I've yesterday hit a problem with the BMW battery, it had gone so flat nothing worked, ended up had to call Britannia out as connection a charger to the emergency jump points did noting. Their jump pack allowed me to open the tailgate, he then put the jump pack on the battery and at 3rd attempt managed to start the car, alternator working fine, so put my SIP Chragestar Smart18 Automatic charger onto the battery about noon yesterday on fast charge - checked a few minutes ago and it's now up to between 50 and 70% charged and still charging!

 

[Wighty]

I know someone who regularly taped the customer receipt to the battery in a plastic bag. Great idea on thermal paper!

Or marker pen the battery “receipt in glovebox “

 

[NJS5]

I scan the Halfords receipt & print the scan with a copy of the emailed receipt.

A print is then taped to the battery in a plastic bag, whilst keeping the originals on file.

 

[markben]

That's interesting (battery problems..).

This thread reminds me of when the battery died on my S320 cdi just after I bought the car 6 years ago. I called the RAC breakdown service and they sent a guy within 45 mins. And.. just by luck he had a new OE spec YUASA 900EN 100Ah rated battery on board his truck! The price fitted (by him) + a diagnostic report for the entire car was about £130 from memory, and 40 mins from start to finish. Fantastic service & value.

6 years & 40k miles later that battery is still perfect. That said: when I was a young driver I learned (the hard way on old cars) never to run 'thirstier' ancillaries (e.g. wipers, lights, air con etc) without the engine running - unless absolutely necessary...

 

[AMGeed]

Glad its sorted, but why was the isolator draining so much current..?

I really don't know. The mechanic had his multimeter connected to the isolator and it was showing a draw of 50amps.
Once removed all the dash lights reappeared and the car started so the isolator was stopping the battery current reaching the starter motor. Handy if its been isolated, but it wasn't.
There was a helluva spark when he undid the brass positive jump start post that the isolator was fixed to.

 

[AMGeed]

Thanks for the suggestions of copying the receipt. Good call as they do fade quickly. I also have the email receipt saved.

 

[s5tuart]

It's also worth immediately photo copying the receipt as the print on the original fades quite quickly and the warranty is 5 years!

I take photos of my receipts. They last forever that way.

 

[DREAMER NO2]

I wont ever use Halfrauds ever again after the fiasco i had with them fitting a new cd radio to my Volvo 740 GLT .After switching on the radio the mast never came up ..along with switching off the engine the radio stopped on .I went to get this radio fitted in my lunch hour it took 2 hours and i came away with my old radio refitted after i told them to pull out the new radio .

 

[AMGeed]

I wont ever use Halfrauds ever again after the fiasco i had with them fitting a new cd radio to my Volvo 740 GLT .After switching on the radio the mast never came up ..along with switching off the engine the radio stopped on .I went to get this radio fitted in my lunch hour it took 2 hours and i came away with my old radio refitted after i told them to pull out the new radio .

A young lady was parked in the fitting bay next to me having a new cd/radio unit fitted to her Mazda.
The fitter gave up after 20 minutes saying the whole dashboard needed removing to fit it.
Unless its a simple job I don't think they want to know.

I don't have much confidence in any Halfords fitters after seeing the youngster struggle with my battery.
He just hadn't been trained properly.