ASSAULT ON BATTERIES
Regarding your Editorial on car batteries (CM, January 2019), I bought my Mitsubishi Colt CZ1 1.1 new in October 2007 and it is still using the original battery, which has no manufacturer’s name or logo. I considered replacing it during the last two winters, but it shows no sign of its age – the Colt fires up first time every time, so it puts little strain on the battery despite the fact that I now do less than 100 miles per week. Dennis
My Peugeot-based motorhome with a 2.2 HDI engine is now 12 years old and is still on its original battery, which I believe is a Magneti Marelli. Over the years the battery has needed little or no attention and still starts the engine first time. I try to give it a run every couple of weeks but, apart from that, the battery doesn’t get any charging. The total mileage is now about 35,000. David Hall
I bought a 1998 Saab 9-5 SE auto in early 2000, when I was commuting 500 miles per week. After my circumstances changed, I no longer needed to commute to work, so the Saab was left on the driveway for weeks at a time. Inevitably, the battery gave out in April 2002. I bought a Bosch S4 replacement and also installed a Maplins 1.5W solar charger panel wired directly into the battery via the towbar ACC socket in the boot, to stop the new battery from continually discharging. This setup worked well and kept the Bosch battery charged for many years of occasional usage. I eventually decided to replace the battery in August 2013 as I thought it might not last another winter, although it was still performing well. I have no hesitation in recommending a similar approach for improving battery longevity – a solar charger between 1.5-3W output would suffice in most cases. Geoff Mohamed You mentioned that you had one battery that lasted nine years, well the one in my Mondeo TDCI lasted at least 11 before I replaced it, although it hadn’t failed. My local Ford dealer told me that batteries of that vintage seemed to last. Sadly, the Mondeo is no more: I sold it to a friend as a second car, but he could not resist trading it and his two-year-old Mercedes-benz for a new Mercedes E-class. I do charge my car batteries regularly – CTEK being my preferred choice of charger. Phil Thrower