Hi all, and sorry for jumping in with a question to begin with.
I have a 1997 Defender 90 tdi, now with 80,000 miles, which wouldn't start this morning. Diagnosis: need a new battery, since I know this one's at least 5 years old.
Halfreaud's didn't have the recommended one in stock, and when I take the old one out to connect to my bike's Optimate overnight (tell you if it works tomorrow), it looks like the only constraint on battery model is: will it fit under that front seat compartment?
Any recommendations, advice, or should I just go out armed with a tape measure, and buy the biggest ampere hourage(?) battery I can find?
Basically, yes. You're looking at getting something cheap - if you have any sense (speaking as someone who spends shedloads on Optimas and other Gel batteries) as it's for running the car only - yes? (Not lots of other stuff like fridge etc., which will need the deep cycle properties of Gel and Optima type batteries)
If it'll fit, check the rating for CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) against the one you're taking to the recycle centre. Give or take 5 to 10 each way isn't going to make a great deal of difference. For a D90, get a standard Discovery 200/300Tdi battery.
you need a 590 battery if the positive connector is on the left as you look at front of battery , with terminals facing you at the front of battery . . or you need a 588 if the positive is on the right as you look at front of battery .
these are 90ah batteries , ie the tractor type battery with handles
I would use the commonly available, powerful and relatively cheap type 643. These are bought by factors by the pallet load so they are excellent value for money and were standard fitment in hard[er] to start indirect injection Land Rover's as well as many old tractors fitted with 4litre Perkins and such.
I do believe that LR has despecced their batteries since the arrival of the TDi and now probably recommend the 089/4 which has about 590CCA and 72Ah compared with the [probably] cheaper and superior 643 which has 700cca and
95Ah. Rest assured that the 643 fits easily into my LR under the passenger seat and was the size originally supplied on all series and 90's and 110's.
It was round about Sat, 19 Nov 2005 20:04:50 +0000,, when the famed Mother of the dreaded Nope - none at all, you should see my desk.... was struck by a sudden insight:
That's right, it's just to start and run. It tows a horse trailer roughly twice per week, but that's only another 20W regularly (2 rear lights, 2 front/side).
It's worth keeping the battery warm-ish - I use laminate floor underlay (the sort that comes on a roll) under mine, and today am putting bubble-wrap round it and on top (first serious cold night was last night). Don't laugh: if the vehicle is likely to get really cold, you could consider a hot water bottle put next to the battery overnight (not boiling, obviously), just to keep the temp decent for the morning.
I've a retired electrical engineer friend who's also a Landy enthusiast, who reckons that heating the glow plugs twice on cold mornings then counting to five before turning the engine over works well - the high glowplug current warms the battery up before it has to deliver the really high cranking current. It certainly seems to help.
Your Optimate won't rejuvenate it, but it's a good idea nonetheless on a good battery. I keep a small charger (nominally 8-amp, but really nearer
2 as the diodes are packing up) handy, with some long leads wired to it. They'll fit under the garage door nicely, so that I can keep it charging overnight (vehicle won't fit in). This does two things: keeps the battery chemically in fettle by keeping it well topped-up, and the charging action adds a tiny amount of heat (see above).
One final thing - electrolyte loss will be worse in cold weather as the air can get much drier (when warmed). It's worth checking the levels at least once during the winter in case. If one or two cells are noticeably lower than the rest, the battery's probably on the way out - a hygrometer will tell you most accurately. If they're all low, you should charge it gently after you top up with de-ionized water.
It's been my experience that most ordinary battery chargers will take a couple of days, ammeter needle barely off the stop, to bring the specific gravity to a fully-charged state. According to the back of an envelope I have here, that's getting on for half the nominal capacity, which is a huge difference.
Not if you've stood it on some reasonably effective insulation in the first place. IIRC, the Scandinavians have proper electrical heating jackets for them.
That 2 or 3A is at the upper end of the charge rate I was thinking of.
Incidentally, the big 643 battery was only on the diesel Series III. The petrol engines used something smaller. Whatever the battery size, check the earth is good, battery to chassis and chassis to engine. With the current needed to start, it doesn't take very much resistance to make a huge difference.
069 is the code for the battery you should look for. That will fit the clamps etc. Fit a bigger one if you like, but if it won't start with an
069 then you are just putting off the day when you have to find out what is *really* wrong.
Personaly, first I'd run a jump lead from battery -ve to the block (lifting brackets work well) and see if it starts - cold weather highlights bad earths as well as duff batteries.
590cca and only 72Ah, the same as the 089 apart from slightly different dimensions to-whit about 5mm less length. Cranking performance and reserve capacity is significantly inferior to a probably cheaper 643. Last 643 I had was about £40 +VAT IIRC. Both will start the TDi no doubt but one will significantly outperform the other when the going gets tuff.
On or around Mon, 21 Nov 2005 08:43:13 +0000 (UTC), beamendsltd enlightened us thusly:
very true, but you've missed one of the points: I can buy a 643/644 from the local agricultural merchant, as a "tractor battery", for less then halfrauds etc want for an 069, and it's a bigger battery so has more reserve for when conditions are sub-optimal into the bargain.
And yes, the disco is meant to run an 069 as well. The 300 TDi has a space about 1/4" longer than a 643/644 (and you do have to get the right one for a disco or the leads don't reach)(and no, I don't know which without looking at it - anyone needs to know, ask...) and the mod to the clamp involves removing and/or bending flat 2 bits of metal which make the clamp reach a shorter battery.
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