Clio battery removal

Hi all.

A couple of months ago my son bought a '97 Renault Clio in advance of passing his driving test (against my advice). Unfortunately he didn't pass, and the Clio has sat outside for a some weeks in the hope that he will pass next time. (Friday).

Anyway, the Clio now refuses to start and by the sound, a well charged battery would cure the problem, but I've just spent half an hour trying to remove the thing without success. Yup, embarassing. :)

The battery is behind the passenger side headlight, and on one side, the engine side, there is a rectangular black metal plate standing just off to the side of the battery (about an inch away) secured by 2 bolts at the bottom. This seemed like the place to start (to my minimal mechanical instincts) but after removing the bolts, the plate moved a bit but the battery didn't.

Further examination revealed a vertical metal shaft (about 8mm diameter) on the other side of the battery, (the wing side) which attaches to a clamp at the bottom, also securing the battery, aha, I thought. But I couldn't do anything with it. I can't get a grip on the shaft (tried with some pliers) but it looks like there should be a plastic grip on the top so you can undo it by hand, is that right?

Any advice, much appreciated. Cheers.

Angus.

All the best, Angus Manwaring. (for e-mail remove ANTISPEM)

I need your memories for the Amiga Games Database: A collection of Amiga Game reviews by Amiga players

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Reply to
Angus Manwaring
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You will need an 8mm socket to get the rod unscrewed; it might be7mm as I can't remember exactly from three months back when I replaced mine and don't want to check now as it's raining! Please don't use pliers/molegrips etc you'll more than likely just chew up the end of the rod.

Can't you just disconnect the battery cables (yes I do mean both!) and then take the charger out to the car with an extension lead to charge it for a few hours during the day? I did this earlier this year and just shut the bonnet gently after balancing the charger and extension socket ontop of the gearbox.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Dugan

Chris Dugan ("Chris Dugan" ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Wouldn't it be easiest to just jump-start the damn thing?

Reply to
Adrian

On 26-Nov-07 21:18:42, Chris Dugan said

Many thanks. I've not come across a rod thingy like this before and was confused. Low light and poor vison didn't help much (he said, fumbling inadequately for excuses). I got the battery out now, and will give it a charge in the morning. Thanks again.

BTW, I couldn't really get to grips with the terminals. I assume you're meant to be able to undo those plastic "tap handles" by hand. I had to wiggle the whole thing about till they came off. Nothing snapped. :)

Its a bit complicated as its parked in a friendly neighbours space, a bit down the road. :)

All the best, Angus Manwaring. (for e-mail remove ANTISPEM)

I need your memories for the Amiga Games Database: A collection of Amiga Game reviews by Amiga players

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Reply to
Angus Manwaring

Why disconnect the battery at all? And why both?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Thus spake Angus Manwaring (angus@angusm_antispem_.demon.co.uk) unto the assembled multitudes:

Academic now I'm sure, but why leave it till the morning? The battery would take hours to recharge, so you might as well have hooked it up to the charger immediately so it could recharge while you're tucked up in bed for the night.

Reply to
A.Clews

If you are going to have to leave the car again for a period, consider getting one of the little solar chargers which you can hook up while the car is standing. This will keep the battery topped up better. Maplin sell them amongst other places.

Reply to
Brian

I wonder what the output of one of those things is on a day like today.

As for disconnecting the terminals (or one), if you don't then the charger can get confused by having to power the alarm etc.

Reply to
adder1969

Why would a simple power source get confused by this? The quiescent load on the battery is but a few milliamps from things like alarms. The output of a charger several amps - to be of any use. Disconnecting the battery means on most cars at least some things will need resetting - even if only the radio station memory. And there's absolutely no reason to do so to charge the battery from an external source such as a domestic battery charger.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Depends on the type, but overall it will be better than not having one.

Reply to
Brian

I had one and it was completely useless even in the summer facing south

Reply to
Mrcheerful

It rather depends. To be of any use it has to be connected to the battery

24/7 - unless you fancy unplugging it each time the sun goes in. And anything connected across the battery will draw some current, however small.
Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

All I know is that if I charge the battery while connected, it doesn't charge. If I disconnect and charge it then it does.

Reply to
adder1969

Never ever come across this with any charger. What make are you using? Even those tiny wall wart battery 'conditioners' are designed to cope with the quiescent drain plus a small charge.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

However some of the don't switch on if there's no voltage on the output, aso a small quiescent current will prevent them starting the charge.

Reply to
Duncan Wood

Yes. Usually part of the reverse connection protection.

Which ones?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

All of them, the battery voltage drops to almost zero with a slight load, give it half an hour disconnected & it recovers enough for the charger to start charging it.

Reply to
Duncan Wood

if it that flat, then the battery is likely to be scrap anyway

Reply to
Mrcheerful

On 27-Nov-07 09:09:19, A.Clews said

I was just happier having somebody about to monitor it every couple of hours rather than leaving it.

All the best, Angus Manwaring. (for e-mail remove ANTISPEM)

I need your memories for the Amiga Games Database: A collection of Amiga Game reviews by Amiga players

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Reply to
Angus Manwaring

I was about to say that.

Reply to
Brian

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