Ford Focus equivalents

Interesting. What is special about the battery - other than perhaps being a bit larger?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)
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Presumably the special battery comes at a special price!

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

AIUI they do not use ordinary lead-acid cells but "absorbent glass mat" ones which are sealed - possibly for reasons partly unrelated to start-stop (eg no acid spills).

I've also read that some aren't user-replaceable 'cos they have to be paired with the car's electronic management system. Perhaps Mr Cheerful can confirm or deny?

Reply to
Robin

In article , Dave Plowman (News) scribeth thus

How's it doing for pulling the birds in then Dave;?...

Reply to
tony sayer

I'm currently running a 2.0 Tdi Audi A6 estate thats returning overall

42/43 to the gallon:)

The older petrol 2.0E used to do 25 on a good day;!(

Reply to
tony sayer

My Nissan Pulsar has stop/start and the battery is huge. If I remember correctly it's about 70ah like in my Omega but it must be twice the volume of that one. You have to keep your foot on the brake for the engine to stop but I've always put the handbrake on and released the footbrake so it never stops for me.

Reply to
rp

At my age? ;-)

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

You are right, the fitting instructions are complex, including setting up the ecu to match on some models, definitely on BMW.

Yes they use AGM batteries on the top line stuff and EFB (enhanced flooded batteries) on the lower end cars

According to Yuasa the requirements differ from conventional cars because of: i) Extended operation in lower states of charge ii) Acceptance of current from brake regeneration iii) Greater cycle life to support the vehicles electrical system when the vehicle is stopped and the alternator is not charging

Reply to
MrCheerful

about 250 plus fitting: total 450 (BMW)

Reply to
MrCheerful

AGM isn't new technolgy. It also reduces the peak current from a lead acid, like for like. I can't think of a reason to use it over 'flooded' for stop start.

Given the variation in battery voltage between a freshly charged and one discharged so it will only just start the car, I'd be intrigued to know how and why.

Of course I'm sure some makers would just love to force you to use their overpriced spares.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

I think a couple of Android apps are interesting for that (I'm not sure if it would work on all cars).

A BT OBD reader (cheap on eBay) and the 'Torque' app for monitoring real time stats (inc instant / average mpg) and 'Fuelio' for logging fuel consumption and other 'dates' (like MOT, servicing and insurance etc).

I love the 'heads up' feature of Torque, very futuristic. ;-)

It's also good when you can ask questions offer suggestions to the authors and they implement them. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m
[...]

Gasp!

More than I've spent in non-maintenance repairs in 17 years!

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

200 quid to fit a battery?
Reply to
pamela

Anyone know why auto stop/start only works when the footbrake is held on? Why not with the handbrake on? I really do not like being in a queue of traffic and getting dazzled unnecessarily by high-level brake lights when the cars are stationary. If the auto stop/start worked when the handbrake was on, the brake lights would be off.

Reply to
Jeff Layman

Hmm, even though the 2004 Meriva seems to be running ok and just went though an MOT with just a few advises on rubber stuff (have they changed the rules on that 'failing (perished?) but not failed' on CV gaiters etc) and I have spent some on an aero rack and swan-neck removable towbar, I still think something like a Focus estate would be better for us (me).

If the inside load space were longer (than the Meriva) I might be able to get my 3m) folding boat inside rather than on the roof. If it were lower I might be able to get it on the roof easier than on the Meriva roof?

If it was lower it might be better on the corners but probably wouldn't be as easy to get in and out of (for her).

I'm not sure the Focus estate is as tall in the luggage area as the Meriva, for moving things like sofas?

According to Fuelio I'm getting 29 mpg out of the 1.6 Meriva and a lot of that would be local, lugging stuff about and up to quite recently, with the air-con on. ;-)

I still think I'm a 'Ford man' but ignoring the high COG and the annoying front pillars, the little Meriva has been a reasonable / useable box (especially for free (was Dads) etc).

Cheers, T i m

p.s. Or with an older Focus estate I could carry a nesting boat. ;-)

Reply to
T i m

That will ensure that none of these will survive to become "classic cars". Some unlucky people will have to spend £450 on an 8 year old £4000 car but who would spend that on a £1000 16 year old car?

Reply to
Peter Hill

yes i know the mileage is not exceptional but its a 20 year old French car which dont have the greatest reliability record, probably helped by not having any electronics at all like elec windows cent locking, it does have a digital clock which is still working it just that you can no longer change the time :( and its still completely rust free as well which is something else you cant say about many cars of that price and age

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Reply to
Mark

If the car is in decent nick, it could well be worth it. Eg I had the cam belt changed on my car - cost may have been more than the car would fetch on the open market. But that's bought me several years more life with a known car.

Reply to
Clive George
[...]

The other problem with keeping your foot on the brake pedal is the risk of transfer of pad material to the discs, subsequently causing brake judder.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan
[...]

BMW (and others) use regenerative charging. When the battery is near full- charge, and the electrical demand is small, the alternator is switched off altogether, as a fuel, and more importantly, emissions saving strategy. It will continue to run off-charge unless the battery gets low. When you then brake, the battery is put on maximum charge, to top it back up quickly. (It also assists braking.)

All new batteries vary very slightly in their ability to accept a high charge rate, and enormously in their initial state of charge, so when a new one is fitted the system needs to 'learn' about the new battery by hooking it up to diagnostics and running some tests.

That's the reason for the cost.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

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