battery/starting problems

[vincent]

After having long had problems with battery drain and thus problems with starting my Bongo when it has been standing for a few days/week I have now been told that my battery is not the correct ampage and that it should be 95 - 100. Engine is 2.5 diesel. Soon after buying the vehicle from a well known and trusted dealer the problem became apparent. When I took it back to him he swapped the big Mazda battery for a smaller (non Mazda) one and charged me £50 for it, since when the problems continued. I eventually bought another battery of the same size as, trusting the dealer, did not know any better and the retailer did not point it out. Only now when having had some body work completed (fabulous result from Smith's Independent garage in Caergwrle, Wrexham) did a mechanic there check with Europarts for battery size and they immediately confirmed it should be 95 - 100. Should I believe them and can anyone tell me if smaller amp battery could have caused the starting problem which I have spent many hours and good money on being investigated? Nobody so far has been able to identify the drain.
Marj

[Bob]

95/100 ah is recommended size so that could well be your problem, 110 ah better still if you can get one to fit.

Worth turning everything off then disconnect the earth and put an ammeter in the gap to see if anything is still drawing current, some radios do even when off, also alarms.

Highly likely that the proper battery will cure your probs, and these will only get worse in winter.

[vincent]

thanks, I'll get the bigger battery and hope. Re the winter making problems worse, any advice on precautions?

[Bob]

Tips from AA here:

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/br ... eries.html

Worth using a maintenance charger if you're not using Bongy for a while in winter, assuming you can get near mains, or possibly a small solar panel if not, but bear in mind this can look like a Kindle on the dash and result in theft.

[vincent]

Is it too extreme to consider a battery disconnect switch for winter? I understand this unit needs a bit of space to be installed in. Have tried the solar panel with no success but that was with the small battery..agree about the look of it, felt nervous about putting it on the dash whilst parked in the street.

[Bob]

I fitted a battery isolator to my old BMW as the battery would go down after a few days, cost about a tenner and simple fit on the earth connection.

Bear in mind any alarm won't work, and you'll need to open the bonnet then lock the doors before you disconnect.

May be worth it if you don't use the car almost daily.