Car battery remote disconnect / saver?

[JOEPRO]

Halfords gave me a warranty swap in store on the battery this evening. Easy, painless exercise



This is a good reason to buy local like @Turbo has said on here. You can set it on the counter and ask for an exchange.

I have been guilty of buying some branded batteries mail order from Tanya but those same batteries have since failed and I haven't bothered trying a warranty claim with them as I'd guess I'll have to post them back at my cost for the to test so it's a huge gamble.

So going forward, I will buy replacement branded car batteries from my local Halfords since at least if there is an issue they will stand over it.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

What's up with a conventional isolator mounted under the bumper?

I have one of these:

1000 Amp Removable Key Battery Isolator Cut off kill Switch 12V Heavy Duty

Plastic with removeable key Terminal threads: 3/8 Whitworth Continuous Load: 100AMP at 12V Max Load: 1000A (10 Sec) at 12V Switch ON Position: Clock-wise direction Switch OFF Position: Anti-Clock-wise direction See Images for detail Dimensions

www.apukonline.com

Installed unobtrusively under the front bumper to cut off power to the winch on the truck.

If I wanted to isolate the whole system or split the dual batteries it would be as easy to have installed it in the NSF wheel arch.

 

[JOEPRO]

Cut off and new battery installed this evening and car left back



I purposely fitted it as a temporary measure to see if it proves itself reliable for the next couple of months then I may well go back and neaten it a bit.

Easy install, compact and working on both the supplied control fobs.

 

[Bobupndown]

Halfords gave me a warranty swap in store on the battery this evening. Easy, painless exercise

View attachment 489026

This is a good reason to buy local like @Turbo has said on here. You can set it on the counter and ask for an exchange.

I have been guilty of buying some branded batteries mail order from Tanya but those same batteries have since failed and I haven't bothered trying a warranty claim with them as I'd guess I'll have to post them back at my cost for the to test so it's a huge gamble.

So going forward, I will buy replacement branded car batteries from my local Halfords since at least if there is an issue they will stand over it.

Good to hear about halfords warranty, I bought a Yuasa battery from them a few weeks back. They normally replace things without issue. Have carefully filed the receipt this time, my last one died at 4 1/2 year old, bought from local motor factors but I'd lost the receipt
Have read that Tayna are difficult to get warranty replacement from and returns are at the customer's expense.

 

[reb78]

Good to hear about halfords warranty, I bought a Yuasa battery from them a few weeks back. They normally replace things without issue. Have carefully filed the receipt this time, my last one died at 4 1/2 year old, bought from local motor factors but I'd lost the receipt
Have read that Tayna are difficult to get warranty replacement from and returns are at the customer's expense.

For every good there's a bad. Halfords were an absolute pain and refused a replacement on a yuasa my sister took back to them. It was a year old and well within warranty.

Whereas I've had loads of batteries from tayna that haven't failed.

 

[m_c]

Battery warranty isn't a clear cut thing.
The issue is for the warranty to remain valid, the battery has to have been used and maintained correctly.
Drain a battery too much, or boil it dry due to overcharging, and any warranty can be invalidated.

 

[JOEPRO]

Battery warranty isn't a clear cut thing.
The issue is for the warranty to remain valid, the battery has to have been used and maintained correctly.
Drain a battery too much, or boil it dry due to overcharging, and any warranty can be invalidated.

Halfrauds had a Yuasa battery tester with print facility when I called in. The tester said "charge and retest" but the staff member said as the volts were 11.7 ish it was bad anyway and they would therefore give me a new one.

Also - he pointed out the new reciept incorrectly said the replacement battery was also fully covered for 5 years again. He said that's not right but "happy days - try it anyway".

I guess it depends on who you get in store.

 

[reb78]

Battery warranty isn't a clear cut thing.
The issue is for the warranty to remain valid, the battery has to have been used and maintained correctly.
Drain a battery too much, or boil it dry due to overcharging, and any warranty can be invalidated.

How do they tell? The one we had had been connected to a daily used car since new and the battery that followed the one Halfords refused (which ai bought from Tayna) is still in it 3-4 years later. I'm as certain as I can be that the Halfords battery was faulty but someone in the store refused replacement and my sister didn't argue.

 

[Kram]

Seems dishonest to me if the battery had died through neglect and being left discharged, to then take it back for replacement.

 

[JOEPRO]

Seems dishonest to me if the battery had died through neglect and being left discharged, to then take it back for replacement.

I can't say for sure why the battery died either

I am perfectly within my rights to return to the vendor for assessment. If they deem it a valid fault and warranty claim then what's your problem with that?

 

[ajlelectronics]

I can't say for sure why the battery died either

I am perfectly within my rights to return to the vendor for assessment. If they deem it a valid fault and warranty claim then what's your problem with that?

If it fails within 6 months, the vendor is obliged to prove that it DOESN'T have an inherent defect. They are also responsible for the return cost if they can't.

 

[JOEPRO]

I don't think a £100 battery is going to take down Halfords

Besides that, I'll be giving them plenty of business now since they looked after my Dad's battery. Aka I have lots of failing 019 batteries in my cars so I'll buy £180 ones in Halfords as replacements and look after them as best I can to prevent future issues.

 

[W.olly]

I have just been looking for a way to imobilise my car awell, i was going to get a manual isolation switch untill i spotted these on ebay. Very similar to the one you have seen @JOEPRO
This is for my Corvette running an SBC 350, it draws around 200amps on start up so within the 240spec and 500amp continuous. .

Pardon our interruption...

I will read through the rest of this thread and see whats going on.

 

[W.olly]

Si i fitted this one the other day and it seems fine, easy to fit. less than 5 mins, and worked fine. It on a Chevy SBC 350 so need s bit of cranking but my engine fire on the button. And draws around 200amp.
Happy with it so lets see how it goes. good price aswell. And you can get it cheaper than the £25 i paid.

 

[JOEPRO]

I made one of my W140's solar powered today

Well a solar battery charger that is. Placed in rear window. Got a fused cable from the battery through a factory hole in the rear parcel shelf as I would not drill this car. Worked out nicely as the cable can be tucked away completely hidden in the first aid compartment when not in use.



Initial testing yesterday showed it working well. Better weather is to come this week so will do a longer term test with this battery monitor.



But yep it seems to be working OK and this is on a large 019 battery and car connected albeit this car is healthy and has very little battery draw. Maybe 10 milliamps I know it's low as it can sit for 6 - 10 weeks and still start up but I haven't tested it.

 

[W.olly]

I made one of my W140's solar powered todayView attachment 490525

Well a solar battery charger that is. Placed in rear window. Got a fused cable from the battery through a factory hole in the rear parcel shelf as I would not drill this car. Worked out nicely as the cable can be tucked away completely hidden in the first aid compartment when not in use.

View attachment 490524

Initial testing yesterday showed it working well. Better weather is to come this week so will do a longer term test with this battery monitor.

View attachment 490526

But yep it seems to be working OK and this is on a large 019 battery and car connected albeit this car is healthy and has very little battery draw. Maybe 10 milliamps I know it's low as it can sit for 6 - 10 weeks and still start up but I haven't tested it.

If its anything like the setups i did on boats it will work fine. On boats it was for large leisure batteries. And kept them topped up for months from damage.

 

[malcolm]

@JOEPRO How is it working after a couple of weeks? I've got an old Peugeot that is mostly winter use and a solar battery top up would make sense if it works.

 

[JOEPRO]

@JOEPRO How is it working after a couple of weeks? I've got an old Peugeot that is mostly winter use and a solar battery top up would make sense if it works.

It's working great. Charger inside the car's back window. Battery was initially showing low charge and after a couple of sunny days it was 100% charged. I am leaving it sitting like that and will check it after weeks / months and see is it still sitting fully charged but seems hopeful

 

[dobbslc]

What are you using to test the batteries?

 

[Ubique]

What are you using to test the batteries?

@JOEPRO seconded, what are you using, a sort-of-mate has occasional problems with battery drain and the graphing function may help narrow down any variables...