Dealer offering to fit new leisure Batteries

Stevebeve · Nov 26, 2019

Hi All,

just a quick one for you all, I recent purchased my first Cali, its a T5 2006 SE. Came with a 3 month warranty which i was keen to use if anything went wrong!!

So the main issue was the leisure batteries seemed to discharge very quickly, i have taken it back in and they initially claimed to have load tested them and they are fine - i am yet to collect it from them as there were a few other bits they were sorting out for me. I told them that if the batteries continue to discharge as quickly as they were i would be bringing it back in to them to look at again. They then offered to fit two new ones for £110 each. I thought that sounded a little on the cheap side.

I told them i wasnt going to pay if they are saying they are fine but if they turn out not to be then it would be coming back to them and i would even consider going elsewhere to have them tested (maybe the local VW Van centre).

They have now said they may look at replacing them both at their cost and would be using https://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/volkswagen-t4-t5-t25-85ah-bosch-silver-starter-auxiliary-battery/

I havent told the dealer that when i spoke to VW they quoted £250 for a VARTA AGM 75 amphour so for two fully fitted they wanted £690 all in.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the ones that they are considering fitting? VW said they would only use AMG batteries due to safety in an accident with them being mounted within the vehicle.

Any thoughts really appreciated or if anyone would suggest a better battery for me to ask them to fit it would be handy to know

Regards,

Steve

MattBW · Nov 26, 2019

It is worth checking that the block fuse on the rear battery isnt blown as that can mean you are only running on one battery and thus have half capacity. Reading the voltage of each battery separately should indicate a problem if they are reading differently.

If the batteries are duff, then the batteries really need to be AGM for a number of reasons

The charger and alternator voltages will be calibrated for the standard AGM battery. AGM uses slightly different voltages
AGM batteries have more useable capacity than standard lead acid, using a non AGM will reduce your usable capacity even with the same number of amp hours.
Control panel may also be calibrated for the agm and may display capacity incorrectly.
BOth batteries should be identical and replaced at the same time.

There are alternative AGM batteries such as from Alpha batteries that can provide the same capacity for less money

WelshGas · Nov 26, 2019

Stevebeve said:
Hi All,

just a quick one for you all, I recent purchased my first Cali, its a T5 2006 SE. Came with a 3 month warranty which i was keen to use if anything went wrong!!

So the main issue was the leisure batteries seemed to discharge very quickly, i have taken it back in and they initially claimed to have load tested them and they are fine - i am yet to collect it from them as there were a few other bits they were sorting out for me. I told them that if the batteries continue to discharge as quickly as they were i would be bringing it back in to them to look at again. They then offered to fit two new ones for £110 each. I thought that sounded a little on the cheap side.

I told them i wasnt going to pay if they are saying they are fine but if they turn out not to be then it would be coming back to them and i would even consider going elsewhere to have them tested (maybe the local VW Van centre).

They have now said they may look at replacing them both at their cost and would be using https://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/volkswagen-t4-t5-t25-85ah-bosch-silver-starter-auxiliary-battery/

I havent told the dealer that when i spoke to VW they quoted £250 for a VARTA AGM 75 amphour so for two fully fitted they wanted £690 all in.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the ones that they are considering fitting? VW said they would only use AMG batteries due to safety in an accident with them being mounted within the vehicle.

Any thoughts really appreciated or if anyone would suggest a better battery for me to ask them to fit it would be handy to know

Regards,

Steve

These are the direct replacement for the VW Varta batteries. VW Varta have a black case Varta Varta equivalent have s silver case.

LA80 Varta Professional Dual Purpose AGM Leisure Battery 840 080 080

LA80 VARTA Professional Dual Purpose AGM Leisure Battery <i>Innovation with Purpose, Premium Experience, Powerful History</i> VARTA was founded in 1887 Germany, and was established fully in 1904 by delivering the first electric vehicle battery, famously driven by Thomas Edison. Soon after, VARTA...

www.tayna.co.uk

Stevebeve · Nov 26, 2019

MattBW said:
It is worth checking that the block fuse on the rear battery isnt blown as that can mean you are only running on one battery and thus have half capacity. Reading the voltage of each battery separately should indicate a problem if they are reading differently.

If the batteries are duff, then the batteries really need to be AGM for a number of reasons

The charger and alternator voltages will be calibrated for the standard AGM battery. AGM uses slightly different voltages

AGM batteries have more useable capacity than standard lead acid, using a non AGM will reduce your usable capacity even with the same number of amp hours.

Control panel may also be calibrated for the agm and may display capacity incorrectly.

BOth batteries should be identical and replaced at the same time.

There are alternative AGM batteries such as from Alpha batteries that can provide the same capacity for less money

WelshGas said:
These are the direct replacement for the VW Varta batteries. VW Varta have a black case Varta Varta equivalent have s silver case.

LA80 Varta Professional Dual Purpose AGM Leisure Battery 840 080 080

LA80 VARTA Professional Dual Purpose AGM Leisure Battery <i>Innovation with Purpose, Premium Experience, Powerful History</i> VARTA was founded in 1887 Germany, and was established fully in 1904 by delivering the first electric vehicle battery, famously driven by Thomas Edison. Soon after, VARTA...

www.tayna.co.uk

Thanks for the replies guys, the dealer has confirmed that at the moment the batteries fitted are https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/duracell/da80/

i will go back to them and see if they will fit an AGM battery rather than the one they have suggested.