Batteries are cheaper online but I found out the hard way when it comes to warranty its very lengthy process and they expect you to return the battery for testing while your daily commuter car is left stationary.
you are absolutely correct, that is exactly what i have been asked to do, so i have to package and post it at my own expense while my car is parked up dead, for them to make up any kind of BS and all i get for the effort is more cost on package and postage. I'd rather complain to trading standards, and ask for a refund from my credit card provider. They're the reseller so battery would go back to manufacturer anyway, especially considering its 10 months old.
Keep us posted with your findings then.
No problem, I will post details.
i bought my 2015 A5 in 2017 still had the original Moll brand battery from factory until it died in 2022, I never needed to charge (I have TheAA AA0725 intelligent charger, £40 from Amazon) the battery in that whole time, 7 years is impressive and the most my A5 was probably ever parked up was 2-3 weeks during winter and never had a problem starting after that length of time. When the battery eventually died it did so almost suddenly, probably showing signs for around a month, the first thing was door handles not responding to proximity... Only realising the cause after the effect.I too use a trickle charge, a Maypole 4 amp. I started using after I noticed a bit a slow start during lockdown. Since I have continued to work from home, my S5 is used less, so now I have put a quick connector in the boot. I normally leave the charger in the boot and just plug the car into an outside socket. The boot closes fine with the flat twin wire for the charger.
My car is now like a nice sounding Tesla!
With a 4amp charger, well it slow charges to rejuvenate the battery and get rid of any crystal deposits on the plate up until 12.4 volts and then it pulse charges up to 4amps. This conditions the battery too. But to get it from 11.2 volts to fully charged which is 12.6 to 13.2 volts on an AGM, it took more or less a week of being plugged in. It's something like 1 amp of charge per hour, so a 100 amp battery will take up to 100 hours to properly charge!
Also I'm not sure if mine is the original battery, so I undid the 'sealed' plugs and topped off the battery. The glass mat still looked moist, but added distilled water to just ontop of the cells/glass mats. Yes you can still add water to sealed batteries. Most batteries fail when they get dried cells!
My S5 is currently sleeping with the charger, currently sitting at 13.2 volts.
So modern batteries need a good proper charge with a smart charger every now and then. The alternator tops the battery up, not actually charge it in the same way a smart charger like my Maypole or CTEK does. I also bought a cheap 10amp 7 stage charger which does battery reconditioning and pulse charging etc etc.
I normally would not suggest a battery from Halfords as they are overpriced but the good thing as they are a shop you can just drive to a store and get the battery tested.
you are absolutely correct about the ease of being able to return a battery under warranty without any fuss, i have heard many suggest the same thing, from their own experience. The battery i was quoted from Halfords is the Yuasa, for £179.99 which appears to be the price from Euro CP.
That is correct, HSB020 from Halfords or Euro CP cost £179.99 and you are also correct about dealer, battery is around £250-£300 and £100 to tighten a few bolts and code. As soon as i get my refund, i will decide between Bosch S5 and Yuasa.
thanks for that, i agree with you, Varta and Yuasa are good alernatives to Bosch. As i mentioned, the Moll brand battery in A5 was the orginal factory fitted batter and i got 7 years from it without any issue whatsoever, even being parked up during winter for 2-3 weeks. I cannot find a price for a Moll battery, but if it s a little bit more than £200 Varta, Yuasa or Bosch, i would have that fitted, but i cannot seem to find a reseller.
