Do estate cars have the same batteries?

[snorri]

Make sure you get the battery with capacity appropriate to the vehicle model. Physical size has little to do with it.
Someone in the garage had changed the battery in my new car before I had bought it which caused no problem until winter when the engine was difficult to start due to the cold. Tests proved the battery to be ok, but no one checked the battery capacity which was later found to be below that required for my engine size.

 

[Globalti]

Also check the condition of the battery cables and the starter motor to chassis cable as these can rust inside and lose capacity.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Reminds me of an electrician some years ago, looking sadly at some frazzled cables on a machine...
' Its had it...all the smoke's come out of the wires'

I can't find it now, but there used to be a site that purported to sell ;
'Grinder Sparks' (posted in a damp paper-bag)
'Safety Sandals' (an actual product now!)
'Glass Hammers' etc....

My merc has the battery in the boot. If it goes flat you have to unlock the front door with the key (only the front doors have a key hole) open the back doors, lower the back seats and climb in the boot, (removing all the stuff in it if full), take a little cover off the inside of the tailgate and release the tailgate. You can then get to the battery under the floor.

So did our XKR, & it was a biggie!!

 

[Vapin' Joe]

However, if it was a British car, you could possibly substitute that emissions for genuine Lucas harness smoke

Joe Lucas, known among the motorcycling fraternity as The Prince of Darkness.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Joe Lucas, known among the motorcycling fraternity as The Prince of Darkness.

And amongst the Land-Rover drivers too (of which I was a member for many years, but are currently, & sadly, without a Solihull product)

 

[Profpointy]

[QUOTE 4032973, member: 9609"]What is it with mercedes and hiding the battery, I was desperately trying to get a truck started one morning and I thought I would jump it off the wifes 300td, it should have a seriously big battery on it - It took me ages to find the dam thing, it was hidden under the rear seat.[/QUOTE]

Took me a while to find the one in the Landy as well. Bought a new battery as symptoms alone were enough to convince me it was the battery rather than the various other things - opened the bonnet to fit the thing - where t-f is it ?

Under the front passenger seat is the answer. I worked it out as it was the only space big enough for it to actually be hidden in

 

[T4tomo]

My old Volvo V90 had the battery in the boot too. Was actually more accessible for giving jump stars

 

[slowmotion]

If you are changing any battery, do yourself a big favour...make sure you know the security code for the radio/stereo. You may have to re-enter it when the new battery jumps into life. Getting a lost code from a main dealer requires all sorts of obsure documentation, DNA tests etc.

Also, even if the new battery fits in the bay and has suitable electrical characteristics, please make sure that the battery leads reach to the terminals and can be tightened up. Been there...done that...

 

[classic33]

I can't find it now, but there used to be a site that purported to sell ;
'Grinder Sparks' (posted in a damp paper-bag)
'Safety Sandals' (an actual product now!)
'Glass Hammers' etc....
So did our XKR, & it was a biggie!!

or

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

My old Volvo V90 had the battery in the boot too. Was actually more accessible for giving jump stars

All coil-sprung Landies (90/110/27/130) batteries are under the seat.

I was fed up of taking the seat-base out, when I had my last one, & was offering jump-starts (or basically expected to, at work), so got a pair of Anderson Plugs
The guy who serviced the electric tugs that were used in the Hospital grounds crimped the connectors for me, as he had the correct crimpers

I didn't mount it where photographed, but cut out the side of the seat-box, & hit it under a flap of the carpet

 

[swee'pea99]

My mum's ancient Beetle had the battery under the back seat. Driving along one day and my mate in the back seat said it seemed to be getting really hot. Pulled over & yanked the seat up, and smoke started coming out. Turned out a spring had come loose and shorted out the battery, and sparks had set the seat padding smouldering. It's actually surprisingly hard to stop the spread of a seat-padding inferno....but we managed it somehow.

 

[swee'pea99]

My mum's ancient Beetle had the battery under the back seat. Driving along one day and my mate in the back seat said it seemed to be getting really hot. Pulled over & yanked the seat up, and smoke started coming out. Turned out a spring had come loose and shorted out the battery, and sparks had set the seat padding smouldering. It's actually surprisingly hard to stop the spread of a seat-padding inferno....but we managed it somehow.

 

[swee'pea99]

That story was so interesting I just felt I had to tell it four times...

 

[Over The Hill]

[QUOTE 4032973, member: 9609"]What is it with mercedes and hiding the battery, I was desperately trying to get a truck started one morning and I thought I would jump it off the wifes 300td, it should have a seriously big battery on it - It took me ages to find the dam thing, it was hidden under the rear seat.[/QUOTE]

I did see after I had done this that somewhere under the bonnet are some connection points so I can either be jump started or use the car to jump start by connecting the leads under there somewhere, but I have not even attempted to find these.
My daughter is learning to drive and you have to know how to check oil, washer and brake fluid. I showed her how on her VW fox and then said now do the same on my car. Washer and oil fine, but even I could not find the brake fluid reservoir. For some reason it needs a black cover over it with no markings on it to show what is there.

Cars are a constant frustration. I used to do all sorts of jobs, I could follow a Haynes manual and take the head off a metro or change the gearbox in a spitfire. You could change a starter motor in your lunch break and still have time for a sandwich. Now even the most routine things need special tools and are so complicated.

 

[swee'pea99]

Cars are a constant frustration. I used to do all sorts of jobs, I could follow a Haynes manual and take the head off a metro or change the gearbox in a spitfire. You could change a starter motor in your lunch break and still have time for a sandwich. Now even the most routine things need special tools and are so complicated.

Yeah, but the difference is, you had to. Now they hardly ever go wrong. Seems like progress to me...

(Tho' I would qualify that by saying I'm pleased neither of my vehicles have any kind of 'black box' in them - the moment you put a silicon chip in a vehicle, anything that does go wrong gets very expensive very quickly.)