Upgrading Starter Battery - how to guide

[Drive Wayne]

Thanks DW.
On another point regarding coding. I have VCDS but my current lead says I need to upgrade to hex-v2 @ £225.00
obd11 looks to be a cheaper option.
Is there a massive difference in functionality apart from battery coding?

I coded mine on my original Carista. VAO is the code for Bosch. You're welcome to take a drive to me in Aldridge, save your £225!

 

[chasetrailbuilda]

Thanks DW, I might take you up on that when I do it, although I have a mate who has a new Skoda and it's his lead I use, so we might split the cost of the new one if his car needs it too.

 

[Drive Wayne]

Thanks DW, I might take you up on that when I do it, although I have a mate who has a new Skoda and it's his lead I use, so we might split the cost of the new one if his car needs it too.

I'll be driving to you then to do the difficult stuff!

 

[DanTK]

Hey all, the Varta EFB+ battery currently installed in my T6.1 is on its way out and I now want to replace it with an AGM equivalent. Can anyone confirm that the larger battery such as the Bosch /Varta G14/Exide EK950 will fit in a T6.1? I see most installations are concerning the T6 and I'm not sure if there's a difference in how these batteries fit between the two models?

I've also noticed on top of my battery is a little connector box with cables, I'm assuming these are factory installed? Will these cause issues with how it fits on top of the bigger battery?

View attachment 252179

Hi folks,
So just read through this whole topic.
Can anyone confirm that the 95Ah battery will fit into a t6.1, all be it with a bit of a squeeze and as markc84 said, the box on top fits ok onto the larger battery.
Apologies, if I've missed it.

@markc84 & @chasetrailbuilda - I too have a connector box on top of my battery. Was wondering if you were successfully able to change to a larger 95ah battery and still had space to re-attach the connector box without any dramas? Never realised having a van would cause me to think so much about batteries!!

 

[markc84]

@markc84 & @chasetrailbuilda - I too have a connector box on top of my battery. Was wondering if you were successfully able to change to a larger 95ah battery and still had space to re-attach the connector box without any dramas? Never realised having a van would cause me to think so much about batteries!!

Hi @DanTK,
I managed to fit in an Exide EK950 95ah battery in to my T6.1, it was a bit of a struggle but it went in just fine. The connector box just clipped in on top like on the old battery, had absolutely no issues at all and the new battery has been great since installation.

 

[whodat]

When you say;a bit of a struggle', can you quantify? 1 to 10 (10 bad)
for example....
1 - you put it on the floor by the van and it jumped in itself
5 - you, as a mere mortal, lifted the battery into the compartment and wiggled it for a couple minutes till it dropped in
10 - after copious amounts of blood, sweat, tears and some live sacrifices, the gods decided to let the battery fit after many hours struggling.

 

[FerrisBFW]

Help please.

I think my van needs recoding for a new battery fitted a while back.

I fitted a bigger battery back when I purchased it and ever since on my little battery meter thing it can never get above 80~85% charged, and after a few short trips it starts to struggle closing doors etc and will drop to c65%.

Tested the charging today with a multi-meter and it all seems fine. I have read today with Carista I should be able to recode it, not so.

So my van is a 2014 Caravelle 180BiTDI DSG 4motion with Stop/Start, any thoughts?

 

[whodat]

Ring around a few local mechanics. It will take them 5 minutes to do it if you can't do it with Carista. Find one who sounds friendly and not hungry and give them a few squid. Good to know a friendly local mech anyway - and what better opportunity than to ring round with a tiny and non urgent problem and see who accommodates you.
There is a thing with AGM batteries that they don't tend to charge up above a certain amount but how many years ago did you fit the battery? If it is 5 years, you might be coming to end of life. What make battery? What warranty? What amp/hour?

 

[ginkster]

Help please.

I think my van needs recoding for a new battery fitted a while back.

I fitted a bigger battery back when I purchased it and ever since on my little battery meter thing it can never get above 80~85% charged, and after a few short trips it starts to struggle closing doors etc and will drop to c65%.

Tested the charging today with a multi-meter and it all seems fine. I have read today with Carista I should be able to recode it, not so.

So my van is a 2014 Caravelle 180BiTDI DSG 4motion with Stop/Start, any thoughts?

It all sounds fine. Ignore the percentage as that is normally rubbish on something like a BM2 monitor. The smart alternator on a T6 will only charge the battery to about 80% so it has room to charge while braking etc. When you unlock the van lots of modules fire up and will pull the voltage down which is why you are seeing the drop. If you’ve been running for a few months the van will have adjusted to the new battery so coding now will not really help. If you’ve do want to do it it can be done with Carista but only via the beta version. See their website to sign up.

I’d just monitor the voltage. If it’s sitting around 12.5-6v and hour after running the van (without having just unlocked and no loads on) and not dropping below about 12.2 after a couple of week inactivity it’s all fine.

Edit: just noticed you said it was a bigger battery. In this case it may be worth coding as part of that is telling the vehicle the size of the battery. Doubt it will make much difference though!