Battery woes

WillsSayers · February 2, 2010, 09:13

Right so the cold weather has finished my battery off good and proper. Toyota don't have them in stock so I popped to Halfords and they had one that was listed as being compatible. Bought it, brought it home, took old battery out, put new battery in. Went to fit the clamps from the old battery on to the new one and they're far too big! Went to Halfords to see if they had any clamps and they don't do any small enough to fit on the terminals of the new battery.

Can anyone suggest what I should do? I could try a motor factors for a battery, but worried I may have the same issue with the terminals! S'pose I could just give it a try s:(

s:(

Anonymous · February 2, 2010, 09:19

Been discussed many times before, Halfrauds list the wrong number for the battery: It's the next number up or down (can't remember which), quick search on here should give you the right code for the right battery. s:)

s:)

WillsSayers · February 2, 2010, 09:36

Oh for F**K sake! As if I fell foul of not searching having been a member for this long........

Found the information I need, thank you very much Daniel. I'm off to go bang my head off a wall for being a nonce.

Anonymous · February 2, 2010, 09:40

s:lol: :lol: s:lol: s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

I was just going to write "FFS USE TEH SEARCH YUO N00B!" but thought that might've been a little harsh s;)

s;)

E · February 2, 2010, 09:41

I have the Halfords battery on my car it is the number that they list but to fit our car there should be some small lead collars that space out the terminals, go back to the battery section and you will probably find some of the batteries have them and some don't get them to either swap the battery or give you a set of the spacers.

WillsSayers · February 2, 2010, 09:46

Aiye but should be a world of simple if I get the other battery which supposedly has the correct fitting terminals s:)

s:)

loadswine · February 2, 2010, 10:41

Glad you're on the right track now Wills. I'm surprised some clever person didn't try and say it was another V6 fault. Lol. s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

WillsSayers · February 2, 2010, 12:50

Haha you should hear what people say about my car at work......... Granted it does spend more time off the road than on, but that's largely because as a 10 year old car, some parts are beginning to fall off!

Gif · February 6, 2010, 21:26

Just to confirm cos I couldn't see it written up in the thread.

The Halfords catalogue says model number for the MR2 2001-2006 is HB054. This has got the smaller battery posts and won't fit your cables. The guy in the shop said there was something Japanese about it so whether it fits imports I have no idea. Perhaps someone could confirm?

The model you want is HB053 (which is listed below it in the catalogue for the Toyota Picnic).

Don't get caught out like I almost did. Alongside HB054 on the shelf there was an exact same shape and spec model (HB057) with the larger posts. It has the polarity reversed on the battery posts so will only fit on backwards and I doubt the cables would reach s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

spit · February 7, 2010, 11:35

Quote from: "Gif"The guy in the shop said there was something Japanese about it so whether it fits imports I have no idea. Perhaps someone could confirm?

Yes. 054 for imports.

Occasionally you can find a 'one size fits all' battery with small terminals that comes with lead collets to resize for UK/EU.

SteveJ · February 7, 2010, 12:48

I like the way Halfrauds charge £72.99 for the HB053 & £63.99 for the HB054

They are the same capacity & dimensions except the HB053 has 2 lead shims wrapped around the posts s:!: :!: s:!: Guess what I did when I bought a new battery s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

Rip-Off merchants s:evil: :evil: s:evil:

WillsSayers · February 7, 2010, 13:54

Aiye, to round this one off, Gif has been bang on with his information. 053 is the one you want, however there's still something to watch out for! The lad behind the counter told me that sometimes they ship out batteries with the wrong terminals. As if to prove this, they had two 053 batteries in stock; one with the small terminals and one with the larger correct terminals.

So goes to show, even if you've got the right number, check, double check and tripple check that the terminals are correct!!!!

normanh · February 7, 2010, 19:13

I think that price in Halfrauds is a total rip off, just bought one for my works Honda diesel £48 and it was branded packed nicely in a Honda box off the shelf. Its for a 2.2 litre diesel so its huge the size of a milk crate almost.

norman

mrzwei · February 7, 2010, 19:27

Most previous threads on here have concluded that Toyota is the most cost effective source for a new battery. Funny old world.

WillsSayers · February 7, 2010, 19:38

Problem being, Toyota don't necessarily have them in stock. Isn't a problem if you have a 2nd car to hand or another means of transport, but if you NEED a replacement battery ASAP then you need to get yourself down to Halfords. And that's where they get you by the danglies - if you're at Halfords it's out of neccessity and they'll charge whatever they like; knowing full well you have no alternative but to pay s;)

s;)

Gif · February 7, 2010, 19:53

+1

Even though I had another set of wheels, it was Saturday afternoon and I couldn't be ar5ed to wait around until Monday morning when Mr T decides whether or not he will open his spares counter to tell me they will have one by the end of the week.

Is it just me or has the whole concept of "stock" been lost somewhere along the line? I hate retailers who think that I am going to visit their premises to be told I have to come back in a week to buy what I went there for now s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

The huge irony is they call their stock systems "JIT" (Just in Time) which they are patently not. At least Halfrauds have things on the shelf most of the time which is why they charge more. I for one am willing to pay for that privilege s:bowdown: :bowdown: s:bowdown: .

mrzwei · February 7, 2010, 20:39

Ok, ok, sorry I posted guys s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

WillsSayers · February 8, 2010, 08:10

Quote from: "mrzwei"Ok, ok, sorry I posted guys s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Yes, back to your cave! SHOO! SHOO! s:D

s:D

furkh · October 1, 2010, 18:57

Quote from: "Gif"Just to confirm cos I couldn't see it written up in the thread.

The Halfords catalogue says model number for the MR2 2001-2006 is HB054. This has got the smaller battery posts and won't fit your cables. The guy in the shop said there was something Japanese about it so whether it fits imports I have no idea. Perhaps someone could confirm?

The model you want is HB053 (which is listed below it in the catalogue for the Toyota Picnic).

Don't get caught out like I almost did. Alongside HB054 on the shelf there was an exact same shape and spec model (HB057) with the larger posts. It has the polarity reversed on the battery posts so will only fit on backwards and I doubt the cables would reach s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

hey, would you by any chance know if this battery is the right size?

m http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... _861wt_911 m

Cheers

Gif · October 1, 2010, 20:02

This is spec of the Halfords battery

Startup power: 330 Amps
AH Value: 45
Reserve capacity: 70
Bench Charge: 4.5 Amps
Weight (kg): 13.1
Dimensions (LxDxH): 238x129x227mm
Guarantee: 3 Years

The 053 model designation implies it is the same but there are differences. For a start the dimensions are not the same in that eBay ad but not sure if that would stop it fitting in a 2. TBH without seeing it in the flesh it is pretty hard to tell in terms of polarity and the post size. Oh it's half the price of the Halfords one (why???). Mr T is known to be one of the best places for the battery anyway.

Before I bought it I would ask them to confirm it fits, after all they are selling it s:)

s:)

furkh · October 1, 2010, 20:12

Quote from: "Gif"This is spec of the Halfords battery

Startup power: 330 Amps
AH Value: 45
Reserve capacity: 70
Bench Charge: 4.5 Amps
Weight (kg): 13.1
Dimensions (LxDxH): 238x129x227mm
Guarantee: 3 Years

The 053 model designation implies it is the same but there are differences. For a start the dimensions are not the same in that eBay ad but not sure if that would stop it fitting in a 2. TBH without seeing it in the flesh it is pretty hard to tell in terms of polarity and the post size. Oh it's half the price of the Halfords one (why???). Mr T is known to be one of the best places for the battery anyway.

Before I bought it I would ask them to confirm it fits, after all they are selling it s:) s:)

cheers :-) :-) :-)

i called Toyota, and the have said 56 plus vat, which isnt bad. but, if this fits, its another 20 pounds cheaper... i'll give them a call tomorrow!

thanks for your response! i'll post their answer on here!

aaronjb · October 1, 2010, 20:21

Quote from: "SteveJ"They are the same capacity & dimensions except the HB053 has 2 lead shims wrapped around the posts s:!: :!: s:!: Guess what I did when I bought a new battery s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

Joined the Halfords trade club and got it for half the listed price? s;)

s;)

MisterK · October 18, 2010, 15:11

Toyota charge £63.22 Inc VAT - part no T28800-YZZJU. Rang 3 local dealers and all quoted same price. Toyota World Tamworth had one in stock. Last year they were £40 ish. Apprantly they have upgraded them!!!! Original one on car from new was Panasonic & has lasted 6.5 yrs but getting a bit tired now. New one branded 'Toyota'. Obviously you pay for the name. Cleaned my MAF whilst the battery was off - God what a difference! Noticable better response.
MarkK

SteveJ · October 18, 2010, 15:47

Quote from: "aaronjb"
Quote from: "SteveJ"They are the same capacity & dimensions except the HB053 has 2 lead shims wrapped around the posts s:!: :!: s:!: Guess what I did when I bought a new battery s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

Joined the Halfords trade club and got it for half the listed price? s;) s;)

And swapped the shims too - only paid £12 s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

michaelasaunders · November 12, 2010, 22:49

My battery died yesterday, just after I had plugged in my new bluetooth OBD2 reader.

So, I didnt want to go down the Halfords route and the Toyota dealer closed down in Gloucester last year.

I decided on this one from Tayna.co.uk

Type 048 Varta Asia Car Battery 12V 45Ah
(Short Code: B32)
(Varta DIN: 545 156 033)
Its just less then 1kg lighter then my old stock Toyota battery, and is better specced.

Here is the link
m http://www.tayna.co.uk/Type-048-Varta-A ... P3205.html m

Cost was £65.84
Fitted O.K
I did need to get the inserts as well,