New battery time
Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 2:43 pm
After just over 8 years from new my OEM fitted battery finally decided that this was its last winter.
I have replaced it with a Yuasa YBX9019 AGM battery (95Ah, 850CCA) and used a fully paid Carly subscription to recode the new battery to the car. Tayna had the best deal at just over £168 delivered on a Saturday - that was only an extra £2. Well done Tayna.
Several warning lights were on when first re-started but using the trick the E53 owners know where you swing the steering from lock to lock whilst just slowly moving (forwards or backwards) clears them.
Many of the memory, radio, climate, TV etc settings were all retained. Only the time was lost and mpg value was reset. The date was retained.
You will need a small cross-point screwdriver to get the battery trim cover off (5 screws), a 10mm socket to undo the three bolts holding the battery clamps down, a small straight-blade screwdriver to release two little push down tabs (on top and near centre of) that hold the distribution board onto the battery (you need to push the tabs down and then slide the spring steel locks outwards from the centre to release the dis board), and a 13mm socket to allow the distribution board to be removed from the main connection.
I found that by moving the battery a couple of inches to the right and forward then I could more easily get all the wiring looms clear and clips off with no drama. newtis.info holds a lot of useful info, but it mentions undoing two nuts on the negative terminal (one of which is for the IBS sensor). This is not necessary! Just loosen the single 10mm nut to release the negative lead. The sensor is inside a black plastic cover that does not want to come apart so ignore that reference. Any force on the IBS will break it!
It all goes back very simply - don’t forget the vent hose - and all is well.
The whole job took about 30 mins because of my not being familiar with where everything was so going carefully. Recoding took just a couple of minutes, although Carly doesn’t have a 95Ah battery setting. I doubt it will make a significant difference. I just reset it as a 90Ah AGM type.
I have also found that the battery having been in storage for a few months (3 for mine) that an initial charge will mean you have a fresh battery to play with
One teensy note of caution. These batteries are large and heavy (26.6kgs) so if you have a bad back as I do, wear a brace/support. I found that putting the battery on a set of steps beside the car saved bending/lifting to ground level.
I have replaced it with a Yuasa YBX9019 AGM battery (95Ah, 850CCA) and used a fully paid Carly subscription to recode the new battery to the car. Tayna had the best deal at just over £168 delivered on a Saturday - that was only an extra £2. Well done Tayna.
Several warning lights were on when first re-started but using the trick the E53 owners know where you swing the steering from lock to lock whilst just slowly moving (forwards or backwards) clears them.
Many of the memory, radio, climate, TV etc settings were all retained. Only the time was lost and mpg value was reset. The date was retained.
You will need a small cross-point screwdriver to get the battery trim cover off (5 screws), a 10mm socket to undo the three bolts holding the battery clamps down, a small straight-blade screwdriver to release two little push down tabs (on top and near centre of) that hold the distribution board onto the battery (you need to push the tabs down and then slide the spring steel locks outwards from the centre to release the dis board), and a 13mm socket to allow the distribution board to be removed from the main connection.
I found that by moving the battery a couple of inches to the right and forward then I could more easily get all the wiring looms clear and clips off with no drama. newtis.info holds a lot of useful info, but it mentions undoing two nuts on the negative terminal (one of which is for the IBS sensor). This is not necessary! Just loosen the single 10mm nut to release the negative lead. The sensor is inside a black plastic cover that does not want to come apart so ignore that reference. Any force on the IBS will break it!
It all goes back very simply - don’t forget the vent hose - and all is well.
The whole job took about 30 mins because of my not being familiar with where everything was so going carefully. Recoding took just a couple of minutes, although Carly doesn’t have a 95Ah battery setting. I doubt it will make a significant difference. I just reset it as a 90Ah AGM type.
I have also found that the battery having been in storage for a few months (3 for mine) that an initial charge will mean you have a fresh battery to play with
One teensy note of caution. These batteries are large and heavy (26.6kgs) so if you have a bad back as I do, wear a brace/support. I found that putting the battery on a set of steps beside the car saved bending/lifting to ground level.
