Battery

Compiled by Dot

Mike Knowles

The battery seems to last only for a short (2 weeks usually) due to the drain imposed by the alarm system. A good idea to combat this is to purchase a battery conditioner.

The Elise battery bracket is also quite an interesting design, meaning that it doesn't always properly secure the battery (especially when 3rd party batteries are used) which can lead to the battery sliding around and shorting out on the chassis. Therefore, take great care to have the battery secured with the bracket and/or anything else that will do the job. See here for a possible online source of batteries that fit without clamp problems.

Replacing the battery doesn't require the clam to be removed, but it's not a pleasant job.

The first symptom of the battery dying on you comes when you try and start the car and you get a clicking from behind your head and an associated dimming of the dash in time with the clicks.

Matt Daniels
Posted 10 February 2002 at 21:51:50 UK time

Info on my website here: http://www.mattdaniels.co.uk/elise/faq/electrics/battery_info.htm

Halfords sell a suitable replacement (HCB063 heavy duty, about £40) which will fit but you will need to cut a strip of wood to bolster the handle in order for the battery clamp to get sufficient purchase to stop the battery moving around. If the battery moves it may short out. If this happens you may see symptoms such as the Stack dashboard resetting itself whilst you are driving along, with the needles pointing straight up and the tell-tale lights illuminating.

All Elises are slightly different under the front services compartment in terms of where exactly the cable ties are, but when I replaced my battery the only things i had to do was loosen the screws on the radiator surround so that there was a little "give" in it, remove the wiper motor cover (the black plastic bit between the bonnet catch and the chassis info sticker) and hold the ribbed black plastic cable cover to the right of the battery out of the way as I lifted the battery clear.

It's worse getting the new one in as its difficult not to catch and squash cables and things underneath the battery as you push it down into place.

T Edwards
Posted 24 February 2002 at 20:38:45 UK time

Bought a new battery for the Elise Jan 02, make is german "Hoppecke", its a silver alloy calcium, with a 4 year guarantee @ £58.75. This fits the original bracket with no messing about with bits of wood!

tut
Posted 09 February 2002 at 08:48:39 UK time

I checked out the one SimonS recommended, the Varta Blue Dynamic B18-543 023 039.
Had one fitted during the service yesterday, and the cost was only £37.50 + VAT, no problems with fitting.

Ruggs
Posted 24 February 2002 at 19:47:35 UK time

Bosch silver, but get the S2 battery holder which has side bits. About £7
Otherwise the battery may slide and a terminal hit the chassis. Matt Benny's car caught on fire when it happened to his.

Editors note: You are supposed to put gel (vaseline will do) on the terminals too.

Battery - Possible Sources

Compiled by Fd

What appear to be sources for the OEM (Tungstone on later cars) and possible replacement batteries that actully fit the car without modifying the battery clamp, as recommended by BBS users.

John Mason (Batteries) Ltd.
122 Dundyvan Road
Coatbridge, Larnarkshire, ML5 1DE
Scotland
Tel: +44 (0) 1236 625555
http://www.jmbltd.co.uk/

Battery Services (Automotive) Ltd
Unit 47, Lunsford Rd
Leicester Leicestershire
LE5 0HW
Tel: 0116 274 1400

Batteries known to fit are listed below, however I believe that not all cars battery clamps are the same, YMMV but these are likely to be close !.

Varta Blue Dynamic B18-543 023 039 - 43A/H 390A 12.4Kg's
Tungstone 076C - 50A/H 500A 13Kg's
Exide 063SE

Trickle Charging Systems

If your cigarette lighter is live when the ignition is off (as with some older cars), you can connect a trickle charger there. Otherwise you have to lift the bonnet and make connections to the battery terminals.

http://www.unlimited-power.co.uk/Solar_Battery_Chargers.html
http://www.calamander.co.uk/batteryconditioners/airflow.htm
http://www.racecar.co.uk/airflow/batteryconditioner.htm <= seems to be the BBS favourite
http://www.microsmith.co.uk/leadacid.html
http://www.rudler.co.uk/cov%20.html

Unstable Temperature Reading - Earthing Problems

Daniel Luton
Tuesday, July 09, 2002

Sometimes the water temperature reading on the STACK can fluctuate depending on certain electrical systems being activated - the heater blower and the wiper mechanism will have the biggest impact, making the reading higher when they are switched on.

In some cases this is caused by a poor negative-earth connection from the battery in the front services compartment. There are two earth straps; one under the front services compartment, to the right of the battery (looking front-on to the car), and one in the engine compartment in the rear-left corner (facing the rear of the car). The front one seems to get corroded fairly easily, and should be removed and cleaned using the following procedure:-

1. Ensure the battery/immobiliser is disarmed (follow instruction in user manual for battery removal).
2. Remove the water washer bottle from the car - it just slots into place.
3. Loosen the nut securing the negative strap to the negative side of the battery, and pull the strap off.
4. Repeat this procedure with the positive side.
5. Undo the three bolts securing the battery bracket in place, and remove the bracket.
6. Slide the battery towards the rear of the compartment - this will allow you access to the earth-strap connecting.
7. Find the strap connection to the chassis, and undo the bolt holding it in place. Be careful not to drop any washers!
8. Remove the strap from the car.
9. Clean all connections with fine grade abrasive paper, including the connectors on the battery end, the battery terminals and the area on the chassis where the strap connects to.

Refit all connections by following the above instructions in reverse order.

Check the accuracy of the gauge by running the engine to normal level and switching on the electrical systems - hopefully the gauge should remain unaffected by the switching of the different systems.

Disclaimer : All information is supplied as a guide only.
No Guarantee as to its reliability can be issued.
You use this information entirely at your own risk.

No Reproduction or Reuse without prior written consent.

© Elise FAQ Team 2002