The best way to find out what battery you need would be to look at the online manual for your car.

Actually, if you go into any car accessories shop these days they can take your registration number and the computer will tell them the correct parts to go with that car.

What car is it you are needing a battery for mate?

>>2477
Toyota corolla 2006 1.6L petrol

>>2478

http://www.buypartsby.co.uk/buy/TOYOTA/COROLLA/_VERSO/1.6/2006/__/73/electrical-lighting/electrical/car-batteries/

Hope that helps. By the way all I did was google what you gave me above plus "what battery".

Oh, btw, for future reference what is important here is what type of "post" the battery has, and the amperage output. If you can find any battery that has the same amperage and the same type of post (the bit the leads attach two) you can use it without a problem.

>>2480
Thanks for the response.

Is the Amperage 540A for my battery? (According to that Bosch battery.)

What are the different sorts of posts? I'll have a look when I get back. Is "Pole pos. 0, Terminal type 1" have anything to do with the posts?

I'm meant to call the "battery man" who will ask me what type of battery I have and he'll fit me the equivalent for £50 including labour.

>>2481

£50 sounds dodgy to me, I've took a look on a few sites and the cheapest I can find is about £54 inc vat. Even tax free cash-in-hand and he wont be making much money. Chances are you'll get a sub-standard battery with no warranty, at worst second-hand.

The minimum amperage for the car seems to be 510 cold-cranking amps.

Not sure about the post types but you can trust the battery finders on websites.

>>2482

I don't know what you are talking about there with regards to price, lad, the link I posted showed a Bosch battery for £60. Bosch is a very reputable make.

540A sounds about correct for your battery, yes.

With regards to posts you only have two types, square and round. I don't think I need to explain to you how to determine this.

>>2483
I was talking about:
>I'm meant to call the "battery man" who will ask me what type of battery I have and he'll fit me the equivalent for £50 including labour.

>>2484

Ah, sorry, I was skim reading and I missed that part.

£50 will get you a battery but it will be an unbranded one. And if he is charging for fitting, then it really will be a shit battery.

A battery is a very easy thing to fit. It takes no skill at all and all you will need is a 10mm socket.

Are you comfortable with the idea of fitting it yourself? I can advise you on what you need to do if you like.

By the way, could you please tell us what is wrong with your current battery?

I ask this, as there is no point replacing the battery is your alternator is fucked.

>>2486
Dead because I declared it SORN.

I'll have a think if I want to fit it myself

>>2487

Might be stating the obvious here, but have you tried charging it? Lead-acid batteries are fairly rugged and will generally survive a year or more without a charge. You can get a trickle charger off eBay for about a fiver.

Fitting a car battery is a piece of piss by the way.

>>2487

If it's just dead because you SORN'd it, I can pretty much guarantee you that if you bump start the car (do you know how to do that?) and then run the engine for 15 minutes it will bring the battery back to life.

Or indeed you could spend the money on a trickle charger. The battery will more than likely be ok, if it's just dead from being left.

The sign of a truly dead battery is one that does not hold its charge when you recharge it. So if you go with any of the above advice you can save yourself a nice few quid.

>>2489

Personally, I wouldn't recommend push-starting unless OP knows someone mechanically competent. It's easy to bugger it up completely and either lose control of the vehicle or end up stuck somewhere inopportune.

>>2488
> trickle charger
I had no idea these existed, I'll probably get one of these. Cheers.

> Fitting a car battery is a piece of piss by the way.
What tools are needed to take it out? Any risks to the person?

>>2489
By bump start do you mean jumper cables or push start? as >>2490 trickle charger seems like a better option. If I wasn't such a pussy I mean mechanically competent I'd try the push start. Jump leads don't work.

>>2491
If jump leads don't work, a new battery won't either. That, or you're doing it wrong.
What happened when you tried to jump start? It sounds like you may have a problem other than / as well as the battery.

>>2492

Fucking hell, yes. If a jump start doesn't work then you certainly have some deeper issues.

Out of interest, how did you try and jump start the car? Get your jump leads, attach from RED to RED and then BLACK to BLACK on both cars and try to start from the key? Are you getting any lights on the dashboard when you turn the key on?

If you fucked up with this, you could have damaged the wiring loom.

And btw, changing a battery is a piece of piss, I outlined the tools that you need already, above somewhere, and you only need the mechanical skill of a baboon, and there are no risks, even if you are a baboon.

Just when you take the battery off, make sure you REMOVE THE BLACK NEGATIVE TERMINAL FIRST.

How long has the car been sitting for?

I want to help you with this, really, as I have quite a bit of experience with this having ran many old shitters...

By the way, jump starting is EXACTLY the same thing as attaching a new battery...

>>2492
>>2493

I didn't try and jump start it myself my brother did it. I'll give it another go. But according to this review:

> I had a dead battery in an old car and needed to start it up. I tried to use jump leads but to no avail. A 'proper' professional charger was out of the question, so I tried the Silverline. I left it on charge for about 30 hours. The transformer was warm but not too hot to handle.

Seems to suggest a trickle charger will do the trick

http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RCXGFTIGNY2HK/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B001C827ZA&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=248877031&store=automotive


It's been sitting since October. I'll try the jumper cables when I'm home in a few weeks.

What is the fool on about where he is talking about a professional charger? There is no such thing. A car battery works through electrolysis, as we all know. A car battery charger is simply a power supply that is attached to the battery which will then cause electrolysis to take place in the battery but in the reverse direction to which the battery discharged. Any old charger will do. And you will need to charge a flat battery for at least 12 hours.

>>2496

He probably means "fast" chargers as opposed to trickle chargers, or perhaps the portable ones with a battery in.

>>2495
I was pissing about trying to jumpstart a car the other day. The interior lights were on but no amount of revving on the other car would get a reaction when turning the key.

Turned out the connections were a bit loose so they limited the current output from the battery.

>>2498

That. If the engine is a bit tight from being stored, you might need in excess of 500A to turn it over, which is a properly massive amount of current. As you say, a loose or corroded connection can bugger up a jump-start. A lot of jump leads just aren't up to the job and can't carry enough current to start a car with a completely flat battery. Same goes for those portable jump-start gadgets - they rarely work if the car battery is totally flat.

>>2499
So what would you advise, get a new battery?

>>2500
Try a charger first.

>>2500

Connect up some jump leads or a starter pack and see if you get red lights on the dash board. Then if you do get dash lights, turn the key to the start position and listen for a click. If there are no clicks coming from the starter motor then this means that the starter motor may be at fault. If you do get a click or similar, then as the poster above says, the engine may be slightly siezed. If this is the case, here is what to try: put the car into FIRST GEAR and then get out of the car and go to the front and ROCK the car back and forth. The fact it is in gear will stop it from moving but the action of doing this will free up the engine. It is an old trick for sorting this problem out.

If you are still stuck after this, please post back. One of the most important things we are looking for here is noises from the starter motor IF you get red lights on the dash board.

Also, when jump starting, it's not really a good idea to rev the bollocks off of the donor cars engine, as it can cause over-voltage to occur and damage to wiring looms may ensue, which is very expensive indeed.

PROTIP: When jump starting MODERN CARS (manufactured in the last 10-15 years) after attaching the jump leads to the faulty car, SWITCH ON THE HEAD LIGHTS OF THE FAULTY CAR, this will stop any damage occurring to the cars ECU (electronic control unit). This is a technique I was taught when working as a trade plate driver delivering lorries and tractor units. The act of switching on the lights helps to prevent an overvoltage occurring.

Do you reckon you could make a wee youtube vid of what you are trying and post it up in here?

It will make the diagnosis a lot easier.

>>2488

Can I use a trickle charger with the hood down? Conscious about the rain and vandals.

>>3924
Yes.