Haynes’ World is a regular feature that takes a look at what the staff at Haynes are doing with their vehicles. This time, Euan’s been helping to fit new batteries to his partner's Skoda Fabia, and her mum's Fiesta.
It’s amazing how the average homo sapiens is basically a flesh, blood and bone replica of a battery.
It’s true. When you’re young, you’re full of energy, ready to go at a moment’s notice, and you barely need any recharging time before you’re ready for the next energy-intensive day.
However, when you get older you take a bit longer to get going in the morning, your overall energy levels are lower, and the cold weather really saps your reserves. Right now, I feel like an aged battery.
Fabia battery feels a bit flat
It turns out that the battery in my girlfriend Tracey’s 2009 Skoda Fabia, and her mum’s 2015 Ford Fiesta feel about the same as me when the mercury drops.
Tracey’s car had been running perfectly fine, until she left it sitting for a few days during a recent cold snap. She came back out to it, jumped in, turned the key and… click.
I loaned her my jump pack, which got the car going, but the same thing happened the following week. The battery wasn’t holding a charge.
Hey ho. We invested in a new one, I consulted the Haynes Skoda Fabia manual, and had the old one out in about five minutes. The new battery was fitted five minutes after that, and all was right with the world.
Fiesta battery is dead, too
At which point the phone rang.
Tracey’s mum was on the blower to say she’d done exactly the same as Tracey (left her car sitting for a few days) and the battery had cried enough. It was the unit that had been in the 2015 car since new, so it had put in a fair shift.
She’d called her breakdown provider, who diagnosed that the battery was showing no sign of life, but they wouldn’t be able to fit a new one for a week. Hence the phone call.
So, I bought another new battery then trooped round there after studying the relevant Haynes Ford Fiesta manual.
Again, the old unit was disconnected in a few minutes, and the new one installed a few minutes after that. This time in the pouring sleet.
The subsequent cup of tea was much needed, and gave me a welcome recharge after toiling in the cold. As I said – I feel like an ageing battery these days.
However, the whole experience has brought one thing into sharp focus – try not to leave your car sitting for more than a week without starting it. At best, you'll keep the battery topped up with charge, and at worst, you'll soon know if the battery is struggling to retain all the electricity it should be. Or, if you park your car in a garage with a power supply, connect it to a battery conditioner/maintainer.
Either way, you shouldn't end up stranded.
