Technical Change battery for bigger one

[atomicwolf]

Silly question on batteries !

If I was to replace the Punto battery- 12V/40Ah- with a battery out of a Mondeo- 12v/60Ah, would there be any downside, (blowing fuses, etc)?
Apart from the actual size of the battery for fitting.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Silly question on batteries !

If I was to replace the Punto battery- 12V/40Ah- with a battery out of a Mondeo- 12v/60Ah, would there be any downside, (blowing fuses, etc)?
Apart from the actual size of the battery for fitting.

Nope, should be ok if it physically fits, its just a larger capacity that's all

 

[fingers99]

And extra weight.

But why?

 

[PuntoHowTo]

Just fit a battery for a diesel punto, will fit the battery tray and higher capacity, I think a Mondeo battery might not physically fit the tray

 

[atomicwolf]

And extra weight.

But why?

The reason I asked specifically about the mondeo battery, is because I have a spare one sitting in my house.

Many thanks for your quick responses, all of you, most helpful.

 

[gijohn2]

If its bigger just remove the basket that sits round the battery then fasten the new battery down with a ratchet strap or similar, it's what I did with mine and its fine

 

[oldhammer]

To fit a bigger battery' you are best off changing the battery tray & box
these are cheap in scrap yard's .

The 1.9d & JTD derv model's and 1.8 HGT has bigger trays/box
than 1.2 8valve and 16valve model's.

only know this as ive done it myself,

 

[oldhammer]

If its bigger just remove the basket that sits round the battery then fasten the new battery down with a ratchet strap or similar, it's what I did with mine and its fine

the ratchet idea is good if battery is insecure.
but tbh id secure it in as it was originaly meant to be,

 

[Brendan W]

Thing to remember about bigger batteries is that your charging system will have to work harder to bring it from 70% to 100% charge. Think of them as a tank of water and the voltage is the level. It will take a bigger pump to top it off in the same time or the same pump will have to work longer. You could say no odds because 10Ah from a 40Ah battery is 25% but it's only 16% of a 60Ah battery so the charging system has the same 10Ah to replace whichever battery is fitted. Which again raises Fingers question - Why?
If you are planning on bigger loads then there will be bigger currents for longer running in the system and you would neeed to think about alternator capacity and connections and overheating.
An 'advantage' of the bigger battery is that if the car is not starting easily it will have more capacity to keep cranking until it fires although it's probably not the best way to solve a starting problem.
IIRC Puntos started with 28Ah units in the pre electric p/s days and gradually rose to 36Ah. Most now fit 40+. The added capacity will help reduce the incidence of steering tripping out.
All that said it is very rare to find problems fitting a larger battery.

 

[jonik]

I have 168Ah worth of batterys and no problems

 

[homeward]

I have 168Ah worth of batterys and no problems

Yes: but most of the Puntos on here bear as much relation to your car as I do to Brad Pitt (or even Angelina Jolie...)!

 

[gijohn2]

the ratchet idea is good if battery is insecure.
but tbh id secure it in as it was originaly meant to be,

This is what i did

 

[oldhammer]

This is what i did

it looks good and secure,

but take care when and if ever removing it, just incase metal clasp on strap touches postitive post and makes contact with metal,
it wouid take the punto's wiring out in a matter of secounds.

 

[Monkeh16]

That's why the first thing you do is disconnect the negative terminal.

 

[a1ant]

Hi,

Just a couple of points to add to the already excellent advice thats been given....

If you do fit a bigger/ smaller/ different shape battery, you MUST make sure that it is secure!. This is not just for your safety, but so that you dont get in trouble with the law as well. An insecure battery could for example lead to you being fined and or points on your license if you were to be pulled by the police/ vosa and have the vehicle inspected. Also an insecure battery is a straight MOT fail.

Secondly, you MUST ensure that the positive terminal of the battery clears all surrounding bodywork INCLUDING the metal clamp! I once saw a punto that had fitted a different battery. It was slightly shorter than the original...thus the clamp did not tighten down on the top of the battery. The owner braked hard for some traffic lights, the battery slid forward and the positive terminal made contact with the metal clamp... the car caught fire.

Alan

 

[oldhammer]

iactualy set fire to a fiat once,

battery was knackerd so ifitted another one, then slammed bonnet down,
it didnt take long to realise my mistake, went to pull bonnet catch quicky as ihead all the fizzling noise.. Snap,. cable gone,

out with the crowbar, this was a relativly new'ish mk1 panda back then,
ilearnt from my mistake, and the fireman gave me an earful,

 

[atomicwolf]

Well, what can I say. There is so much info here and all of it good. Many thanks to all of you.
And on that note, I think I might have to just try and work out why the current ( )battery is going flat within a few days. Something seems to be draining it and it's not the CD/Radio because I've had that out since day one. No lights are being left on and there are no motors still running, so it's probably down to testing the circuits somehow.

 

[s and b]

you may need to fully charge it before fitment as an alternator cannot do this alone

 

[s and b]

forgot to add
on these cars if radio disconnected but you still get a parasitic draw then its always a faulty diode in the alternator
you need to remove main cable and tickle cable off alternator to confirm though
replacement unit best option if confirmed

 

[flisko]

Well, what can I say. There is so much info here and all of it good. Many thanks to all of you.
And on that note, I think I might have to just try and work out why the current ( )battery is going flat within a few days. Something seems to be draining it and it's not the CD/Radio because I've had that out since day one. No lights are being left on and there are no motors still running, so it's probably down to testing the circuits somehow.

you got alarm?