Changing the battery

[Geraldy212]

Have just ordered a new Varta battery. I can see one bolt holding down the existing battery. However there is a thin plastic surround, and I cannot see how to remove this. It seems to be in two pieces, so to remove it, is it a case of just yanking it out, or is there something I have to undo? Any tips on how to do this are welcome.

 

[LEE69]

Mine had the terminals and there was one bolt that needed an extension 13mm iirc don't drop it when it undone, then the battery lifted out.

 

[NHN]

The plastic surround is in 2 pieces, it has tabs that push into locating holes at bottom & you can angle these so they pop out & allow the parts to lift out & gain access to the 13mm bolt to left of battery, do not undo fully without having your hand ready to grab this bolt or it will drop down into rack area & possibly stay there.

 

[JaCkPoT]

Could you link me to battery as im assuming you would have been looking for a good price? Also for anyone else in the know, does it matter if a car is petrol or diesel in regards to which battery i need?

 

[Geraldy212]

Jackpot, I bought a Varta Silver dynamic battery model E44. My local French garage quoted me around €150, but I was able to buy through E-Bay France, new for around €93 (77 British pounds), with free delivery to the house. I am sure you would find a good price by Googling it and looking at internet suppliers. Otherwise, there are nice members on this site who will suggest better prices from their preferred suppliers. My A3 is a diesel, and the Varta battery has been recommended. Cannot say exactly if you have a petrol engine, but you cannot go wrong with the E44. Diesel engines do usually need a good high capacity battery due to their high compression.

 

[c_w]

BOSCH SILVER 5 is a great battery, more cranking power than most and a 5yr warranty. From Costco they're about £65

 

[Bagley-S3]

I've just put an E44 Varta (096 uk spec number) on my S3 from our Garage which I can supply for £70 but not many couriers like shipping batteries. So unless your local or arrange carriage I cannot help further. As regards to fitment I'm pretty sure most A3/S3's are fitted with 096 Batteries (E44 silver varta/ E11 blue varta if you wanted varta). There are also cheaper batteries out there obviously but like with most things, you pay for what you get and varta is one of the best in the world with the largest OE market share.

 

[Artimus]

The plastic surround is in 2 pieces, it has tabs that push into locating holes at bottom & you can angle these so they pop out & allow the parts to lift out & gain access to the 13mm bolt to left of battery, do not undo fully without having your hand ready to grab this bolt or it will drop down into rack area & possibly stay there.

I did that last year when I changed my Battery, Luckily I have one of these & one of These! Cheap, but invaluable when you need them. :thumbsup:

 

[coxy8329]

I got a Varta E77 off Ebay £76 with free next day delivery.
12V 77AH 096 Varta Silver E44 Heavy Duty Car Battery 5 Years Warranty Audi/BMW | eBay

 

[NHN]

Yeap Ultra Dynamic Silver is the one to get.

 

[coxy8329]

Yeap Ultra Dynamic Silver is the one to get.

Yep it's the one you've recommended many times before.

 

[Jordan427]

How are the Unipart batteries? I had to get whatever I could get my hands on, which was a Unipart Samson (UGCGBA4096) with 680cca. These any good?

 

[c_w]

It appears the VARTA Silver and BOSCH S5 are probably the same battery. Both have the same outputs and they are in fact connected through a group of companies.

 

[NHN]

Yeah I agree, Varta, Bosch, Siemens all are linked in some shape or form.

What is rather silly is, audi offer a 2yr warranty, but allot of indy suppliers offer 4-5yr warranties on the same batteries.

I'll give Varta there due, when my battery went dead in Italy, mainly due to non usage tbh on our 2nd car & then cold snap, even though audi supplied it, they went out of there way to get it replaced by a Varta dealer in Italy, very impressed, as for Bosch, my dealings with there tech support has been very poor, on the Dremel line that is on a 100% warranty issue, but alas.

 

[Geraldy212]

Thanks to NHN, I was aware of the problem of dropping the battery securing bolt when undoing or retightening. Yes it was a pig to get at, but was able to squeeze my hand down far enough to grab it. Here is a tip. When replacing the bolt, use some of that thin green garden wire. Wrap a couple of turns around the bolt just under the head, and hold the other end in your hand. Lower the bolt into the hole, and then make a few turns with the 13mm socket. As soon as the thread catches the bolt, you can just pull the wire off the bolt. This worked for me, and I always had the bolt captured by the wire if it slipped.