308 battery replacement

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002wcr

New member
Tadpole
Joined
Feb 17, 2017
Messages
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Location
ballarat
Hi
I'm searching for an answer for a problem with our 2008 308 2lt diesel. The battery failed and has been replaced. Now it has a message saying there is a fault in the pollution system, or something like that, the orange engine symbol is lit on the dashboard. The cruise control also doesn't work. The old battery was just disconnected and a new one fitted, no precautions were taken.
 
Because the car's computers are always on (eg, they are waiting to detect the key signal, or a door opened, etc) the battery should be removed and refitted using the method mentioned in the car handbook.

That is after disconnection wait before doing anything (including door opening) and similarly wait at reconnection. Like a home computer you follow shutdown and reboot procedures rather than switching at the power point, or things can go astray logically. Occasionally the car misbehaviour can be spectacular. Battery failure is a form of disconnection.

The depollution fault may not be caused by this, but having cruise control go at the same time might mean computer upset. You could do a handbook disconnect and reconnect of the battery positive to see if it fixes it.

If you really have a depollution fault it is something affecting combustion, and has a number of causes (eg a failing lambda oxygen sensor is one) The only reliable way to diagnose is to read the error codes from the OBD2 port. Any mechanic can do this, or Supercheap can, or you can get a simple code only reader for about $50 or so. Note the codes shown, then reset them, and read again, to eliminate historic ones. If you post the codes members would be able to advise.
 
i have done that myself, on a 307 its rite there ,in the way, next to the battery !
 
We would quote so many people on batteries 130 fitted is pretty good for around 2016 they would say no because stealership then a week later back with a engine light it was always this not to mention they probably payed 150+ for a battery and now 50 dollar diag fee 🤡
 
You live and learn. I've changed one of those and not done that even if it is nearby.
 
Cruise always disconnects once you get a depolution fault.

Our 308 T9 is due for a battery - the stop / start doesn't always engage which I believe indicates that the battery is below 50% of rated CCA.

Hate to think what a new battery will cost ! ;)

So if I replace the battery, I can then use the stop / start again to save money on fuel to pay for a new battery !

Cheers

Justin
 
Thanks for the replies. I remember disconnecting the plug to get the battery out! I'll check that tomorrow and report.
 
N5GTi6 said:
Our 308 T9 is due for a battery - the stop / start doesn't always engage which I believe indicates that the battery is below 50% of rated CCA.

Hate to think what a new battery will cost ! ;)

So if I replace the battery, I can then use the stop / start again to save money on fuel to pay for a new battery !

Cheers

Justin
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Hi.

If you had a smart charger, you might try and charge it overnight, and see if the battery could be restored to near full charge and have increased capacity. Then it would be interesting to see if the ECU allowed the Stop/Start feature to function again and also to see for how long the Stop/Start remained available.

The more I read about batteries from both battery manufactureres and also the various smart charger manufacturers, the more my early trade learning gets challenged. I always thought that the alternator could charge a depleted battery to fully charged, if the engine could run for long enough. But they all consistently say this, (paraphrased by me): The vehicle alternator only replaces the current that is consumed by the engine and ancillaries. The alternator won't fully re-charge a battery. Separate top up charging is needed to keep starter batteries fully charged and to reduce onset of sulphation. Maybe my brain is getting addled by the marketing???

A personal story:
A family member has a 3.6Lt V6 Passat. Last winter in 2022 I noticed that it seemed to be slow to crank, and sure enough a week or two later it wouldn't start. It only gets driven 2.5km to their work and same home with rarely a longer duration trip anywhere. So the alternator just doesn't get enough running time to replenish the starting current as well as running lights, engine, AC etc, even though it will be a large amp rating alternator. So I charged it all day with my 5 amp smart charger and it come up fully charged nicely. Everyones happy.

Recently their young child had been in the vehicle and left some lights (parking?) on for four days. When they got home the car was dead they had to unlock the door with the key, and climb in the rear to manually unlock the tailgate to gain access to the battery. Anyway the battery was extremely discharged, I measured 0.4V with multimeter. I thought to myself this battery is now failed and it is a largish AGM, so not cheap. Anyway I put the smart charger on it again, more in hope than anything else, and surprisingly it charged the deadflat AGM battery to fully charged again. Privately I wondered how long will that battery last???. Anyway a month later and the battery still holds 12.6volts, so we will see what happens this winter.

I would have to say that I am impressed with my little 5 Amp smart charger. There are many brands available, mine is a Ctek MX5.

Cheers.
 
Had a chance to look at it today. The plug wasn't "clicked home" and I thought great that's it. Pushed it home and started the car, engine light still on! Wife went out in the car later and when she returned the light was out!! Short test drive out the road and cruise is now working, very happy! Many thanks to those on here who offered help and sugestions.
 
Justin said “Hate to think what a new battery will cost !”

For 308 T9 HDi THREE YEARS AGO at the dealer was going to be over $700 (original battery did lasted six years). NRMA charged just over $400 at the time.

Have used NRMA batteries for past 25 years have had two duds quickly and without argument replaced under nation wide warranty.

Current one is about to run out of three year warranty but still going strong.

NRMA did have to call home to work out how to install it.

Happy to stand corrected but I turn off the stop start straight away as I suspect it causes more wear and tear on the motor, alternator and maybe the engine mounts. Expecting using a bit more fuel is a lot cheaper in the long run. Suspect the fuel saving is minuscule and the stop start is really only for manufacturer’s non-real world fuel consumption figures.
 
BlindFreddie said:
Justin said “Hate to think what a new battery will cost !”

For 308 T9 HDi THREE YEARS AGO at the dealer was going to be over $700 (original battery did lasted six years). NRMA charged just over $400 at the time.

Have used NRMA batteries for past 25 years have had two duds quickly and without argument replaced under nation wide warranty.

Current one is about to run out of three year warranty but still going strong.

NRMA did have to call home to work out how to install it.

Happy to stand corrected but I turn off the stop start straight away as I suspect it causes more wear and tear on the motor, alternator and maybe the engine mounts. Expecting using a bit more fuel is a lot cheaper in the long run. Suspect the fuel saving is minuscule and the stop start is really only for manufacturer’s non-real world fuel consumption figures.
Click to expand...
Yep - agree completely. We rarely drive in stop - start traffic anyway so it's a bit of a novelty when the stop/start function kicks in. It's actually quite annoying when you have to park somewhere and it stops the motor before you've actually parked. I looked into disabling the function and it is possible, but wasn't worth the effort since we just switch it off when parking anyway. I'm pretty convinced that with the wear on the extra large battery and the maintenace on the stop/start features it really isn't going to save us any money. If you were commuting to the city every day then maybe it would be a worthwhile feature.

You can get a Super Start SS66Ti AGM Battery with 900CCA for about $340 with a 2 years warranty. I've never had one of these fail.

I also had the same experience with dud batteries from NRMA so no more of them for me. One failed 1 month out of warranty and I was told it wasn't covered.

Cheers

Justin
 
N5GTi6 said:
One failed 1 month out of warranty and I was told it wasn't covered.
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Mind telling the reason - really surprised a member based organisation would do so.

When I thought I may have had a problem with my current battery the tech NRMA sent out found it all too hard to check the battery properly as one of the terminals was too hard to get to.
 
The battery was 25 months old - 24 month warranty. The tech turned up, looked up the previous purchase and the warranty, and was pretty blunt stating that the warranty was only 24 months. He did helpfully point out that the new version of the same battery - purchased direct through NRMA, had a 36 month warranty. On the spot, hot summers day with 2 kids and a rapidly melting ice cream cake ( I lie, we'd already eaten it waiting on the tech to turnup) and I had to go with another NRMA battery.

I've been a member for over 30 years, so it was pretty disappointing that they wouldn't do a goodwill warranty replacement.

Cheers

Justin
 
well i got it wrong, its not there nxt to the battery, but it has to be disconnected to remove the air cleaner, which makes the battery removal a lot easier ,just dont forget to re connect it 1
 
BlindFreddie said:
Justin said “Hate to think what a new battery will cost !”

For 308 T9 HDi THREE YEARS AGO at the dealer was going to be over $700 (original battery did lasted six years). NRMA charged just over $400 at the time.
Click to expand...
My local dealer requested I change the battery in the 308 recently, for $500.
 
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