Topic: new battery

[hammy]

im now at the stage where i need to purchase a new battery. There seems to be several to choose from, so which one di i go for??
i dont have the battery top as yet so is there a certain battery i need??
thanks

[Karl]

If you want to keep the original sinclair keyswitch assembly then you need a type 038 (or something the same size)

If you're changing the wiring, then any 12v battery that fits in the allocated space....check out the tried and tested section.

[coverman]

Hi, the type 049 fits under the battery top and is a relatively cheap 45Ah car battery. The type 038 is becoming harder to get as it was for the original Mini
and is only 36Ah. Buy a couple of Ford Cargo battery terminals and relieve the terminal holes in the battery top just enough fore the upright terminal bolts to fit through.

[TOFFEEBOY]

If you're going down the leisure battery route, I'd recommend a Yuasa 75AHM battery. Works well in mine. I've also got a Diamond Leisure 85AHM battery - which is shocking in comparison.

[Karl]

If you're going down the leisure battery route, I'd recommend a Yuasa 75AHM battery. Works well in mine. I've also got a Diamond Leisure 85AHM battery - which is shocking in comparison.

..if you get chance, why not put a topic about these batteries in the tried and tested section otherwise this valuable info tends to gets lost amongst the other comments on this thread.

[fezza_rs]

the advise I'd give you is get rid of the horrid key switch and battery top the c5 comes with and buy or make a power wiring kit with quick release terminal connections. It will make your c5 alot more useable and open up the options to what batterys you can use. If you plan on using your c5 alot for commuting or just out to the shops everyday then a leisure battery is what you need, as they are designed for constant charge and discharge cycling. The downside is they are expensive compared to a car battery and heavy and unless your under 10st like me them the weight will kill your c5's performance. The other option is to run a car battery like a 063 or 038 size, they are cheap and light and wont affect the reformance anywhere near as much as a leisure battery does. The downside with a car battery is they are not designed for constant charge and discharge cycling and they will die if used regularly but for occasional use they are excellent. The power wiring kit is a must though!

[radiomarty]

If you're going down the leisure battery route, I'd recommend a Yuasa 75AHM battery. Works well in mine. I've also got a Diamond Leisure 85AHM battery - which is shocking in comparison.

Have to agree with Toffeboy on the Diamond Leisure battery 85AHM - This battery performed very well at first but after 5-6 charges the performance dropped remarkably and now after 1 YEAR is struggling to do 8 miles. Possibly not the best battery for this application.

Toffeboy do you have the part number off the Yuasa battery ?

[hammy]

ok, if i decide to go down the power wiring route, how do i do it??
In simple terms please for a novice! Can anyone snow me pictures or better still, give me a step by step plan of what to do, what i need etc.

[fezza_rs]

The part number for the yussa battery is 678 I got it for Toffeeboy from my old work but they no longer deal with them. As for the power wiring kit they are simple to make or im sure if you badger karl for a while he may make a batch!! Plenty of us on here know how to make one if karl is busy.

[Karl]

..the c5alive kits are sold out and I'm well overdue for making a new batch.

It is on the list though  .

[coverman]

Another option is a Yuasa or similar mobility battery. They are sold in 34-40Ah sizes and will fit( double check before puchase as dimensions vary a little)under the battery top. Connections to the battery cover holes should be made with metal strip bolted to the battery to strip and also bolted into the battery terminals. These batteries are proper cyclic ones, ie they are designed to take repeated deep discharges( which is what the C5 will inflict on the battery) which leisure batteries certainly aren't designed to do( slow lengthy discharges is what they are for). They are slightly more expensive than car batteries but are lighter and are gel type rather than wet so are safer.