Batteries for TDCi

rondeo · 24-03-2016, 07:08 PM

Original silver/calcium battery replacement options for Ford TDCi with smart charge systems in Australia:

VARTA F18 800CCA 85Ah (315x175x175)

BOND 467 SMF 800CCA 80Ah (ditto)

Maybe others.

For non OEM batteries with calcium/calcium technology as supplied by Ford dealers:

Century DIN75 LMF

SuperCharge MF77

?and others.

Opinion seems divided about the suitability of calcium/calcium batteries: Ford workshop manuals vs Century Yuasa. No further information is available from Ford, who, quote 'do not provide technical information'.
I'm told the dealer is 'the face of Ford' My experience is that Ford the dealers contradict themselves on battery and smart charge matters, and one is left chatting amicably with Ford customer relations on non technical matters.

Franco Cozzo · 24-03-2016, 08:21 PM

We put in Century DIN75L MF batteries and haven't had a problem.

Here is a bit of an explanation about the different types of lead acid battery construction:

http://www.centurybatteries.com.au/c...ium-batter.pdf

NZ XR6 · 25-03-2016, 01:09 AM

Ford might not want to make the info available, but Hella published this: http://www.hella.com/startersalterna...rge_system.pdf

I suspect the following comment in the Century Yuasa info sheet is a major reason why the OE Ford batteries are silver calcium, and why the replacement Motorcraft batteries are not:

This provides car exporters with an increased chance of having the batteries retain sufficient charge to start the vehicle by the time they reach their export markets.

NZ XR6 · 25-03-2016, 01:31 AM

Ford might not want to make the info available, but Hella has published this: http://www.hella.com/startersalterna...rge_system.pdf

I suspect the following comment in the Century Yuasa info sheet is a major reason why the OE Ford batteries are silver calcium, and the replacement Motorcraft batteries are not:

This provides car exporters with an increased chance of having the batteries retain sufficient charge to start the vehicle by the time they reach their export markets.

I really cannot see any specific characteristic of silver calcium batteries that makes them necessary for the correct functioning of the Ford Smart Charge System. The main issue is the over voltage that can occur, but silver calcium is not the only battery technology that can cope with this.

Anyway, Ford Europe now supply Motorcraft calcium-calcium batteries as an alternative to the OE Ford units, so they are obviously quite happy for this type of replacement battery to be fitted. I'm not sure who makes the European Motorcraft batteries.

Finally, the fuel consumption at idle sometimes drops since I fitted the Century battery, which may indicate that the alternator is not charging. I hadn't noticed this to the same extent with the OE battery. It seems to happen most often after a long run, not so much during city driving.

I'd say just buy whichever aftermarket battery you like. Might be worth avoiding the cheap Made In China stuff, but that applies to many things!

NZ XR6 · 25-03-2016, 09:43 AM

Sorry, the site went down for maintenance as I was posting, then when I went back on the following morning, I was too late to edit or delete my first post.

cobrin · 27-11-2016, 02:42 PM

New battery time....

I had known this since the last time the subject was headlining the Mondeo Section but that day is finally today.

Dunno the history of the shabby looking 'RACQ' job already in there but I've owned the car for 2.5yrs and had been monitoring it's progress. I can say if it gets below 10V during cranking just change it. Mine is getting into low 8's.

Anywho Century DIN75LMF 80Ah 730cca $254 was sort and I've got it on charge before I fit it. I was about to change it for a DIN75LHMF 90Ah 910cca battery for an extra $10 but it's 190mm in height (not 175mm other dimensions are the same) and didn't want to chance it not fitting.

Thanks rondeo made this easy to source and get done.

ope126 · 27-11-2016, 05:13 PM

This thread I created a while ago is still relevant with both size battery details / info; http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11406826

I hope this helps others also...

cobrin · 27-11-2016, 07:54 PM

Oh you did too cheers.

Woah the battery that came out was a 60Ah (shorter battery too) RACQ Premium it took the second provision for the clamp so, the Century 80Ah batt. is larger (rightly so) and used the first front clamp hole. Chug chug started up like a fire was put under her.

I took it off charge a couple of hours as it seemed to level out @ 13.6V and surface voltage of 13.2V. Strangely enough the battery saver didn't save the date/time, 9V battery was 9.1V so dunno what happened there. Easy enough to do, the phones were still saved as were the radio stations.

Oh the battery came with a vent tube but there's no way it can fit and still have clamp lined up, so didn't use it.

edit: Also that DIN75LHMF wouldn't have fitted the battery box doesn't allow for the extra height.

NZ XR6 · 27-11-2016, 08:24 PM

Most of the battery suppliers list the shorter, petrol battery for the Mondeo. I bought mine directly from Century Yuasa in Auckland, and they supplied the wrong one. At least they swapped it for free.

I changed mine last winter as it was struggling to start on cold mornings. The new battery is great so far.

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cobrin · 28-11-2016, 01:16 PM

just got the stamped code from the battery 3BD022, the first two characters are all that's needed.

Manufactured:
3 = 2013
B = February

Dunno when it were put onto the vehicle but it didn't last long. I've a feeling this one will go the distance being 80Ah.

bundybear75 · 28-11-2016, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cobrin

just got the stamped code from the battery 3BD022, the first two characters are all that's needed.

Manufactured:
3 = 2013
B = February

Dunno when it were put onto the vehicle but it didn't last long. I've a feeling this one will go the distance being 80Ah.

3 years is pretty good for an Australian sourced battery. OEM stuff can last 5 years or more but the replacements never get much more than 2 years (which is generally the length of the warranty)

NZ XR6 · 28-11-2016, 05:55 PM

I don't think that's bad at all given that it had a lower capacity.

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383hq · 28-11-2016, 08:13 PM

Plenty of prior posts on tdci batteries available
No way was I falling for the silver / alternator charge/load = reduced fuel consumption "line".

I'm using a supercharge gold , and it's been as good as gold. Even better at less then $180 for such a big battery with 3 year (40 months?) warranty

NZ XR6 · 28-11-2016, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 383hq

Plenty of prior posts on tdci batteries available
No way was I falling for the silver / alternator charge/load = reduced fuel consumption "line".

I'm using a supercharge gold , and it's been as good as gold. Even better at less then $180 for such a big battery with 3 year (40 months?) warranty

You don't need a silver calcium battery for this feature to work. I regularly see the fuel consumption drop while stopped at traffic lights, which happens much more often these days in Auckland!

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cobrin · 29-11-2016, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bundybear75

3 years is pretty good for an Australian sourced battery. OEM stuff can last 5 years or more but the replacements never get much more than 2 years (which is generally the length of the warranty)

I guess so, I didn't really take that into consideration, I'm use to nearly double that (4-5yrs+) but from a vehicle of another era with much lower needs (2 batts. in 13yrs). I'm happy it was sorted very quickly, was nice when I started it this morning. Though I do have to program the windows, global opening/closing works but not auto up manually on individual windows, so looks like I need to set the limits again.

rondeo · 29-11-2016, 01:02 PM

Anecdotal evidence shows Ca batteries (Supercharge, Century) get the car started and running for years, Ag(silver)/Ca batteries ditto.

The smart charge system reduces fuel consumption in accordance with basic laws of physics.

A DVM plugged into the cigar lighter while driving shows the charging voltage increasing under deceleration and reducing under acceleration.

The difference between Ca and Ag/Ca technologies under the smart charge system seems to be an open question. I suspect it's pretty small, and might not be worth the money.

BTW Cobrin why not use a backup supply while changing batteries?

cobrin · 29-11-2016, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rondeo

Anecdotal evidence shows Ca batteries (Supercharge, Century) get the car started and running for years, Ag(silver)/Ca batteries ditto.

The smart charge system reduces fuel consumption in accordance with basic laws of physics.

A DVM plugged into the cigar lighter while driving shows the charging voltage increasing under deceleration and reducing under acceleration.

The difference between Ca and Ag/Ca technologies under the smart charge system seems to be an open question. I suspect it's pretty small, and might not be worth the money.

BTW Cobrin why not use a backup supply while changing batteries?

Fully agree rondeo.

I did use a battery saver 9V battery (square smoke alarm type to be exact) connected it to the aux power outlet aka 'cig lighter port', it was indicating power (has an LED was bright). Before I used the battery it was measured 9.9xV so full capacity, I've had this adaptor+inc battery since Jan unopened knowing this was the next issue.

It did save the Radio stations and BT paired phones but looks like nothing else was saved. I just checked the 9V battery again and it's 9.92V and in the adaptor 9.72V so certainly enough. If I ever get the chance again I could try alligator clips on the end of the lead instead of the cig adaptor and directly attach it to the Battery leads but I doubt I'll be doing that for some time to come.

rondeo · 29-11-2016, 06:56 PM

I used a 12v sealed battery connected on the main terminals. Doesn't matter much I guess.

NZ XR6 · 29-11-2016, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rondeo

I used a 12v sealed battery connected on the main terminals. Doesn't matter much I guess.

I did the same and didn't lose any settings. I think that's the safest way to do it as the Aux power outlets are switched.

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cyclone1410 · 29-11-2016, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NZ XR6

I think that's the safest way to do it as the Aux power outlets are switched.

That's correct. After around 15 minutes or so they seem to switch off. Actually a good feature when I am travelling. Short wee stops keep my in-car fridge running long enough so I can have a cold beer at the end of the day. Great car.

cobrin · 29-11-2016, 09:21 PM

Well I had the new battery on charge before taking out the old, I had the old battery slid out forward to access the terminal clamps, backed off ready for the swap. When I had enough of charging the new one I put the battery saver in, took the clamps off, removed the battery and replaced it, then removed the battery saver. It was all of what 15sec?!? the system would have been alive the moment I opened the door to fit the saver.

as it turns out the rear windows auto up and down it's the fronts that don't so I'll set the limits on those.

NZ XR6 · 29-11-2016, 10:54 PM

And long enough to give Galaxy S6 a decent topup using the Samsung fast charger.

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stefcio007 · 24-04-2017, 01:54 PM

Ford doesn't supply the Cadium ones where I live. Just the lead-acid type. Fuel consumption went down for me and the battery charging system is all working as expected.
Verified this through data collected from the OBD port while driving.

rondeo · 24-04-2017, 05:24 PM

Thanks. Could you help with Cadium?

stefcio007 · 24-04-2017, 09:22 PM

All I can say is mine lasted 5 years nearly 40,000km, so that's something.

NZ XR6 · 25-04-2017, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stefcio007

Ford doesn't supply the Cadium ones where I live. Just the lead-acid type. Fuel consumption went down for me and the battery charging system is all working as expected.
Verified this through data collected from the OBD port while driving.

The Ford batteries in Europe are silver calcium, but Ford AU and NZ don't sell them, just Motorcraft.

But you can buy Varta silver calcium batteries ...

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cobrin · 21-01-2020, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cobrin

I guess so, I didn't really take that into consideration, I'm use to nearly double that (4-5yrs+) but from a vehicle of another era with much lower needs (2 batts. in 13yrs). I'm happy it was sorted very quickly, was nice when I started it this morning. Though I do have to program the windows, global opening/closing works but not auto up manually on individual windows, so looks like I need to set the limits again.

well well well, it failed to start today battery must have been low, it cranked too slow to even start. I've had a replacement here for two days on maintenance mode cause I've been doing to some work on the cars exterior, looking great I might add. A quick swap and it's cranking like a champ and starts up in two chugs so to speak.

The missus has neglected the battery and has been using the car with the engine off every day (phone calls over bt after shut down, music ect.) coupled with leaving the keys in the vehicle overnight (multiple times) boot not fully shut multiple times only to find out the following morning the car clicks and doesn't have enough charge to crank, sure it gets a charge up and all is good but the first time it went really low it's never been the same and there's only so much a monthly charge can do or save. Two or three days of nil use and it wouldn't start.

As I've been cleaning and protecting the car over the last two days it didn't go well today. So in went the battery. Oh yeah WTF! is going on with the cost of batteries these days?

The same replacement from the same place of purchase (and others mind you) is $309-330 greedy bastards...

Century Heavy Duty DIN75LMF 80Ah 730cca $254 from SuperCheap Auto bought 27-11-2016 [24MTH warranty]
It is 1151 days from the old battery.
Or 3 years, 1 month, 26 days.
Or 37 month, 26 days.

This is the shortest battery service life I've had in all my driving history but it's the missus that attributes to this shortened result so I'm not completely annoyed. It's made over it's warranty period which is a bit weak if you ask me. Any who I'm not buying a $300 battery, my wife found the replacement from the last place you'd think to buy a battery from. It's not a 80Ah battery she found a 95Ah 810CCA replacement but it were to high to fit in the battery box coming in @ 224mm height. The 80Ah battery also were ~190-205mm height and didn't want to chance it.

The winner with 305x175x175 was:
Exide Extreme DIN66MF 66Ah 650CCA $175 (wow!!!)
[36MTH extended warranty]

And from all places it was from Bunnings, all because several months ago I noticed the tool shop had a rack of them and I made mention to the missus how weird or that I didn't know they even sold car batteries at bunnings. She's laughing now as I type this, good on ya love...

so that's a nice savings to keep.

Taken today and looking really shiny: