mas wrote:...............Seriously though thats why im asking re prices , it seems a lot for a car that is obviously in posession of 5 year old batteries..........
Batteries that are post year 2000 should be good for anything from 60-100k + miles if they have been treated well, pre year 2000 they did have an issue with them going poof fairly early on in their life @ around 20k from what I've seen
mas wrote:...............
I also had (wrongly) assumed that since it had ni-cads they dont need topping up , I had no idea at all until delving deeper that ni-cads would need this.
I was assuming they were similar to all of the smaller ni-cads in general use but on a larger scale.
Its really not that tricky to do yourself BUT you need the gadget to do it which you MUST use, but otherwise its no big deal and only has to be done every 5000 miles or so and takes about 20mins after a maint charge, its nothing like topping up Lead acid's
mas wrote:...............
I would be keen to speak to anyone who has replaced or changed the batteries in a ni-cad berlingo too has anyone done it yet ?
See my battery change thread
mas wrote:...............
I am not keen on a car where I have to top up the batteries and would much prefer a sealed or nearly sealed solution . Does anyone have any views on the practicality of this. Cheers Mas
You REALLY dont want to change the nicads in a Berlingo, if you do can I have the old ones
Really though the Saft STM's, in my opinon, (post 2000) I recon are one of the best EV type batteries. Way better than Lead acids sealed or otherwise, less complicated than Li-ions and all in all pretty bomb proof.
The early ones have their failings and I've also heard that some post 2000 units have had problems but when you get a good set they are just great.
ChrisB