HELP! Which Battery Type/Spec' please?

[Androlyn]

Sorry to be dumb but I cannot find the answer, my MGF manual and handbook has all sorts in it but not the type/spec' battery required.

Mine is old and cheap and needs a jump now and then so I want to get a decent branded battery like a Bosch maybe but I don't know what to get, the one I am taking out is 62AH 600A, is this correct for an MGF?

I didn't realise there are so many variances......

Thanks, Andrew.

[Gavin207]

Interesting question - for the TF the workshop manual says H4 45AH, but the owner's handbook states H5 63AH. Neither state a CCA rating. I would assume the MGF battery would be the same. My TF has a 50AH. 500 CCA battery which worked fine over the winter.

[Mike H]

My workshop manual for the F quotes a Cold Crank capacity of 480A for cars with power steering (405A without) and quotes Model YGD 10012. I'm not sure how relevant that might be these days!

FWIW, the label on the battery fitted to my TF, by my trusted dealer, reads:

Part No; 027
Voltage: 12v
CCA SAE: 570 amps
AH (20h) 60 amps

[Geoff.F]

The rating is not as important as the Quality.
Some 50 years ago, I took a new Austin 1300 to live/work in Belgrade. Winter starting was a pain so I fitted a coolant pipe immersion heater. Good at home but a pain when on buisness travelling at hotels.
I drove up for a weekend in Klagenfurt Austria for a back-up spare battery. The battey shop had big discounts. Great. BUT they were Lucas batteries removed from new English cars,What do you fit ?? Varta.Our MGF and 1.8 Astra have VARTA Silver Dynamic D21 61AH CCA 600

[Androlyn]

Thanks for the feedback, I was going to go for a quality/branded battery as you usually get what you pay for and my MGF will sit around as it's not my daily driver. Just confused about the numbering etc, are the higher the numbers the more power it has? Dimension wise I will need to make sure it fits nicely to get clamped back in correctly.

[Geoff.F]

Search Varta Battery and enter your car details. Dimensions and Type Number are given. The Type Number is common across all makes. The applicable type number for my 2000 MGF Steptronic is 075.
Search Battery 075 and spend the rest of the day choosing which one.
Geoff.F

[Androlyn]

Search Varta Battery and enter your car details. Dimensions and Type Number are given. The Type Number is common across all makes. The applicable type number for my 2000 MGF Steptronic is 075.
Search Battery 075 and spend the rest of the day choosing which one.
Geoff.F

Thanks Geoff, that's great

[BodgeItAndScarper]

There are lots of battery shapes that fit, not just 075. Off the top of my head, there are several the same width as 075 but different lengths, and the battery tray already has the holes to clamp them.

Batteries are incredibly simple, all you need is something that fits in the space, has at least the required CCA and AH ratings, and has the terminals the right way around. The hard part is finding good prices when you have a million options.

Have a look on Ebay, I've generally found the battery sellers there are fine, and the prices are competitive.

[Androlyn]

There are lots of battery shapes that fit, not just 075. Off the top of my head, there are several the same width as 075 but different lengths, and the battery tray already has the holes to clamp them.
Batteries are incredibly simple, all you need is something that fits in the space, has at least the required CCA and AH ratings, and has the terminals the right way around. The hard part is finding good prices when you have a million options.

One of my problems has been trying to find what ratings I should have, and/or what would the "best" ratings be that my MGF can take.
As mentioned mine may sit around as not a daily driver so want the best I can get, (without paying too much of course )

[Mykel]

Varta Blue Dynamic D59. Have that in all my MGs. Works a treat, even after massive water ingress and power drain due to some shorts to the car electrics following the tornado episode last May.

[BodgeItAndScarper]

I just checked my EBay history, I have an 063 or 001 sized battery in there now. I'd forgotten that the same size can have more than one code, just to make it even harder.

Once you've found something, double check the listed dimensions against the actual size of the battery bay before purchasing.

Re the ratings, just make sure you're well over whatever's normal for a 2l four-pot and you'll be fine. I think 150cca would do fine in practice - some headroom included - and most batteries are way over that. It's similar with the capacity. For about £40 you get something with maybe double the requirements, so it doesn't really matter if that's actually 200% or 'only' 150%.

[Androlyn]

Thanks for all the help everyone, just ordered a Bosch 075 Silver with a 5 Year Warranty.
What a minefield

[Rob Bell]

I put a thread on this some years ago - see viewtopic.php?f=8&t=12061&hilit=battery

The 075 is the right one to go for if your car has EPAS (as the vast majority do!)

[Androlyn]

I couldn't find that thread Rob, I know I had seen one before, I even put a comment on a few years ago

The 075 Battery is also sometimes a lot larger, it's a available as a Truck Battery which will not fit.......