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13 June 2007, 82,355
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hen we bought the 9-3, I remember thinking that the battery looked lost
in the battery tray. Over the first
summer the TiD started okay, but occasionally I’d suspect
the battery was past its best. The clue
was when we put the automatic air conditioning into
maximum cooling mode, which turns the compressor on, puts the interior fan to
maximum and uses air recirculation.
Although I could not hear the radiator / condensor fan running, my
suspicion was that the increase in electrical load was too much... However, the high capacity battery being over
£90 I decided to wait until it was really needed. Winter came and went and despite the odd lazy start (slow engine turnover) the TiD merrily clattered into life.
In June, the temperature and humidity jumped up so the air conditioning
was seeing more use. On a wet day I’ll
also use the headlights and this additional electrical load was proving too much
for the battery. When the cooling system fan cut in at high speed, all of the
lights dimmed and the interior fan decelerated.
I started thinking it’s time for a new battery. Then one evening following an engine start, the
“no charge” light remained illuminated.
Okay so an hour later it went out and I was of a mind not to buy
a replacement battery, except the battery would probably die very quickly. What’s more hassle - replacing a battery when
the car still works or having to replace the battery when you’re in Edinburgh,
Replacing the 9-3’s battery turned out to be even easier than changing
the Ka’s battery partially because the old battery
was so small and partially because I now have the necessary socket set. Out with the old battery, in with the new
battery and things are back to normal.
The TiD is much keener to start especially after a
few days of not being used.
In my last entry I commented that the engine
coolant gauge was occasionally showing what appeared to be overcooling. This has repeated a couple of times. It is also known to occur with a friend’s
2003 Mercedes Benz diesel E-Class: in essence, the engine and cooling system
are efficient enough such that even with the thermostat fully shut, the coolant
temperature can still drop under certain circumstances.