As I said in a recent topic, I had trouble starting my car last Saturday, when the engine was stone cold and the battery maybe wasn't 100% charged.
I think that another aspect of this is the capacity of my battery, which may be too much of a wimp under these conditions. Trouble is, these batteries have 2 rating values - normal Ampere-hour, and the current it can provide in 5 or 10 second bursts for starting. Now the Haynes Book of Lies for the Escort only says 45A/h, which is what I've got, but says nothing about the second rating. Mine is 250A, but I have a suspicion that the correct battery has a rating of around 350A.
So my question is aimed at anyone who either (a) knows the correct rating, or (b) has an original/correct Escort Mk2 1600 battery, and can tell me what it should be.

Ta muchly,

David

is the correct battery listed in those little refernce tables you find near the spares in Halfrauds ?

I try not to get too close those dodgy places!

Any road up, I don't want a standard Ford-fitting battery, as I prefer round pegs instead of bolt-on terminals.

DJ

[Edited on 19/11/04 by David Jenkins]

i think that there are 'grades' of battery, even if they are same size. cheaper ones have a lower starting capacity.

Is there a chance that your engine is tight due to rebore, etc, thats making the situation worse?

atb

steve

make the battery a jacket from loft insulation. no i'm not joking, you used to be able to buy them

And a little woolly hat and some bootees and take it a mug of coacoa at bedtime. You can tell the difference between the cheaper and dearer batteries by picking them up, the weight is a giveaway. At the local parts shop a heavy duty Mini battery is actually smaller in dimension than the cheaper version of the same but weighs a lot more.

I've finally found a manufacturer's technical info site (Exide) - buggerit.

Standard fitting is 45A/H, 370A starting (450 if you buy their high-efficiency version).

Maybe I need to go shopping...

David

Late update: the rating I was trying to describe is CCA - Cold Cranking Amps.

[Edited on 19/11/04 by David Jenkins]

Had a look in halfrauds for you tonight.

they have a grading system with amps over amp hours or something like that.

anyway they recommend for an escort mk 1/2
a

500
80

or for heavy duty

650
110

HTH

110 Ah??

how much? the biggest leisure battery we do is 110Ah, about 18" by 9"

david's ratings seem a lot more likely/plausible.

you havent been contact adhesiving have you proto?

tom

I bit the bullet and bought the correct battery for a 1600 Escort - well, a heavy-duty version, anyway.

It's 75Ah / 400A CCA, which should be a bit more lively on the cold mornings!

rgds,

David

P.S. Dave - that 110A one wasn't for a diesel was it? They're a lot bigger.

I read your first post David but never saw your last I was going to say are you sure its not a leaky diode in your alternator thats killing your battery.

But as youve already got one its a bit late, hope it cures your problem.
Cheers,
Bob

only repeating the info printed on the tops of the battery's that are listed in the halfrauds booklet.....

quote:

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Originally posted by splitrivet
I read your first post David but never saw your last I was going to say are you sure its not a leaky diode in your alternator thats killing your battery.

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quote:

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Originally posted by timf
make the battery a jacket from loft insulation. no i'm not joking, you used to be able to buy them

---

battery jackets? not sure think these are only for gm/ford slow charge batteries which gas of much less than youre normal battery, best ones to go for are japanese type last not years but decades regards martin

Cold starting on 60s and 70s Fords always was a problem, battery size wasn't the problem Hillmans Hunters and Marinas had bigger engines used the same battery (but with post fiitings) and a similar starter motor without problem.

What oil are you using 20w/50 is as thick as treacle when cold if this is the case switch to a 10w/40 or better still 5w/40 or 0w/40 it makes a big difference.

I thought the 'thicker' oil was essential with crossflow's ?

and after all the hassle Dave has had with his oil pressure I doubt he would want to mess with it anyway!

NO NO NO NO!

As Dave rightly said, I've had oil problems and I'm not going there again!

20W50 is the right oil for this old engine, so I ain't changing. It's working OK, and I get heaps of oil pressure at whatever revs the engine is doing.

No, my starting problem was almost certainly due to a battery that was too small. The cold engine (yes, and cold oil) gave enough opposition to stall the starter, and the battery couldn't give the extra current. I'm sure that my problem with a loose alternator and thus a slack belt didn't help, either!

Mind you, I have a small bottle of 600W oil in the garage - would that help?

rgds,

David

quote:

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Originally posted by David Jenkins
NO NO NO NO!

As Dave rightly said, I've had oil problems and I'm not going there again!

20W50 is the right oil for this old engine, so I ain't changing. It's working OK, and I get heaps of oil pressure at whatever revs the engine is doing.

No, my starting problem was almost certainly due to a battery that was too small. The cold engine (yes, and cold oil) gave enough opposition to stall the starter, and the battery couldn't give the extra current. I'm sure that my problem with a loose alternator and thus a slack belt didn't help, either!

Mind you, I have a small bottle of 600W oil in the garage - would that help?

rgds,

David

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Don't forget that I haven't fitted a "too big" battery - just a "right size" or "as specified" battery.

DJ

Started the car for the first time since putting a 'right-size' battery in - engine turned over without trouble, even though it was REALLY cold yesterday. After a few cranks to get the petrol flowing the engine started without problem.

So, to summarise, having the correct size battery and keeping it properly charged with a trickle/maintenance charger, are the ways to ensure that the car will start in the depths of winter (well, teperature at or around zero, anyway).

cheers,

David