Which Battery ?

[Kagiso II]

ekke soek daai ene .. maar hier in Pretoria - [Boezman vat selle pepprie mos as 'Trol .. of hoe??]

[Jorrie]

I bought a 652 HiTorque Battery from Midas today at R699:00 for my 4.5 GRX Petrol PATROL.
It had a 651C before, no wonder I had some trouble.

[Gerrit Loubser]

I agree that one should fit the largest capacity battery that fits. Patrols often seem to have the 652C battery, but that casing is only used for 66 to 75 Ah batteries as far as I know. You will notice that there is some space around the 652C when fitted to a Patrol.

I have just replaced a 652C (66 Ah and 505A cold cranking current) with a 668P (85 Ah and 710A cold cranking current). The 668P fits onto the battery tray in the 4.5 as if it was designed for it and the standard retaining bracket works perfectly. The 688P goes for around R873.

Actually I think the nicest battery to get would probably be the 650CR (90Ah and 750A cold cranking current), but the local Spareshop didn't have that in stock (only a 650C, which has the terminals the wrong way around for the Patrol) and I was obliged to get the battery from the Spareshop as I had bought the previous 652C there and it had expired within the warranty period. Then again, the 650CR is quite a bit taller than the 668P, so one would have to check clearances and perhaps get some longer J-bolts to hold the battery down...

[David]

My 65A Raylite gave up after 5 years this past Saturday and not even my Ctek charger could revive it so I replaced it with this brother from another mother : Varta G7

Battery Capacity : 95 Ah
Cold Cranking Amps (CCA): 830 A
Length [mm]: 306
Width [mm]: 173
Height [mm]: 225

I paid R 1,295.00 @ Battery World in the Strand and it has a 2 year guarantee.

I also looked at the Raylite Ultimate AGM but they were priced more than double the price I paid for the Varta.

Interesting when I mentioned the name Varta to my FIL he said he had one in his DKW about 40 years ago and after some more research on the web I found that Varta is also OE supplier for Merc and VW in europe and that it also gets rebranded as a Bosch

All I can say is wow as this battery is actually slightly smaller than the Raylite but its capacity is a third more

[JohnBoyZA]

David I have just taken the pulnge and gone with Varta. Hope it doesn't let us down

[ricster]

I replaced my main battery with a Varta about 8 months ago. Works like a dream... even in the below zero temps in Lesotho cranking a 4.2 6 cylinder diesel and 6 energy draining glow plugs!!!

[Peter Connan]

Varta is a Deltec trade name, and is in fact slightly (about R200) more expensive than the Deltec.

I was told the only difference is that the Varta's case is prettier. They have the same warranty and I was assured that they are made in the same factory.

The "standard" number for this battery is 656.

[ricster]

I thought the Varta was a German based company... .... maybe cause it just sounds German...

I was told that most new European cars come out standard with the Varta battery

[David]

From their website:

Deltec is a distributor of Varta (Germany), Johnson Controls (USA), Global (Korea), U.S. Battery and Optima Batteries for the entire Southern African region.

Johnson Controls, one of Deltec's international suppliers, is the largest automotive battery manufacturer in North America. Varta, also owned by Johnson Controls, is the largest automotive battery manufacturer in Europe. Furthermore, Johnson Controls recently acquired the majority of Delphi factories world-wide and is steadily increasing its market share and this has effectively broadened the product range available to Deltec.

Deltec's product range is supported by internationally certified quality and environmental standards with excellent local and international technical support and local customer service levels. Deltec has almost 30 years experience in the industry, with some long standing reputable customers such as Navistar, Bell Equipment, BAE Land Systems and Cummins Diesel. Deltec has a proven track record of service and delivery of high quality products.

So Johnson Controls supply some of the Deltec batteries ...

[ricster]

Ahh soo.... ja.... zat is vot i sought. Ze Varta battery makes me feel over-krauted......