So, having come up against the dire lack of capacity in the standard LR battery I looked at the Bosch/Varta 020 which seems to be the de-facto standard upgrade.

Anyway, same physical size, same cold cranking amps, 5ah LESS overall capacity (105ah) BUT is made of AGM technology like proper leisure batteries so they give vastly superior deep cycling abilities, and also (allegedly) are better at starting when down as low as 30% capacity. These babies can apparently still deliver the full CCA value when 2/3rds discharged.

Incidentally this is the same technology that LR are charging a King's Ransom for on the 2010 upgrade programme.

Anyway, being an avid lover of the FBH I have taken the plunge and fitted one of these. After about 10 days of short runs and used the FBH every morning I can report a distinct lack of drama.

Worth considering for some. Here's the link. I paid £170 delivered.

http://www.justcarbatteries.co.uk/index.ph...ttery.html

You could have started something with that.

No pun intended right ???

I think the LR supplied AGM is 95 ah so while that's less than your old battery it's more than the current LR unit so should be great did it fit in ok ? 2021 P400 Silicon Silver AB
Gone 2011 Bournville TDV8 VSE
Gone 2008 Black Canadian HSE LUX

Yep, same dimensions as the 020 Bosch unit (393mm long) so was a bit of a squeeze. I do have the pyro unit on the +ve terminal as well - 07 TDV8.

I have Banner - Running bull (with AGM), 92ah and 850. Parked in Italy 2 weeks ago for the week, -21 and it started, no issues with the battery at all.

nice find Dom...let us know how it stands up to the fullfat's quirky power consumption....  ... - .- -.




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AGM batteries require a slightly higher charge rate. I've been reading about the 2007 alternators having a limited life. Is this a concern? i.e. is the 2007 alternator up to it? The CTEK battery charger rate for AGM batteries is 14.7v. Normal is 14.4v 2012 5.0L S/C
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The Denso alternator is well known for high charge voltages. It is also infinitely re-buildable as I have personally found out. Biggest issue with TDV8 alternators is getting them off the car. That's what is commonly known as a Pig of a job.

However, if the rectifier has gone pop you can get a replacement for about 40 quid. A set of brushes whilst you're there for another 7 quid. Needs a powerful soldering iron and a bit of dexterity. Not rocket science.

FWIW I am seeing 14.8 volts at idle on a Fluke meter. Not calibrated to military spec but no reason to believe it's not accurate.

I don't mean to put the cat among the pigeons, but why not get;

bosch s5 £110 Delivered

Varta 60ah leisure batt £62 Delivered

80 amp fuse £4 Delivered

battery clamps £5 delivered.

Total = 181

a little bit of 8awg wiring and some cable ties and you have 170ah a 5 year warranty on the bosch and im unsure about the warranty on the varta.

Then for a further £35 for a VSR and £10 for a bypass switch and a little more effort and wiring and you have a fool proof, separated twin battery system.

But even if you left it at the first stage you have a much better solution to the single agm varta battery for £11 more!

'Cos some of us store the removeable towbar in the cubby where the 2nd battery would be.

Will the tow bar not fit in with the spare wheel?

Might do, but not in the official storage thingy. Would need to be wrapped in an old towel or something but there's not a lot of room in mine there either. I already keep a set of jump leads, a properly heavy duty towrope, a 2 foot breaker bar with 22mm socket (wheel nuts), a discovery-3 bottle jack and handle, and a 12v tyre compressor

I even have a spare wheel in there as well

Thats what the space behind the back seats is for Stops it rattling around and is much easier to get to

I have all my recovery and repair bits in there ontop of the rubber matt's and means if i have any shopping of clobber in the boot i can get to it dead easy  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.