Hi all,
I wonder if you can help as I am a little stumped (it doesnt take a lot!). I haven’t used my mk1 for a while due to having an operation, so it has been sitting through the frost. I went to start it and obviously have a dead battery. Jump started it fine as a temporary fix but obviously it is now dead again. Bought a replacement battery from Bennetts and it is much taller than the existing. Plus the existing battery says that replacements are not available on the market, and should a new battery be needed so would new brackets- is this right? Have I got the right battery from Bennetts and just the wrong brackets, or have I got it all wrong? (I did tell them the make, model and year).
I just wondered if anyone can point me in the right direction for the brackets, or if I bought the battery @ mx5parts would this just fit straight in? I am worried about the battery clamp not fitting too. It’s so frustrating being able to drive again but having my car not starting!
Thanks in advance
I would take both batteries back to where you bought it from and tell them they sold you the wrong one. Don’t be put off, you want the correct size battery.
If you are not sure about any parts you buy for your car take the old part with you to make sure you get the correct part.
I have just changed the battery on my RAV 4 and there were three batteries, they said, that would fit. One was the wrong amperage, another one had the positive and negative terminals on the opposite sides to the original, and one was the correct one. If I hadn’t taken the car and battery to get them to change it, I had a three to one chance of being sold the wrong one.
I had the opposite problem, the MX5parts battery is smaller so the clamp doesnt fit, so a peice of wood had been crafted… result.
Thanks- was just a bit tentative as my original battery said that, wondered if they stopped manufacturing it that size or not. They guy in Bennetts said it was a bit of a buggar to get hold of a mx5 mk1 1996 battery, said they were quite unusual but maybe he was just fobbing me off on the phone- now all I have to do is wait for some light so I can take the other one out!
Thanks again
Heres the one you need. There are reviews there on it too
http://www.mx5parts.co.uk/product_info.php/products_id/635?gclid=CO6g-6rMjpgCFRNnQgodx23EDg
As far as I know, the only battery that is a straight in/out swop in the MX5/Roadster/Miata is the original Panasonic battery. This fits with no mods at all. I believe that all the other so called replacements need modding in one way or another. If you intend keeping your car for a few years then buy a battery from mazda, more expensive [£100?] than the competition, but they have been known to give 13-14 years of good reliable use. You will not get that from a modern Wesco or similar type.
I would love to keep my car for many years, although in real terms I probably only have a year or two left with her. I managed to find a local dealer who will match MX5 parts price on the Westco and also fit it for me, so I dont have to worry about cold hands! She jumps fine so I will be able to get her in, only problem is they aren’t going to have the batteries until the end of next week so it means I am without my car for another week!
Part of me is thinking I should just get it from mx5parts, recieve it tomorrow fit it Saturday- then I remember how awkward it is to disconnect the neutral terminal and also worry about fitting it with the original clamp I think it might be worth the extra wait…?!? One opinion I am sure of- I wish I wasnt so bloody blonde!
Ordered the Westco battery Thursday, arrived Friday, fitted this morning very easily. It was slightly narrower than the original so didnt fit in the tray exactly, but the clamps tightened it really good so there’s no chance it’s moving- practically like for like. Started first time, and out for a drive- thanks!