What's the largest battery the A6 Avant (C6) can handle? (in terms of CCA, AH and size)

[toff]

Hi,

I work from home and only drive my A6 Avant 3.0 TDI every 3-4 weeks due to the wife passing her test last year - whoop whoop, no more dad's taxi!!

The current EXIDE 100ah battery has been going flat regularly over the last 8 months; so I've invested in an Optimate 5 intelligent charger to keep the battery topped-up. The Optimate's testing algorithm has declared the current battery beyond repair (despite days of being connected & the de-sulphating function) so... I need a new battery.

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Having researched, it seems there is no harm in fitting a battery with a higher CCA (cold cranking amps) or AH (amp hours) capacity than the OEM battery (apart from carrying a bit of extra weight).

The 3.0 TDI is quite a big lump so I'd imagine it will take quite a bit of cranking power to start from cold (especially in the winter); so I've been looking at the following meaty batteries (the Bosch is my preference):

BOSCH S5 - £114.00
Amp Hours (Ah): 110Ah
CCA: 920cca
Length: 393mm
Width: 175mm
Height: 190mm
Battery Type: S5
Type 020


Varta Silver I1 - £102.50
Voltage 12 Volts
Capacity 110 Ah
CCA 920 A
Length 393 mm
Width 175 mm
Height 190 mm




A lot of the websites that let you enter your make & model of car tell me that these batteries will not "fit" my car. I suspect this may be because they don't match the OEM spec in terms of CCA or AH?

I can understand this on a car where the battery has to fit into a confined space under the bonnet but on the A6 Avant, the battery is in the boot and there is a HUGE amount of space with adjustable battery fixing points (presumably Audi did this to allow for larger batteries fitted as standard in colder climates?)

Providing the batteries will physically fit; can anybody advise why I shouldn't go for one of the batteries I've listed above?

Thanks in advance
Al.

[Guest 2]

For like for like, there are a few threads on battery replacement, do a search


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MarkTM]

I fitted the Varta L1 just yesterday and it fitted fine...this was after two battery specialists confirmed that it is exactly the same as the Bosch one.

On my saloon there's a metal battery retaining bracket and there are two holes for the screw to fit, the shorter one for the smaller battery

Get it replaced ASAP as I am now getting a separate fault that's either the regulator or alternator

PS: Gup has fitted the Bosch and coded it with VCDS as I have the Varta

[Splash]

So there's a recommendation from Chris which answers the question that you didn't actually ask (albeit very quickly)!

I too would be very interested in your solution as I'm sure I'll be needing a new battery within the next couple of years.

I have an old pickup which sometimes refuses to charge using a similar charger to yours. A top-up from another vehicle using jump leads is normally sufficient to get the battery to the threshold at which the charger can actively work and potentially delay its replacement.

I'll follow this thread as my 3.0 TDI can sit for a couple of weeks sometimes, although this is less likely now I've just sold a couple of the older ones.

[MarkTM]

For like for like

£187 from Audi with a 2yr guarantee or one that the OP mentioned with 5yrs

Hmmm tough choice!

[toff]

Thank you all for your quick replies.

MarkTM - I'm glad to hear the Varta I1 fits (as I suspected it would) but...

When you say:

Get it replaced ASAP as I am now getting a separate fault that's either the regulator or alternator

Are you saying you think fitting the Varta I1 has caused this? Or are you saying get my dud battery replaced before it knackers the alternator / regulator?

PS: Gup has fitted the Bosch and coded it with VCDS as I have the Varta

Do I need to recode the car so it knows it has a higher capacity battery

Thanks in advance
Al.

[toff]

Hi..

It turns out that Euro Car Parts do list the Bosch 020 S5 battery as a compatible fit for our cars on their website (but not on their eBay auctions - they must have some lazy bugger setting up the auction listings!) The battery was £114.00 on the auction - considerably cheaper than the website (the part numbers match).

I will let you know how I get on once it's fitted. I'm interested to know if I need to code it in on VagCom!? I would't have thought it'd be necessary but am happy to be proven wrong

Al

PS: I went for the Bosch battery because it was only about £10 more and I think they'll have better customer service than Varta if I have to claim on the 5 year warranty (plus it looks more OEM - good if I sell the car in the future).

[Akash]

I fitted the Bosch S5 from ECP (020)
Straight fit, no issues in the car reading it
What I did do first was charge it in the house which took about 4 days but once done, it's been fine.
Interestingly, the battery condition is back down to 40% according to VCDS so I need to probably do a proper charge again - I'm sure it's down to the cams
The battery itself was fitted on the first of Jan this year

[fmc51]

Hi Al,
I needed a new battery for my 2.7 tdi,the original was a 110 AH. All I could get from various suppliers was 100 AH. Fitted Varta version, but made sure that I hooked up the jump leads to a spare unit while the original was removed. No issues with coding, and running fine for last 3 months.
Cheers
Fergus

[MarkTM]

Toff, no I think the fault has been caused by my original battery running flat that needed jump starting twice, hence the damage to either regulator or alternator.

So advise to change before you need to jump yours.

M