The Battery in my '07 V8V went from seemingly full of life to fully deceased yesterday. From cranking hard and fast, straight to click click click click click and wouldn't hold a charge after jumping. So, new battery. I know from reading these forums that I should have ordered a one pound space shuttle battery, but I needed it NOW, so I got the best item they had at NTB. It'll be fine. It was a half inch taller than what came out, but that didn't cause too much trouble.

Big shout out to Telum01 for his demystifying DIY video, which I watched before digging in!

My car was about like his, except that mine inexplicably had an additional 8mm hex head bolt going through an additional hole to secure the long aluminum trim piece that runs athwart the car right behind the seats (and which I call The Sword, because I almost slashed various patches of leather and alcantara trying to remove it from the car).

Speaking of secondary damages, about 15 seconds in to the job, I dragged a screw driver along a seat back, because I'm a genius:



This is why we can't have nice things.

Then I decided that the dastardly battery sliders would be less likely to wreck my chi if I reconceptualized them as battery leaners. By prying outward on them with EXTREME CAUTION, I was able to get everything to flex enough to squeek the plastic lip of the battery just around the aluminum lip of the clamp. If you're going to try this, maybe tape the clamps first to avoid marring them. I started with nylon body work scrapers and a very soft touch, which was adequate to getting the dead battery out. It was shorter, and so could lean back another millimeter or two before the top of it interfered with the back wall of the area the battery sits in. Getting the new, taller battery in required a little more authoritative prying, because it really couldn't lean back at all. Here is a terrifying photo:



This procedure was quick, and you're seeing the moment after the battery dropped down past the lips of the pried-back clamps. The sliders were not deformed, and they move back and forth as they did before. I thought I had managed not to mar them, but that photo seems to show a nick or something in the left slider, right by the pry bar arm there. Not sure if that's an artifact of the photo or a ding. Coulda been avoided with tape, in any event.

The windows lost their minds when the power went out. I used the reset procedure mentioned in these forums and it worked on the first try.

The whole thing was pretty quick and painless, especially after watching Telum01's video, which let me barrel through much more quickly than if I were investigating totally alien tech for the first time. Three weeks in to owning it, the car now feels more like it's really mine after this little bit of tinkering.

 

I've yet to see the video but the sliders take a few seconds to get off without any hassle. Back off the 2 tork screws per slider, slide them off the bracket to the left and under the trim panel.......K.I.S.S

 

Thanks for the added pictures & details. Good also to know our car is on of the 'newer' electricals that go from starting fine to zip. Basically if the battery drops below a certain % nothing will happen. Had that with another car in recent years. Traditionally you could tell the starts were getting slower & slower giving you at least a couple days to react.

I know from a purist point, locating the battery amidships should be ideal.. but they really should be shot for putting what might be one of the heaviest batteries around... behind the passenger seat... In the trunk diagonally across from the driver has worked just fine for BMWs typically 50/50 weight split for decades! And its not an exercise in patience to change a battery.

 

Normally replacing a car battery is not a dealer item. But this battery is in a difficult location ant the thing is so big and HEAVY.
When mine needs to be replaced either I will take it to the dealer, or drag it out and modify the sliders so the damm things just slide off. I am thinking that the sliders could be cut down, and the rails they slide on could be modified so they can be removed once they are moved to the end of the rail without pulling and stretching the carpet.

 

I'd be terrified of prying... seems like it'd be pretty easy to damage something!

 

It would indeed be easy to damage something prying! I wouldn't recommend that technique to anyone who didn't have a pretty good feel for what aluminum will tolerate. Alas, on my car, the carpet trim piece that goes along the side, between the sliders and the wiring harness that also interferes, was backed by a hard plastic board and extended three inches rearward past where the sliders would need to travel. There was no way to flex, bend, scootch that trim piece enough, and removing that whole piece looked even more painful.

The alarming pry bar photo reminded me of something I hadn't thought of in a long time. I used to work as an auto tech at a well-respected shop. One day I was putting new brake shoes on a lady's Civic. The drums had never been off the car, and they were stuck. I tried bolts in the drum first, no luck. I tried WD-40 and a ball peen hammer near the hub, no luck. Finally I used the never fail method, a dead blow hammer carefully applied. Anyway, the lady happened to drop by the shop right as I was working in the front bay, visible to all, WAILING on this drum, swinging for fences. She had the funniest look of horror on her face. Happily the drum popped off just then, and the boss walked up to her and explained that I was the shop specialist for this sort of thing. But the look on her face...

 

I think I'll let the dealer do this one when the time comes!
CATTMAN

 

The correct answer is this is a three step process
1) Go to Dealer
2) Fork over an hour+ labor $$$$
3) Drink as many free lates as you can trying to recoup your money.

I haven't cursed up a storm quite this bad on a car project in a while.

I DID find a useful nugget to this masochistic process should you choose to punish yourself for good sport. In the picture attached, there is a panel screw above the + marking on the battery sticker (upper pict middle) Remove this and it will allow you (with great effort) to pry the lower part of the panel out far enough to slide off lower clips. (use a star drive wrench to loosen the screws). Its still a mother of a job. Note the clamps sliding off lower left of the picture.

You also have a very exposed positive battery lead right in this area... suggest concentrating on the order of operations... disconnect battery first.

BTW I bought the Duracell SLI49AGM locally in stock from the Batteries Plus store. $200. Fit perfect.... once you get the old one out!

 

Aha - something to keep in mind for next time!

 

Hi - midst changing out my battery. As you can see the vent tube is connected at the battery positive side. Can't figure out where the end of the vent tube was connected at the other end from the battery - It seemed connected when I was lifting out the old one. Can someone tell me where the hose end connects.

 

The other end of the vent hose goes through a grommet, and exits the cabin through the floor to the outside of the car just in front of the rear wheel. I replaced my hose when I replaced my battery.

 

Sorry I'm no help - I left the other end of the tube wherever it was and didn't pay any attention to that end of the plumbing. Presumably, the tube passes through a grommet to the outside of the car, of course, so that any acid would drain outside.

 

DonL - thank you so much. Once you posted that photo I could see the outlet grommet under the car and knew where it was meant to exit. I found it easier to feed the hose up from the outside to the vent than try to get at it from above.

Thanks again,

Ian

 

What a job to change a battery. Died overnight without warning. Anyway done now. Just thought I'd add - I live north of Toronto in a small suburb town - not a lot of choice for auto parts on a Saturday afternoon of a long weekend. The battery I was replacing in my AM had the Jaguar logos on it and fit pretty tight. 13.9" x 7.5" x 6.9" (LxHxW) I recall from my BMW days though that batteries just get labeled and the same factories make them for many different clients, so I took a chance and tried the two big box stores near my town (Canadian Tire and Wal-Mart).

Cut long short - no luck at the first one but the exact same battery that was in my AM was to be had at the local Wal-Mart. When I say exact - I mean exact. The only thing different are the labels. It is the exact spec. cast from the same mold.
Cost was $152 CDN (about $112 USD)