Put the CTEK on once a week and see what stage of charge the CTEK is in the next morning, but another note as you just hit on, you can hear it struggling when it doesn't have proper power, that in itself is no good because now that would be heating up the starter because of not enough juice to properly power the starter, then said starter gets hot, when it gets hot it is burning out prematurely, and that's a job you don't want to do, that's an engine out job, that's why it's always best to have your batteries fully charged.....

But now you have brand new batteries, you should be okay for a while, but if you feel it starting to struggle you may have to charge more often.

 

Thanks..your knowledge of primary and secondary issues is extremely helpful. I now see this is potentially a very serious issue, not simply a battery out issue.

Ill wait a week and charge and measure the stage. More thoughts arise:

1) while permanent tender is ideal, how many days between drives of adequate milage is deemed "ok" ...surely driving every other day is ok ? Maybe not..hence the question how many days is ok ?

2) given I'll ctek charge 1 per week per above, what's better...ctek overnight or drive the car ?

3) I bought a midtronics pbt300 battery tester. Given your comments on weak battery causing a strain on the starter motor...is it ok to assume if I'm getting a green light on the test that I'm therefore not straining the starter ? In other words... can I use the midtronics test to prevent strain on the starter even though I'm potentially doing some damage to the battery by weekly ctek charge (as opposed to the ideal permanent tender).

4) I'm ok replacing batteries more frequently. If this is the price to pay for my situation then I'm ok. Naturally I don't want to put any strain at all on the starter motor hence my comments. Again. Thank you. I'm sure others will be encouraged to use the tender based on your point re starter motor.

 

Hi All,
I need to change my battery (-ies maybe) as the main battery is not holding charge well enough. Was near flat recently and the car lost some programming on windows - now reset by doing the "button thing". But, the drivers' seat is stuck in far back position and won't come forward...apparently another reset issue..Any ideas or do I have to go to the dealer? The other battery related issue is that bootlid engine can act up on low battery..
Rabent / others, what is the experience with non-B batteries, such as Varta AGM 95Ah 850 EN?? Thanks !

 

Further to message..anyone know how to "re-program" the drivers' seat following a low/flat battery incident?

 

Its been a while now and everything is perfect with the VARTA AGM 95Ah 850 EN that I replaced in my 2004GT, it simply is better that the OEM Battery that Bentley offers, its got a larger capacity and VARTA is as good as the OEM or better.

 

Hi Johnny, another scenario. Lets say car has sat for 2 weeks and i havent been able to drive it or charge it during that 2 weeks, but i need to drive it immediately and there is no time to charge it. At this point i know the battery is weak and it will strain the starter motor if i attempt to start the car and i want to avoid any strain like the plague. Aside from "not starting it till i charge it" are there other options ie jump with remote battery pack or jump with charger on high voltage. I realize you advised against both of these in a prior post. My question is what is the down side to jumpimg as i described . In other words..what am i damaging by jumping

 

Thanks - can I just check as there are a few models of 95Ah 850... is this the correct one..Batería VARTA Start Stop G14 95Ah-850A ..at 236 EUR? Looks like the only AGM model.. And what is the best replacement for the RH smaller "starter" battery..Varta or Bosch but what size..

My car has the original 10 year old batteries (I know this since I've owned the car since 2 years old), so pretty good going. I didn't use to charge it at all, but after a 3 month stand-still I lost power and now use a CTEK MX 5.0 "smart" charger/maintainer...Which brings the main battery up to full charge overnight (all 8 lights lit on the CTEK). The secondary battery, whenever I put the charger directly on it, appears to be pretty full (full lights quite quickly - I do not have a tester so haven't confirmed properly) and despite being 10 yrs old seems pretty good ..

I am still hoping someone can tell me how to re-set the drivers seat ! Memory on mine has the "Set" button and 3 position buttons. Seat moves in all directions EXCEPT forward, and is stuck in aft most position. So. how do I get this live again?? Thanks for any advice.

WORD OF WARNING:Leaving the car for too long without moving it with a proper drive is NOT recommended.. there is risk that the Air Suspension rubber goes brittle and cracks, causing the car to sit too low overnight and the compressor to work overtime.. That is a $2,500- $3,000 a unit replacement..and once the problem arise Bentley will tell you..not before mind you.. so keep the beauty rolling from time to time..

 

I just replaced both my batteries in GT 05, not too difficult, the hardest part is keeping stuff out of the way as you remove / re-insert battery. I used Interstate on reccomendation of an ex bentley mechanic. so far works great.

With respect to re-program the seats take a look on the rest of this thread, i recall someone told us how. For me the only reset was the driver rear window, the advice is roll down window all the way, release, roll down again ( even though its already down) repeat 3 times, then do the same on roll up. I think the seats are the same, roll backwards, release, roll again, 3 times, roll forward and repeat. it seems it gets programmed at the extremities. as mentioned read the thread for more on this

 

Hi Johnny, with my new batteries, after 8 days of no driving I tested with Midtronics pbt300 and sure enough got green & yellow meaning needs to be charged. I charged and returned after 6 hours to find charge was complete so all this seems normal. I'll test at less than 8 days next time. Question: actually as repeat, forgive me, if battery is low but I really need to drive the car immediaely then I dont want to start the car on the low battery as this strains the starter motor. In this circumstance can I use a batter pack jump or a charger on high amp to start car. I realize you advised against both of these but I'm trying to avoid anything that might strain the starter, if I need to replace batteries every couple of years so be it, its less problem than engine out

 

ContinentalGt05,
I understand your dilemma, so yes if you want star at any given time when the starter battery is weak, yes hook up the jumper box to the right hand starter battery, and then start the car as normal.
Not the best situation but what else you going to do if you're low on power that's what you have to do.....

 

Okay back to my regularly scheduled program !!!

 

Thanks again. I try to write.with concise but complete details. I failed to mention one thing so i have 3 related questions arise from your response 1) so when i said the battery was low after 8 days i was referring to the Main left battery. The right tested just fine and i only charged the main, i did not charge the right. This makes sense as i recall its the left main that is used for electronics in the car that drain while the car is off, whereas the righr battery is not draining (im sure it drains a little in 8 days but not much). Given this scensrio of left low, right ok , do i still use the Booster Pack on the Right or can i assume the Right is doing the work with the starter motor so no need ? Q2) similar question...i would have thought if left low and right ok then to use booster pack on the Left ? Q3) if left is low after say 8 days days and Right is ok, , but i think it will start with normal key operation, albeit with strain on the starter motor lwhich i want to avoid), could i flip key counterclockwise then clockwise to start the car via shared batteries instead of the Starter Pack . In other words, same procedure had Left been completely dead, but its not dead in this scenario

 

If as in question number 3 the left is low but the right is strong then there would be no strain on the starter as the right is strong, if the left is low but still has enough juice to activate the electronics for proper normal starting then all is fine, again there will be no strain on the starter as it right for starter which is not low.

 

I think i almost have it sorted out, thank you . If left is low but strong enough for electronics and right is ok then good to start normally. Questions..ill try to make these the last ! a) When i hook up booster pack to right battery, given it needed it, do i literally just clip positive to positive and negative to negative and then start car immediately or do i wait a few minutes ? b) can i use the booster pack as a source of overnight charge. ? This might solve my dilemma. For example, car battery is low, can i clip on booster pack and leave a few hours to charge the car battery

 

The Owners manual shows instructions for jumping car with making connections of positive on left battery and negative on right battery.
-.02 cents