Hi everybody.i,m new to this bought my elan+2 last year but its been stood all winter.Getting ready for good weather but need a new battery and possible alternator upgrade.Any input re:speck would be welcomed

gsl

Hi gsl,
have a look here http://www.lincon.co.uk/
they are v helpful

RichC

I use my Lotuses in warm weather only, bringing the batteries into the house during the winter. It is my understanding that one of the most prevelant causes of battery failure is corrosion forming across the plates due to lack of use. As the batteries with the lower CCAs contain fewer plates, the plates are spaced further apart thus reducing the probability of corrosion induced failure. This combined with the fact that I'm never faced with attempting to crank the motor at 30 degrees below zero is why I always choose a battery with the lowest CCA designation I can find.

Hi

I used a halfords HB007 in mine seems to work fine I think it was originally specified for a metro cranks a bit slow when really cold but did start over the recent cold snap OK. Uless you have a large electrical load a 35 amp unit should be fine. I have attached a sketch of the wiring. Club Lotus do and ITec bulletin on the subject with the full info

hope this helps best of luck

Bob

Hi gsl

Biggest problem I am having with selecting a battery for my Plus 2 is the height restriction due to the low floor board clearance. Haven't found an online resource yet with a call-up of the battery size or "BCI Group Number" for the Plus 2 application. If anyone knows it would be helpful.

Anyway, in Googling around I found this useful link. Seems modern auto batteries are spec'd by Battery Council International (BCI) sizes by "Group Number". The following link provides a down-loadable pdf of the 2007 Battery Replacement Manual. Tables provide the standard dimensions and terminal configurations of the various standard size call-ups, along with the basic cold cranking performance and reserve capacity spec's. Figured this would assist in selecting one that will fit the limited space better. The previous owner's solution was rather inelegant, involving the use of a jig saw on the floor boards.

http://www.rdidistribution.com/brdbook2 ... ok2007.pdf

There are some other on-line resources as well. I found this summary of the BCI dimensions on the Golden Gate Lotus Club site, but did not see a Lotus specific size recommendation, which would be helpful:

http://www.gglotus.org/ggtech/battery-b ... i-size.htm

I can't find it now, but one of the tables I was looking at allowed you to sort ascending in any of the key dimensions.

Anyway, reviewing the BCI sizes, I had it figured to consider the Group Number 90 to fit the hole correctly. Might want to check me on this; haven't ordered or fitted a replacement yet.

I checked the Halford site based on the post above, and they do list vintage Lotus in their call-up lists. The returned battery selection appears to match BCI Group 90 in the key dimensions, which is helpful. I am not that fussed on terminal location & type as I am in the process of re-wiring.

HTH

Stuart, my Plus 2 S130, has a cutout in the boot floor boards around the battery. This effectively means there is no real restriction on the height. The cutout is reinforced, appears to be well executed so I can't tell if it is factory or owner modified.

Must say when I replaced the battery, I just used a modern Bosch Silver unit. The starting, especially hot, was hugely improved. No more fingers in the mouth as to whether it would fire. I put this down to a much higher voltage available at the points due to lower voltage dip when cranking with the bigger, more modern battery.

In the future, I'm only every going to instal lightweight small batteries for track days for example. Otherwise just off the shelf modern batteries

Regards

Gerry

Hi Everyone

For a 1973 Plus 2 130/5, here in the UK at least, the original battery was designated as an 037 and looks like the one in this add.

http://www.tayna.co.uk/037-Numax-Car-Battery-P981.html

I don't know about other Plus 2 models or what would have been used in the States

Unfortunatly these are getting quite difficult to come by now as most batterys these days come with round terminals and not lugs, but they can still be found

I do feel these batterys are a bit on the small side and in the Plus 2 there is room to fit one a bit larger, I stick with this however as it's the same size as the one in my Europa so it gives me the option of swapping them over from car to car if I need to. Actually I have found that one of the biggest problems with starting is not battery size but voltage drop in the long cable which connects the battery to the starter solonoid. Do make sure this is in good condition and all the terminal are clean and tight or it will cause all sorts of starting problems

Gerry, on the subject of cut out in the boot floor, I would suggest the one in your car isn't original. The original boot floor board was simply a sheet of plywood and had no frame around the cut out or even a lid. The battery was simply covered by the boot carpet which is why most of the original carpets have long since rotted away.

Andy

Thanks for the link and description Andy. Very helpful.


The dimensional data for the 037 compares well with the BCI Group 90, with the Group 90 40 mm wider but 25 mm shorter than stock. I think there is plenty of width room available, but the slope in thee floor has to be accounted for I suppose. Group 90 posts on same sides as 037. Looks like Group 90 posts are inset in the battery top though, which may cause an issue for stock terminals, so worth checking. Group 90 looks like a potentially good upgrade in power with considerably more cold cranking than stock.




Gerry, sounds similar to mine. My current plan is to adjust the floor height slightly when making up replacement floor panels. All the support clips were removed for body prep. I need to raise the floor ~ 1/2 inch anyway to fit the spare tire in the well without buckling the floor panel. Might be able to use my existing battery with the floor raised, will have to see. The Federal parts book shows a felt pad to cover the battery, but that is long gone on mine.



Here are the dimensions of the two batteries...

Type...............L.. x..W. x..H.. (mm)
BCI Group 90...242 x 175 x 175
037...............245 x 135 x 200