Battery Size?.

Post by **PaulJohnson** » Thu Apr 17, 2003 11:44 pm

Hello Everyone

I seem to have a small problem with the battery on the moggy minor I bought 6 weeks ago, Its to small.

I took the car for my dad to have a look and the first thing he said that the battery was to small, it is a 038 size and it has the washer bottle next to it, my dad says that minor batterys are about 1ft long.

Can somone please tell me what size I need and how much they are from a motorshop, also where does the washer bottle go?.

Post by **Willie** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 8:44 pm

Lo ,the battery rating varied somewhat over the years but the
usual is 40Amphr to 43Amphr, You can fit a higher rated(heavy
duty battery if you wish as there is plenty of room in the battery
compartment. Try Halfords, they do a suitable battery and it comes
with a three year guarantee for under £30 (or it did until recently)!
The washer bottle usually fits on the offside inner wing,opposite the
distributor in the engine bay. It depends on the model.

Post by **Willie** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 8:45 pm

Lo ,the battery rating varied somewhat over the years but the
usual is 40Amphr to 43Amphr, You can fit a higher rated(heavy
duty battery if you wish as there is plenty of room in the battery
compartment. Try Halfords, they do a suitable battery and it comes
with a three year guarantee for under £30 (or it did until recently)!
The washer bottle usually fits on the offside inner wing,opposite the
distributor in the engine bay. It depends on the model.

Post by **PaulJohnson** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 11:59 pm

Thanks Willie thats just the info that I need.

Post by **rayofleamington** » Sat Apr 19, 2003 3:14 am

Hi Paul,
I would think that an 038 is normal.
Many years ago the battery would have been larger as they are made more compact these days - Physical size is not the issue.

If you go to Halfords, look up a car with a similar engine (eg old Mini 1000 - probably listed under Rover) and that will give you some numbers to compare to your '038'.

Amp hours is a good reference for battery strength but if you go for a much bigger battery the dynamo will not charge it properly and you'll be no better off.
My late 1.6 Montego had a 44 Amp hour battery... That's far bigger than you'd need on a Morris, so I use the battery just for jump starting other people's cars.