Battery Replacement Giulia - UK

4447 Views 121 Replies 17 Participants Last post by paul19787530, 2 d ago

Gazum123

Discussion Starter · 1 mo ago

Hello All,

So had the car a month and the battery is around 4 years old. Have driven the car around 1000 miles about 5 days ago a 400 mile round trip and then left the car for 3-4 days.

I have been getting the Low Battery warning which seems to disappear then a few days later come back so I am thinking its time to replace the battery.

Theres lot's of talk about Batteries and I wanted to see what other Giulia UK owners have replaced their battery with .

2017 Super (Q2) Petrol.

Cheers

Reactions: 1

1 - 20 of 122 Posts

TheCrazyCabbage

· #2 · 1 mo ago

Worked at an Alfa dealer for a while, and we changed lots of batteries under warranty. 4 years is a particularly short lifespan for a modern battery, but these cars just seemed to eat them. Obviously, we swapped the batteries out for genuine ones, but most reputable manufacturers' batteries should have a suitable alternative.

Personally, i'd spend the extra cash and get one with a 4 or 5 year warrenty - that way if it plays up again, you get it replaced for free!

Reactions: 1

Gazum123

Discussion Starter · #3 · 1 mo ago

TheCrazyCabbage said:
Worked at an Alfa dealer for a while, and we changed lots of batteries under warranty. 4 years is a particularly short lifespan for a modern battery, but these cars just seemed to eat them. Obviously, we swapped the batteries out for genuine ones, but most reputable manufacturers' batteries should have a suitable alternative.

Personally, i'd spend the extra cash and get one with a 4 or 5 year warrenty - that way if it plays up again, you get it replaced for free!

Any recommendations on a decent battery ? I think a 4/5 year is a wise investment you never know might never need to buy another one....

Krish

· #4 · 1 mo ago

Gazum123 said:
Any recommendations on a decent battery ? I think a 4/5 year is a wise investment you never know might never need to buy another one....

Try to do a battery check / test from a dealer. If the battery is to blame, then well, its the battery ...

If the test shows your battery is ok and you're willing to shell out less than a 100 quid, try replacing the IBS (Intelligent Battery Sensor). It is a simple job ...

Reactions: 1

TheCrazyCabbage

· #5 · 1 mo ago

An IBS is treating the symptom, not the cause. And lets be honest, you don't buy a Giulia to plug it in when you get home!

Another problem the Giulia's suffer from is th Infotainment system not shutting down. Check the volume control knob, they have a habit of sticking, this means the infortainment system doesn't shut down properly as its constantly receiving a signal.

Krish

· #6 · 1 mo ago

TheCrazyCabbage said:
An IBS is treating the symptom, not the cause. And lets be honest, you don't buy a Giulia to plug it in when you get home!

Another problem the Giulia's suffer from is th Infotainment system not shutting down. Check the volume control knob, they have a habit of sticking, this means the infortainment system doesn't shut down properly as its constantly receiving a signal.

I posted this on giuliaforums.com, but copy/pasting here:

I had a similar issue with my 2018 Giulia: my S/S stopped working since a year (or maybe a bit longer) which wasn't that bad, but it also caused the heated rear window (HRW) to stop working. That was irritating . . . not to mention dangerous in the winter months here in the Netherlands. And occasionally, I'd get a low battery despite having driven medium distances (50-100km per day) in the days before.

Topping up my battery with a CTEK charger would result in S/S working for just a day or two. MultiECUScan indicated IBS charge dropping from well above 90% to 60%-70%; apparently not enough for S/S or HRW to work.

Dealer said battery was fine, they did a battery test. Asked about IBS, they said they didn't know as it didn't show any errors.

Got tired of HRW not working in the winter mornings and I ordered a new IBS, cleaned the battery poles with a wire brush, installed the new IBS myself.

That was over a month ago.

S/S has worked every day since . . .

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TheCrazyCabbage

· #7 · 1 mo ago

The S/S stops working below 85%, and the heated rear screen at 65%. So a faulty IBS sensor could trick the car into thinking the battery was duff.

However, If your battery was dropping from 90 to 60%, then there is a parasitic draw somewhere. The IBS itself wouldn't cause a battery to discharge, and as long as the alternator is working, it should put charge back into the battery.

More likely, is that you had a power draw which was causing the battery to drain. Disconnecting the battery has reset everything for now.

Reactions: 2

Kidz147

· #8 · 1 mo ago

www.tayna.co.uk

EK950 Exide Start-Stop AGM Car Battery 95Ah 017

Starter Battery with Superior AGM 017 Cycling Capacity * 12 Volt * 95Ah * 850 CCA (EN) * 353L x 175W x 190H (mm) * Spill Proof * Vibration Resistance Replaces Exide 017AGM, Exide EK900 and EK920.

www.tayna.co.uk

Reactions: 2

marknewton1971

· #9 · 1 mo ago

Kidz147 said:
EK950 Exide Start-Stop AGM Car Battery 95Ah 017

Starter Battery with Superior AGM 017 Cycling Capacity * 12 Volt * 95Ah * 850 CCA (EN) * 353L x 175W x 190H (mm) * Spill Proof * Vibration Resistance Replaces Exide 017AGM, Exide EK900 and EK920.

www.tayna.co.uk

I bought this one as well. But I'm also planning to replace the IBS as I have some weird erratic charge level fluctuations.
Where did you get yours from @Krish?

Reactions: 1

Jetmeister

· #10 · 1 mo ago

Krish said:
I posted this on giuliaforums.com, but copy/pasting here:

I had a similar issue with my 2018 Giulia: my S/S stopped working since a year (or maybe a bit longer) which wasn't that bad, but it also caused the heated rear window (HRW) to stop working. That was irritating . . . not to mention dangerous in the winter months here in the Netherlands. And occasionally, I'd get a low battery despite having driven medium distances (50-100km per day) in the days before.

Topping up my battery with a CTEK charger would result in S/S working for just a day or two. MultiECUScan indicated IBS charge dropping from well above 90% to 60%-70%; apparently not enough for S/S or HRW to work.

Dealer said battery was fine, they did a battery test. Asked about IBS, they said they didn't know as it didn't show any errors.

Got tired of HRW not working in the winter mornings and I ordered a new IBS, cleaned the battery poles with a wire brush, installed the new IBS myself.

That was over a month ago.

S/S has worked every day since . . .

Where did you order the replacement IBS from?
Thanks

paul19787530

· #11 · 1 mo ago

Gazum123 said:
Hello All, So had the car a month and the battery is around 4 years old. Have driven the car around 1000 miles about 5 days ago a 400 mile round trip and then left the car for 3-4 days. I have been getting the Low Battery warning which seems to disappear then a few days later come back so I am thinking its time to replace the battery. Theres lot's of talk about Batteries and I wanted to see what other Giulia UK owners have replaced their battery with . 2017 Super (Q2) Petrol. i had the battery replaced under warranty on my 197bhp petrol Giulia recently after the rear heated windscreen and door mirrors stopped working but because i mostly do short journeys the heated rear screen and the stop/ start system hardly works at all now, i only bought my 2017 Guilia about 4 months ago, however, i owned a Alfa GT 2 litre petrol before that for 8 years and there absolutely no problem with the rear screen, the town fuel consumption is dreadful and worse than my old GT around and I use manual to make sure it kicks into 6th gear on a 30mph road but on long motorway drives it is a lot better than the Alfa GT but it should improve now we are getting warmer weather here un South east England.

paul19787530

· #12 · 1 mo ago

TheCrazyCabbage said:
Worked at an Alfa dealer for a while, and we changed lots of batteries under warranty. 4 years is a particularly short lifespan for a modern battery, but these cars just seemed to eat them. Obviously, we swapped the batteries out for genuine ones, but most reputable manufacturers' batteries should have a suitable alternative.

Personally, i'd spend the extra cash and get one with a 4 or 5 year warrenty - that way if it plays up again, you get it replaced for free!

When the battery gets below 80% the heated rear windscreen, door mirrors and the stop/ start system shuts down which isn't very convenient, this so called modem technology on my 2017 Giulia sucks and if it does it again next winter then i might part exchange it for a car that doesn't do that, my younger brother's 2018 Mazda 3 for instance..

Wobbler72

· #13 · 1 mo ago

Another vote for the EK950 Exide Start-Stop AGM Car Battery 95Ah 017.

Been fitted on my 2017 QV for 18 months now

Reactions: 1

Krish

· #14 · 1 mo ago

Part number 50548044
from tuynder.com (I believe it is based in NL - unsure of costs/shipping to UK).

CONTROL UNIT | Tuynder B.V.

Andy Bowden

· #15 · 1 mo ago

paul19787530 said:
When the battery gets below 80% the heated rear windscreen, door mirrors and the stop/ start system shuts down which isn't very convenient, this so called modem technology on my 2017 Giulia sucks and if it does it again next winter then i might part exchange it for a car that doesn't do that, my younger brother's 2018 Mazda 3 for instance..

The SoC threshold for the HRW is about 60% and is not the same threshold as applied to S/S operation.
I agree this design feature of the car is potentially a safety consideration. It is unacceptable that AR have never given the original Giulia's a software fix.
However, in my case the HRW has always worked when I needed it. Having had S/S permanently disabled, I believe, has allowed me to run my Quadrofgio on its original battery now 6 years old.

marknewton1971

· #16 · 1 mo ago

Krish said:
Part number 50548044
from tuynder.com (I believe it is based in NL - unsure of costs/shipping to UK).

CONTROL UNIT | Tuynder B.V.

Shipping to the UK is €150! Ouch.

marknewton1971

· #17 · 1 mo ago

Andy Bowden said:
The SoC threshold for the HRW is about 60% and is not the same threshold as applied to S/S operation.
I agree this design feature of the car is potentially a safety consideration. It is unacceptable that AR have never given the original Giulia's a software fix.
However, in my case the HRW has always worked when I needed it. Having had S/S permanently disabled, I believe, has allowed me to run my Quadrofgio on its original battery now 6 years old.

It is a mad design that allows heated seats and steering wheels to work while disabling the rear screen demister.

However, I believe that the earlier cars often suffered from maybe 3 different issues which caused the battery to drain. There is the much documented radio on/off switch. There are issues with the wiring loom and relays in the wheel arches. Plus it would appear that the IBS sensor on the negative terminal on the battery can be faulty.

Some cars won't suffer from any of those issues as they appear to be early manufacturing issues, we don't hear owners of later cars complaining about any of this. I'm planning to replace the IBS on mine and hopefully my battery will stay charged correctly. Maybe then I'll get irritated with the S/S. It doesn't work often enough for me to be annoyed at the moment.

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Reactions: 3

captainham

· #18 · 1 mo ago

Gazum123 said:
Theres lot's of talk about Batteries and I wanted to see what other Giulia UK owners have replaced their battery with .

I went with Bosch S5 A13 95ah AGM after seeing others had fitted this on the forum. So far so good.

In my experience, you’ll need a long extension on your socket set to reach the rear retaining bolt when fitting the 95ah (as its larger than the 80ah) and so space is at a premium, but with some smart placement of your phone camera, you should just about be able to see what you’re doing!

paul19787530

· #19 · 1 mo ago

Andy Bowden said:
The SoC threshold for the HRW is about 60% and is not the same threshold as applied to S/S operation.
I agree this design feature of the car is potentially a safety consideration. It is unacceptable that AR have never given the original Giulia's a software fix.
However, in my case the HRW has always worked when I needed it. Having had S/S permanently disabled, I believe, has allowed me to run my Quadrofgio on its original battery now 6 years old.
My heated rear windscreen, mirrors and the stop/ start system is not even working now and most of my short journeys are in broad daylight, .the Alfa Romeo main dealership in Dartford replaced the battery in mid March this year..this isn't acceptable and useless i buy a solar trickle charger i will not have a rear demister this coming winter...suck.

Andy Bowden

· #20 · 1 mo ago

paul19787530 said:
My heated rear windscreen, mirrors and the stop/ start system is not even working now and most of my short journeys are in broad daylight, .the Alfa Romeo main dealership in Dartford replaced the battery in mid March this year..this isn't acceptable and useless i buy a solar trickle charger i will not have a rear demister this coming winter...suck.

You are almost certain to be one of the many who have had their Giulia battery replaced unnecessarily, with a dealer having addressed a symptom not the root cause.
If after a new battery has been fitted, the HRW quite soon stops working again or other issues return, it is almost certain that there is some parasitic drain on the battery which needs to be found and eliminated.

Reactions: 2

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