Battery Not Secure = Failed NCT

Gumbo

can anybody shed some light on this?
my car failed the NCT last night on a relatively minor fault so im not complaining tbh.

the battery needs to be secured but i dont know what i can use to secure it.
can i use large plastic ties or rubber straps????

any ideas?

omb0wyn5ehpij9

I've seen battery's secured with large rubber straps.

What exactly is holding your battery in place at the moment?

pixbyjohn

What type of car is it. Normally it should have a bracket to stop the battery moving about cos it could short and cause a fire.

Gumbo

Bryn wrote: »

I've seen battery's secured with large rubber straps.

What exactly is holding your battery in place at the moment?

nothing really, its just sitting there on its own.

pixbyjohn wrote: »

What type of car is it. Normally it should have a bracket to stop the battery moving about cos it could short and cause a fire.

2002 MG ZR
ive read up on the shorten probelms and risks allright, thats why i wana try fix it properly rather than just for the NCT if you know what i mean.

johndaman66

Snap kceire. I failed NCT last time round for same reason along with a worn front ball joint. It was down to my own stupidity and forgetfullness for not tightening the bracket fully beforehand. I'd imagine all cars would have an adequate bracket day one. Problems might arise where the battery is changed and the new one is not the exaxct same dimension or even slightly different at the fixing point. On the plus side if this was the only problem I'm sure you wouldn't have to pay for a retest but wonders never cease to amaze me regarding NCT.

L1011

I've never seen a car without either a bolted on strap or a metal bracket to secure the battery. Take a look to see if a strap is wedge under the battery...

Onkle on here has had an engine fire caused by a garage not securing his battery properly so its a very legitimate failure!

colm_mcm

some batteries have a little ledge on the bottom that a plate bolts on to hold the battery in place.

You can get universal battery brackets in motor factors.

VolvoMan

The same thing happened to me two weeks ago. There was clamp that held the battery in place but unfortunately it didn't fit the new battery that was installed recently. I'm still looking for something to secure it as well.

ddarraghh

big fat cable ties have to be better than nothing

Gumbo

johndaman66 wrote: »

Snap kceire. I failed NCT last time round for same reason along with a worn front ball joint. It was down to my own stupidity and forgetfullness for not tightening the bracket fully beforehand. I'd imagine all cars would have an adequate bracket day one. Problems might arise where the battery is changed and the new one is not the exaxct same dimension or even slightly different at the fixing point. On the plus side if this was the only problem I'm sure you wouldn't have to pay for a retest but wonders never cease to amaze me regarding NCT.

yeah its a free visual re-check once its carried out within the month after.

MYOB wrote: »

I've never seen a car without either a bolted on strap or a metal bracket to secure the battery. Take a look to see if a strap is wedge under the battery...

Onkle on here has had an engine fire caused by a garage not securing his battery properly so its a very legitimate failure!

nothing there, im sure the previous owner must of bought a new battery at some stage and just never bothered re-fitting the clamp.

colm_mcm wrote: »

some batteries have a little ledge on the bottom that a plate bolts on to hold the battery in place.

You can get universal battery brackets in motor factors.

looks like the motor factors for me then, im sure i'll pick up something over the weekend.

Rev. BlueJeans

Pick up a universal bracket at an auto factors (check it first!).

Free "retest" I'd imagine, as they just need to look at it. They might shoot down tiewraps, so best to do it right IMO.

E39MSport

bought the car with a new battery in it. previous owner couldn't secure it with the original bracket.

I used cable ties but the nct weren't happy with this.

Off to halfords. 'Universal battery clamp please'. Home. Cut it to size. Uses original loops on battery housing to hook into.

Back to NCT with no need to book. Guy behind counter came out to have a look. Went back in a printed out my cert.