Replacing car battery concerns

Bronco Bullfrog

Hello,
I have a 2003 Peugeot 406 Hdi. The original battery has only just died after 15 years in the car. I have got a replacement, but changing a battery these days is not so straightforward as it used to be what with all the electrics on cars now.

The battery is flat. At the moment I have a solar powered battery maintainer in the windscreen attached to the cigarette lighter. The radio works and I can open & lock doors.
But, I am concerned about changing the battery over with the replacement battery that I have. Here are some of the instructions for disconnecting a battery on this type of car:
Whenever a vehicle battery has to be disconnected, switch off all equipment interior lights etc. close the doors
leaving the driver's window down.
2. Switch off the ignition and remove the key and DIAG if connected.
3. Wait a full 3-minutes before disconnecting the battery.
The BSI must be allowed to go to sleep i.e into 'Power Save' mode. Do not operate any equipment on the vehicle during this time. Remember, even opening the bonnet will wake up the BSI on the vehicle fitted with an alarm.
If the battery is under the bonnet open the bonnet first and leave it up.

The BSI is the ECU that controls things like immobilizer, instrument cluster, central locking etc. It seems there is a danger of these not working properly after disconnecting the battery.

Full instructions here:-
https://bit.ly/2EBYXBL

So I cannot open the driver’s window, no power, for some reason, the only window that will open on the car is the driver’s side rear passenger door window.
The cigarette lighter in the car works but only lukewarm.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to proceed given that I cannot open the driver’s window?
Has anyone ever used a memory minder that you hook up to another battery and connect either to the OECB port or to the cigarette lighter? Examples like this available on Amazon:-

https://amzn.to/2T2UIIt

https://amzn.to/2SAFzsE

Could this be a way around this problem of the BSI potentially corrupting itself?
Which would be the best one to go for? The one that attaches to cigarette lighter or the one to the OECB port?

Any advice / suggestions much appreciated. Cheers.

davycha

Hi ,
I have 2001 406 2.0 HDi , I am aware of the BSI procedure you call out .
I have disconnected my battery several times, both to replace the battery and to carry out repairs on the car .
I have never carried out the whole procedure .
what I normally do is:
Remove key from ignition ,
Close door
Open bonnet ,
Leave for about 5 minutes
Disconnect battery
In your case replace battery
Reconnect battery
Insert key in ignition
Start car
Check to see all systems are working.

the only other thing that may catch you is the radio , if it is the original it will be coded to the chassis.
if it is an aftermarket unit you may need a code .

P.S. you did well to get 15 years out of a battery

davycha

w211

Just use the backup power over obd2 and it keeps the computers happy. I bought that kind device from aliexpress and works.

fancy pigeon

Bronco Bullfrog wrote: »

Hello,
I have a 2003 Peugeot 406 Hdi. The original battery has only just died after 15 years in the car. I have got a replacement, but changing a battery these days is not so straightforward as it used to be what with all the electrics on cars now.

The battery is flat. At the moment I have a solar powered battery maintainer in the windscreen attached to the cigarette lighter. The radio works and I can open & lock doors.
But, I am concerned about changing the battery over with the replacement battery that I have. Here are some of the instructions for disconnecting a battery on this type of car:
Whenever a vehicle battery has to be disconnected, switch off all equipment interior lights etc. close the doors
leaving the driver's window down.
2. Switch off the ignition and remove the key and DIAG if connected.
3. Wait a full 3-minutes before disconnecting the battery.
The BSI must be allowed to go to sleep i.e into 'Power Save' mode. Do not operate any equipment on the vehicle during this time. Remember, even opening the bonnet will wake up the BSI on the vehicle fitted with an alarm.
If the battery is under the bonnet open the bonnet first and leave it up.

The BSI is the ECU that controls things like immobilizer, instrument cluster, central locking etc. It seems there is a danger of these not working properly after disconnecting the battery.

Full instructions here:-
https://bit.ly/2EBYXBL

So I cannot open the driver’s window, no power, for some reason, the only window that will open on the car is the driver’s side rear passenger door window.
The cigarette lighter in the car works but only lukewarm.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to proceed given that I cannot open the driver’s window?
Has anyone ever used a memory minder that you hook up to another battery and connect either to the OECB port or to the cigarette lighter? Examples like this available on Amazon:-

https://amzn.to/2T2UIIt

https://amzn.to/2SAFzsE

Could this be a way around this problem of the BSI potentially corrupting itself?
Which would be the best one to go for? The one that attaches to cigarette lighter or the one to the OECB port?

Any advice / suggestions much appreciated. Cheers.

What's the condition of the BSI? You'll need to see if it's showing any signs of corrosion

Memory serving, the unit is located near the fusebox above the accelerator cable

Isambard

i don't suppose it matters which window is open, I imagine that's just to gain access on a "just in case" basis

Bronco Bullfrog

davycha wrote: »

Hi ,
I have 2001 406 2.0 HDi , I am aware of the BSI procedure you call out .
I have disconnected my battery several times, both to replace the battery and to carry out repairs on the car .
I have never carried out the whole procedure .
what I normally do is:
Remove key from ignition ,
Close door
Open bonnet ,
Leave for about 5 minutes
Disconnect battery
In your case replace battery
Reconnect battery
Insert key in ignition
Start car
Check to see all systems are working.

the only other thing that may catch you is the radio , if it is the original it will be coded to the chassis.
if it is an aftermarket unit you may need a code .

P.S. you did well to get 15 years out of a battery

davycha

Thanks very much for info. The radio is also the original, so yes it is VIN coded, so should be no probs there. Yes unreal 15 years! Can't explain it, I did a lot of motorway driving, so I don't know if that had any bearing on it. The make of battery is VARTA 12v L2 400/640 A (EN) that type of Varta doesn't seem to be still available, but other Varta batteries worth looking at. I'd recommend them! Cheers

Bronco Bullfrog

w211 wrote: »

Just use the backup power over obd2 and it keeps the computers happy. I bought that kind device from aliexpress and works.

Cheers thanks for that, I was thinking of going for that option, I have heard the ones that connect to cigarette lighters don't always connect too well. People can end up with problems.

Bronco Bullfrog

fancy pigeon wrote: »

What's the condition of the BSI? You'll need to see if it's showing any signs of corrosion

Memory serving, the unit is located near the fusebox above the accelerator cable

Cheers thanks for the info much appreciated.