There was a time when it was a simple old one out, new one in task. But replacing the battery on a modern vehicle is now much more involved. It is absolutely essential the battery on newer vehicles is replaced with one of the correct specification. If a vehicle is fitted with an AGM Start-Stop battery then the replacement must also be AGM Start-Stop. The same applies to EFB specification products. The fitter also needs to tell the vehicle what has been done.

Most modern vehicles come fitted with a Battery Management System which monitors the battery to maintain optimum charge efficiency and operation of the Start-Stop system. On vehicles fitted with a BMS it is essential to reprogram the unit via the on-board diagnostics (OBD) port to validate that a new battery has been fitted. Failure to fit the correct specification battery or validate can result in many issues such as, system faults, in-car error messages, loss of Start-Stop functionality and significantly reduced battery life.

Garages also need to be aware that on many new vehicles the battery is no longer easy to located under the bonnet. In many instances the replacement process can be time consuming, with some vehicles requiring up to an hour and a half of work, such as the Audi Q5.

Battery experts Yuasa and GS offer a number of helpful, money and time saving solutions to make battery replacement as straightforward as possible. The Yuasa and GS Online Battery Lookup tools are completely free to use and can be accessed using a Yuasa or GS USB Smart Button, or by entering fit.yuasa.co.uk or batterylookupgb.gs-battery.com  into a browser. The sites provide Europe’s most powerful battery lookup tools and are used by over 75,000 technicians. Their quick search facility offers a host of ways to find the correct battery including photo registration, vehicle registration, make/model, cross reference and battery specification.

The system also shows vital information including battery type warnings, estimated fitting time, battery and OBD location and also detailed fitting instructions to help price a job and save valuable time. Technicians can also access live technical support, and chat in real time to a member of Yuasa’s or GS’s technical team.

Also available Yuasa and GS Yu-Fit Battery Configurators whuich are hand held diagnostic tools which validate that a new battery has been fitted via the vehicle’s OBD port. Durable and easy to use, they are useful additions as separate diagnostic tools so as to avoid waiting for a system to be available.