The Mégane II Owners' Club

I got another dead battery. Only 2 years and 2 months since it was replaced at Renault dealership with the Renault battery at £165 and its now looking likely to be exactly the same as last time - completely caput and dead.

I'm gonna try charging it up but I'm not too hopeful.

You'd think at £165 that it would last longer than 2 years 2 months wouldn't you?

If I am to replace this with a standard car battery, can anyone tell me what would happen with the special tubing that attaches to the current battery? Would you just not attach it anywhere? Does it matter? Or does that actually have to be connected up to one of those special batteries that you have to pay £165 quid for?

Finally, anyone know where I can source an appropriate battery for my megane online or in a store, that doesn't cost the Earth and will last longer than the official Renault ones? I have the 1.6 megane2. I think its the 48ah battery.

Cheers,
John
(had to train it to work today cause the blasted thing wouldn't start and I hate public transport even more than I hate french cars)

I did a web search and found a few battery replacements. Still not sure where the tube would go though.

In any case I have read something else on the web that sounds very much like my current problem.

It says about the Camshaft Sensor when it goes it causes power drain to battery. It may be a new camshaft sensor I need not a battery which would be slightly better as I believe they are only about £35~40 to replace. Just not sure how easy it is to replace or if there are any instructions/pdfs anywhere on these forums I can find that detail replaceing this sensor. May have to pop it into local garage to do. Think it will also need ecu reprogramming after too.

John

john10001 wrote:I got another dead battery. Only 2 years and 2 months since it was replaced at Renault dealership with the Renault battery at £165 and its now looking likely to be exactly the same as last time - completely caput and dead.

I'm gonna try charging it up but I'm not too hopeful.

You'd think at £165 that it would last longer than 2 years 2 months wouldn't you?

If I am to replace this with a standard car battery, can anyone tell me what would happen with the special tubing that attaches to the current battery? Would you just not attach it anywhere? Does it matter? Or does that actually have to be connected up to one of those special batteries that you have to pay £165 quid for?

Finally, anyone know where I can source an appropriate battery for my megane online or in a store, that doesn't cost the Earth and will last longer than the official Renault ones? I have the 1.6 megane2. I think its the 48ah battery.

Cheers,
John
(had to train it to work today cause the blasted thing wouldn't start and I hate public transport even more than I hate french cars)

If you can find a battery of the 48Ah rating that isn't physically bigger, it's a straight swap.

The tube is for hydrogen fumes. It's a bit of a joke - ignore it.

If you had a camshaft sensor problem you would most likely also have a flat spot or other problems. Either way, I don't think the part needs coding, and if I remember correctly, it is easy to change (I have a diesel so don't know much). A battery should not fail after less than 2 years unless it has been repeatedly flattened. I wouldn't imagine that a faulty sensor would cause this. Unipart used to sell such a battery for about £53 with a 3 year guarantee.

There will be a link somewhere to your engine type in the pdf links section for instructions. You will have to reset the windows and have the radio code to hand - and after putting the battery back expect bad fuel economy for a short while when the ECU relearns your driving habits.

davelowe wrote:

john10001 wrote:If you can find a battery of the 48Ah rating that isn't physically bigger, it's a straight swap.

The tube is for hydrogen fumes. It's a bit of a joke - ignore it.

If you had a camshaft sensor problem you would most likely also have a flat spot or other problems. Either way, I don't think the part needs coding, and if I remember correctly, it is easy to change (I have a diesel so don't know much). A battery should not fail after less than 2 years unless it has been repeatedly flattened. I wouldn't imagine that a faulty sensor would cause this. Unipart used to sell such a battery for about £53 with a 3 year guarantee.

There will be a link somewhere to your engine type in the pdf links section for instructions. You will have to reset the windows and have the radio code to hand - and after putting the battery back expect bad fuel economy for a short while when the ECU relearns your driving habits.

Dave,
Thanks for the info. Just wondering what a flat spot is and what other problems a bust camshaft sensor could indicate?

Cheers,
John

John,

You're asking the wrong guy about this but from what I remember, stalling, toxic fume light and hesitation at certain RPM bands are typical symptoms.

Someone will come along and answer.

john10001 wrote:I got another dead battery. Only 2 years and 2 months since it was replaced at Renault dealership with the Renault battery at £165 and its now looking likely to be exactly the same as last time - completely caput and dead.

I'm gonna try charging it up but I'm not too hopeful.

You'd think at £165 that it would last longer than 2 years 2 months wouldn't you?

If I am to replace this with a standard car battery, can anyone tell me what would happen with the special tubing that attaches to the current battery? Would you just not attach it anywhere? Does it matter? Or does that actually have to be connected up to one of those special batteries that you have to pay £165 quid for?

Finally, anyone know where I can source an appropriate battery for my megane online or in a store, that doesn't cost the Earth and will last longer than the official Renault ones? I have the 1.6 megane2. I think its the 48ah battery.

Cheers,
John
(had to train it to work today cause the blasted thing wouldn't start and I hate public transport even more than I hate french cars)

Hello i`ve recently replaced my battry with one from motor hog for £20 and that was for a 1.9 dci megane and it works just fine they test every battry so try their my friend

The diesels have bigger battery owing to the current drain during glowplug operation and higher compression ratio. Sounds like a winner for a petrol engine!