Modern Alfas and batteries / electrics
Discussion
In the market for a new car and sorely tempted to scratch the Alfa itch for my daily - doing c. 15k miles pa.
My budget will stretch to c. 2 year old Giulia or Stelvio, (currently debating that bit with Mrs Spud), both in Veloce spec and with c. 12 miles on the clock. I test drove both back-to-back on Saturday at Alfa Oxford and came away really impressed. The Giulia is frankly glorious to drive whilst the Stelvio seriously impressed for an SUV.
Having done the numbers, I am tempted to go for it - but for 1 thing . the battery/electrics hissy-fit conundrum. When I arrived at the dealer, they had made the effort to get the cars ready for me, and they had been sat with engines idling for quite some time to get the batteries into their happy place. HFair play, they were quite frank on this front). Given that it was properly cold and the cars had both probably been stood for quite some time, there was sense to this.
However, my work is changing and I am likely to be spending more time overseas going forwards. This will mean my car will be stood down for up to 2-3 weeks at a time. Whilst this shouldn t really be an issue in the summer months, the last thing I would want is to get back to airport car park after an overnight flight and in a rush to get home only to find my (modern) car won t start. To this end, I would appreciate any thoughts or experience from Alfa owners please.
Also - both cars were suffering from internal condensation. This isn t something I have ever seen from a modern car. However, given they had been stood still for so long, and the cold conditions - would this be expected with pretty much any make and I am just over-thinking it?
Any other wisdom, advice, warnings or encouragement from Giulia or Stelvio drivers would also be much appreciated!
Thanks in advance
Spud
My budget will stretch to c. 2 year old Giulia or Stelvio, (currently debating that bit with Mrs Spud), both in Veloce spec and with c. 12 miles on the clock. I test drove both back-to-back on Saturday at Alfa Oxford and came away really impressed. The Giulia is frankly glorious to drive whilst the Stelvio seriously impressed for an SUV.
Having done the numbers, I am tempted to go for it - but for 1 thing . the battery/electrics hissy-fit conundrum. When I arrived at the dealer, they had made the effort to get the cars ready for me, and they had been sat with engines idling for quite some time to get the batteries into their happy place. HFair play, they were quite frank on this front). Given that it was properly cold and the cars had both probably been stood for quite some time, there was sense to this.
However, my work is changing and I am likely to be spending more time overseas going forwards. This will mean my car will be stood down for up to 2-3 weeks at a time. Whilst this shouldn t really be an issue in the summer months, the last thing I would want is to get back to airport car park after an overnight flight and in a rush to get home only to find my (modern) car won t start. To this end, I would appreciate any thoughts or experience from Alfa owners please.
Also - both cars were suffering from internal condensation. This isn t something I have ever seen from a modern car. However, given they had been stood still for so long, and the cold conditions - would this be expected with pretty much any make and I am just over-thinking it?
Any other wisdom, advice, warnings or encouragement from Giulia or Stelvio drivers would also be much appreciated!
Thanks in advance
Spud
7 years ownership here. The alfa factory fitted battery is a known issue. I had mine 3 years and things started to switch off with it like the rear window heaters, stop/start mechanism, alarm going off in the night etc. So bought an AGM battery for around £250 and not looked back all problems resolved.
Its a truly great car - I have the Stelvio due to kids and what not and i will be replacing it with another one.
Its a truly great car - I have the Stelvio due to kids and what not and i will be replacing it with another one.
Had a Giulia Quad since July. My battery was knackered, so I put a new one in and it's fine now. Mine never sits 3 weeks but sounds fully charged when starting after a week even in current temperatures.
Condensation on mine (windscreen) is horrendous. But the pouches that absorb moisture / dry in the microwave pretty much solve it
Condensation on mine (windscreen) is horrendous. But the pouches that absorb moisture / dry in the microwave pretty much solve it
I had Giulia Veloce which was used daily on short to medium runs so I never gave the battery a second thought...
....until it died at the end of narrow cul de sac waiting to turn on the main road. The battery level had fallen below a critical point and the car refused to do anything. I was blocking anything from entering and leaving, and being automatic with an electronic handbrake I couldn't push the thing out of the way, despite the increasing moans of the people inconvenienced.
It ended up being dragged - literally - on plastic blocks onto the back of a low-loader after about an hour of causing a minor traffic jam.
That was a lesson in keeping on top of battery levels. If I was leaving mine for a length of time I'd try and keep it topped up as much as possible before hand on a trickle charger.
....until it died at the end of narrow cul de sac waiting to turn on the main road. The battery level had fallen below a critical point and the car refused to do anything. I was blocking anything from entering and leaving, and being automatic with an electronic handbrake I couldn't push the thing out of the way, despite the increasing moans of the people inconvenienced.
It ended up being dragged - literally - on plastic blocks onto the back of a low-loader after about an hour of causing a minor traffic jam.
That was a lesson in keeping on top of battery levels. If I was leaving mine for a length of time I'd try and keep it topped up as much as possible before hand on a trickle charger.
I’ve worked on various car development programs and it regularly happens that one or more ECUs don’t go to sleep properly and the battery gets a hard life as a result. It also means that if you leave the vehicle for an extended period of time without being connected to a battery charger it will be completely flat when you attempt to start it. Sometimes cars even enter production in this condition! Anyway, car companies fit a switch to the interior to isolate the battery!
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