How to change your auxiliary battery on your LR4

I probably am one of the few who likes the ECO functionality on my LR4. You stop, the engine stops. Simple. Until it doesn’t…

One thing we learned from the hybrid vehicles is that we can efficiently and automatically start stop gas engines using an auxiliary battery. With hybrid vehicles having a huge battery capacity, not a big deal… With normal gas engines with a tiny battery, well… things don’t go as well as the hybrid ones. :(

Very first sign of a malfunctioning battery is the orange, crossed out ECO sign with a circular arrow on it. This means either your battery is running low, or already dead. If after long drives it disappears, it means it’s still charging. But trust me it’ll die soon.

The battery is a “special battery” by Land Rover. From the size of it, it looks like a motorcycle battery. The part number is: CX23-10C655-AC or LR047630. Exide makes them. You can get a Jaguar/Land Rover branded one, or an Exide branded one. Up to you. As you can see I chose a branded one. I ordered mine online from Land Rover of Huntsville. Super fast delivery. Kudos to them!

Here is how to replace your battery.

• Pop out your plastic engine cover. It’s the one on the driver side. (For driving on the right side of the road people) Pull the tab and it’ll pop right out. Check out the picture (before/after) Also remove that gray styrofoam cover. That’s where the battery is.

• Prepare your 10 mm socket and a long(ish) socket arm. The battery holder’s nut is pretty deep. This is where you probably need a magnetic socket. I didn’t have one, I survived :) Same socket opens the battery terminal nuts too. You don’t need to completely unscrew them. Just loosen them enough to pop the terminals. Don’t make the same mistake I did.

  Also there is a black “pipe” with a red piece that connects to the battery (for acide fumes coming out of your battery). Don’t forget to disconnect (and reconnect) that too.

• My original battery was covered with a styrofoam-ish wrap. It’s connected to the battery with double sided tape. I gently removed it from the battery and rewrapped the new one with it. Probably another part that the dealer would have charged few hundreds to me :D

  Below you can find the voltage differences between the old and the new battery and a picture of the properly mounted terminals.

  The rest is to mount everything back in reverse! If you don’t have a magnetic socket I feel sorry for you. ;)