A New Battery for Brigitta

Ever since I bought her, I've a bit distrusting of the battery that came with Brigitta from the previous owner. I had no idea how old it was but it was exhibiting some "strain" at times in starting the engine.

A few times, which I thought was due to rain (fixed by replacing the coil), or flooded carbs, I had a heck of a time getting her to crank over and start. You could hear the engine trying to turn over but it sounded labored.

This behavior was most evident in cold weather or if I did not remember to put her battery on a trickle charger before going to bed at night.

Even with a "good checkup" from the auto parts store guy, and with the trickle charger reporting full charge, she'd still labor through 3-4 engine turnover attempts before the engine would crank. Worrisome at best.

So my loving wife got me a new battery from Digikey.com, less than $88 with shipping! The BMW dealer had quoted me closer to $100 for a similar battery from Westco. The battery arrived this morning, I put it in with minimal fuss and under 30 minutes. It came fully charged up since the trickle charger went to green in less than 3 minutes I think.

Digikey P/N: P231-ND

Once I had Brigitta put back together (the securing rubber straps gave me some grief as the battery terminal posts were in a bit different location), I geared up and she fired right up after just one single labored turnover....not bad. We'll see how the new battery does in the coming cold weather.