On Friday, 25 November 2016 10:43:20 UTC, Ian Jackson wrote:
In message ,
Muddymike writes
On 25/11/2016 09:42, tabbypurr wrote:

Most cars have only one size that will fit it

they don't of course

- unless you're
stupid enough to fit a smaller one and have it rattling around.

car batteries don't rattle around, even if for some reason you forget
to fix them in place.

I have seen first hand the devastating results of a car battery that
was not clamped in.

Cars certainly used to be capable of accommodating (within reason)
batteries of different sizes. My wife's Citroen C1 is fitted with a tiny
battery, but has provision for one about 50% longer.

An unclamped battery is obviously free to move around, but its movement
is often constrained by what surrounds if and the power leads. While I
certainly don't recommend it, you might be able to drive for years
without anything untoward happening.

Low performance vehicles don't need battery clamps to be functional. I've driven more than one vehicle that had no provision for any sort of battery clamping. Of course they're a hazard in a crash, that's primarily why cars now have the clamps.


NT