robthemuso Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 Just done the in line thermostat mod on my 2006 GV. It took 20 mins and cost a fiver. Now got good heater and engine running so much better at correct temp. Hoping that fuel consumption will improve too. An excellent mod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 ametcalfe1989 Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 I'm doing the same this week! Looking forward to no more frostbitten fingers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 QinteQ Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 The inline stat will give give you back your 1/2 way on the temp gauge. Add the 99p worth of Screwfix lagging will 1/2 the time in minutes it takes to get the 1/2 way on the temp gauge. Add the 'button battery mod' will give you back your 'old school' battery charging voltage rate. Inline stat, £10 + 10 minutes.Air dam lagging, £1 + 10 minutes.Battery mod, 20p + 5 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 ametcalfe1989 Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 It's fantastic! I've got the bits and bobs but I've lost the andyb2000 how-to video, does anybody have a link? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 ametcalfe1989 Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 Found the link if anybody else is going to try this mod: http://www.chryslerforum.com/forum/chrysler-voyager-town-country-21/fitting-second-thermostat-guide-26641/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 GVCamper Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Is there a link to the battery fix?I did the inline thermostat mod with great success, heat has never been better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 robthemuso Posted February 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 I could do with the link to battery fix as well please. The in line thermostat has been a real good choice even fuel consumption has increased and now the aux. heater switches off after reaching temp. Brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 8953lewis Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Hi allCan you please tell me the thermostat model number a friend said it was for a Renault 5 is this correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 robthemuso Posted February 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Yes that is correct. Renault 5 fits perfectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 ametcalfe1989 Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 I haven't heard of the battery fix mod, what's that mate? I'll try to source the video but it's hard when I don't know what it's supposed to fix with the battery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 robthemuso Posted February 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Must admit I hadn't heard of the battery fix either untill it came up in a previous post in this thread but I'm always keen to find out about anything that helps my GV.Anyone got any links to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 ametcalfe1989 Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 I've searched every term possible for a possible battery fix but can't find one on this forum. Perhaps it was the .com version of the forum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 blackvelvet Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 I've not been impressed with the way the battery is being charged on my Grand Voyager. Here is a practical and easy way to alter it -- no messing with the alternator.1) Measurements over time indicated that initial alternator voltage after starting was 13.9volt. This dropped to 13.4 after a few minutes. This was consistent over time, and results in the battery being consistently under charged for most modern batteries. Measurements were done on a professional "Fluke" digital multimeter. Trust me, it's accurate.2) Since most batteries sold over the counter are either lead-acid-calcium, or lead-acid-calcium-calcium, these type of batteries are undercharged at the above alternator voltages. Possibly these voltages are intended for some other type of battery.Fortunately, there is an easy way to raise the charge voltage to 14.4volt without over stressing anything, as the design of the system is intended to do this -- I refer to the maker's own design here, not mine. 14.4volt is the 'old' charging voltage as used to be.It consists of inserting a 33K0 (33,000ohm) half or one watt simple carbon film type resistor (worth about 10p.) in series with the live 5volt lead to the "cold battery sensor" mounted under the battery tray. On my GV, the leads are easily accessible coming out from under the battery tray, and on mine are colored blue and brown. The blue is the earthy one, the brown is the 'live' at around 5volt. I just used a small connector block to do the job. The circuit is "dead" at ign. off, there's no need to disconnect anything. Cut the brown lead, strip back and insert into a small connector block of the 2A. type. Fit the 33K0 resistor on the other side of the connector block so the resistor becomes in series with the brown lead. Caution: These colors are on MY diesel GV., they MAY be different on yours! But the sensor is easy to find, just slip your hand under the battery tray.Explanation:--The voltage used to charge any type of lead-acid battery is crucially important even down to a few tenths of a volt.Types of lead acid batteries:"Wet" type: The acid is visible and can be topped up with distilled water. These were charged at 14.4volt from the alternator in the old days by a regulator either inside or outside the alternator. Wet batteries are rare on domestic cars nowadays."Sealed" type: Or sometimes called no-maintenance. The proper charge voltage here is anybody's guess. Some are vented, some aren't. Some only vent under pressure by blowing out a rubber plug. They work by catalyzing the hydrogen and oxygen produced under gassing back to water. Thusly the SG (specific gravity) of the acid comes back to 1.28 at full charge."Calcium" type: The positive lead dioxide grid is laced with about 1% of calcium. This improves the self-discharge condition markedly."Calcium-calcium" type. Both the positive lead dioxide grid AND the spongy lead negative plates are calcium laced, reducing the self-discharge condition even more. Both the calcium types are advised by the battery manufacturers to be charged at a higher voltage, 14.8 to 15volt is advised for calcium-calcium types, 14.5 for calcium types.The alternator is not controlled the "old" way by a separate or included regulator. Nowadays, and certainly on Chrysler motors, the field/rotor current to the slip rings is provided by the microprocessor system, and is pulse-width-modulated to control the effective current to the rotor.Therefore, altering the cold-battery sensor to improve the charging voltage does not make either the alternator or the charge-control system do anything it wasn't intended to do in the original design. In this design, if the sensor (which is a simple -ve. temp. coefficient resistor) goes o/c, the micro defaults to exactly 14volt. And it does, I've measured it.It's crucially important to get the charge voltage right for the type of lead-acid battery you have fitted -- it's not "fit and forget". If you don't get the charge voltage right, the result will be a short battery life, made worse by short-trips. Add to that the parasitic battery drain, and you have the dreaded "heavy-click" no-start when you come to use the car after a few days rest.Finally, there is a new type of lead-acid battery coming. It's a lead-carbon containing a supercapacitor built in. They are already being called "supercabatteries". It is said they are capable of thousands of charge-discharge cycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 QinteQ Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 BatteryMOD ButtonMOD Changing the 33K Ω @ 1/2 watt to 22K Ω @ 1/2 watt keeps it under the 4.6[ish] [although I'm sure it would be safe a little higher]. I did get the extra .3's @ 14.4+ I was aiming for. This will better recover the winter loss more quickly. Of course in the summer the ALT output will be limited by the lower battery replenishment needs. GVCamper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 blackvelvet Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 My thermostat arrived today Mon.I will fit it tomorrow and see the result.I have 2 Cadillacs and a Chevy van, the heaters are hot enough to poach eggs.Yank vehicles are never poor heaters. I hope this solves the Voyager problem. ametcalfe1989 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 GVCamper Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Thanks for the help guys, 22k ohm resistor ordered Going through some issues to make this the awesome daily it should be, our 96 was awesome for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 QinteQ Posted February 14, 2017 Report Share Posted February 14, 2017 I have a digital 'ring' meter readout permanently to the RHS cigarette lighter output and can see the voltage input to the battery 'live'. The buttonMOD merely fools the BCM coding to give you back what we always had before we went backwards from 14.4v to 13.7v. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 8953lewis Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 Hi allDid the battery mod & in line thermostat fix 2 weeks ago.Wow what a difference especially the battery mod starter whizzes round on a morning & car starts much quicker & thermostat fix puts the pre heater light out so much sooner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 8953lewis Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 Would recommend to anyone with a 2.8crd do both the fixes it definitely works.Thanks to Andy for the detailed video well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 ametcalfe1989 Posted March 7, 2017 Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 I haven't done this as yet but have bought everything to do it except for something to stop the coolant leaking.What was the orange thing Andy used in the video? He said something about caravaners using it. Or did you guys just empty the coolant first and refill? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 8953lewis Posted March 7, 2017 Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 I just bought a syphon pump from halfords £3.99 (hand pump one) empty the header tank first then do the thermostat. ametcalfe1989 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 ametcalfe1989 Posted March 8, 2017 Report Share Posted March 8, 2017 Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 andyb2000 Posted March 8, 2017 Report Share Posted March 8, 2017 Sorry just saw this, yes I just used a cheap siphon pump from ebay, similar ones are http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DELUXE-SYPHON-SIPHON-PUMP-KIT-MANUAL-PUMP-EXTRACT-OIL-PETROL-DIESEL-FUEL-LIQUIDS-/262809527857?hash=item3d30ab2631:g:hP8AAOSwNnRYfBh6 I found that by pumping out all of the fluid from the expansion tank and squeezing the pipe a few times and repeating to pump out of the expansion tank there was no leakage when I disconnected the pipe to add the inline stat. ametcalfe1989 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 ametcalfe1989 Posted March 8, 2017 Report Share Posted March 8, 2017 That's ordered, thank you, Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Question
robthemuso
Link to comment
Share on other sites
23 answers to this question
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.