Battery Charger

[robbie2red]

Hi all, I've got a 3.3L petrol GV 2006. I've seen different topics on here with people mentioning about a battery top up may be a good idea.

 

Any recommendations for a battery charger for my GV please? Or what do people use?

 

I've heard also of the button mod, but I'm no mechanic and it's difficult for me to do any work myself, so think it may just be easier/cheaper to use the battery charger once a week. Thoughts please guys?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Rob

[mikebh8]

Hi, you could get one of these... You put it on the dash and connected straight to the battery.

 

https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/solar-powered-12v-15w-battery-auto-trickle-charger-l58bf?cmpid=ppc:smart_home:pla:google&gclid=CjwKCAjwpfzOBRA5EiwAU0ccNx40ZA4U_kd1zGOargA22ZwzAGwJUpSoOzrn71qzP8nn-FktUWXWfRoCVMYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Hope it helps.

[bignev]

Hi Robbie, the battery problem is far worse on the diesels due to the much higher starting cranking effort required than our lightweight petrol engines.

 

But that doesn't mean we can't be victims of some of the circuits starting to cause draining if it's not driven for a few days, one of mine had it intermittently!! Bizarre.

[andyb2000]

Hi,

 

Just to put a 'downer' on the solar chargers, if you do a few calculations using Ohms law.

At 12v and 1.5watts the output of that panel gives you 0.125amps which is 125milliamps.

 

(Assuming 12v output from the panel, I'd expect it to be a little higher but even at 14v it's still 0.14amps)

 

So, residual draw from the ECU and BCM would have to be less than 125milliamps for this solar charger to do anything other than just supply the ECU/BCM, therefore I'd recommend against the solar chargers and go for topping up with a proper battery charger (To be honest, the cheapest of the cheap are just as good. I *hate* that modern chargers are now 'smart' and will decide if they're going to top up your battery or not depending on it's voltage and some simple calculations on current/draw, but that's a separate rant!).

So just get a cheapo mains battery charger from a supermarket or similar and plug it in now and again.

 

That said, I do recommend the buttonmod resistor for the battery, it's not a difficult mod and there are lots of howto's floating around for it so have a read up too :-)

[robbie2red]

Thank you guys! I’ll go with your opinions and just get a standard battery charger. There’s always plenty to do on my GV!

 

:-)

[mikebh8]

That was a generic example, same as the battery chargers, the solar panels are many brands.

From experience, on a Mitsubishi L200, I extent the life of the original battery another year just by having a solar panel on the dash.

I left a Vauxhall astra coupe parked for 7-8 months, started first time.

The solar panel charger gives enough power not to drain the battery if the car does short trips or parked for a long period of time.

Plus you can get from Halfords a 10w solar panel, the output being around 1 amp...is more than enough to keep a battery alive.

...its worth trying.

[robbie2red]

Cheers @@mikebh8 I’ll have a ponder. Ain’t got nothing yet so we’ll see. Quite like the trickle solar idea.

[QinteQ]

It will not help, you would need a good quality German spec 80w panel with good winter light charging quality to act as a maintainer and even then my answer assumes a CCA of about 800 and a fresh in-date quality battery and normal ChryslerGV spec IOD. Best of luck.

 

Look up "infrequent use" in the search on this forum.

[mikebh8]

Who knows about solar panels, would know that winter or summer is no much difference for them...cloudy, night yes but the temperature is not so important.

Plus for a "no mechanical knowledge" is an easy way of dealing with the request.

What ever space is on the dash, there is also bigger ones, just to have piece of mind.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=20w+car+solar+panel+charger&sa=X&biw=360&bih=560&tbs=vw:l,ss:44&tbm=shop&prmd=sivn&srpd=13385348631915937887&prds=num:1,of:1,epd:13385348631915937887&ved=0ahUKEwiLkMiku_nWAhUJmBoKHdbECpMQgjYIuAU

 

Never used that big, I use them since 2012 and the 12w was the biggest I ever bought, always did the trick for me. And who wants to take the battery out every week, charging it on the car may not be so easy due to where is parked.... the Mitsubishi I mentioned earlier was loosing current from morning till evening...when we were away visiting friends would have been awkward asking them if I can top up my battery on their sockets... with the Chrysler, I waited from 10 am till 3 pm to pick someone from the airport, after watching movies it still started the engine.

 

Anyway for me it works a charm.

[QinteQ]

Hi all, I've got a 3.3L petrol GV 2006. I've seen different topics on here with people mentioning about a battery top up may be a good idea.

Any recommendations for a battery charger for my GV please? Or what do people use?

I've heard also of the button mod, but I'm no mechanic and it's difficult for me to do any work myself, so think it may just be easier/cheaper to use the battery charger once a week. Thoughts please guys?

Thanks in advance!

Rob

Answer to the question asked : Get one of these, Chinese copy of the expensive CTEK 9 stage charger.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Automotive-Intelligent-Battery-Charger-RSC408/dp/B00MRB3PFC

[QinteQ]

IGNITION-OFF DRAW TEST - reproduced from the workshop manual

 

The term Ignition-Off Draw (IOD) identifies a normal condition where power is being drained from the  battery with the ignition switch in the Off position. A normal vehicle electrical system will draw from fifteen to twenty five milliamperes (0.015 to 0.025 ampere) with the ignition switch in the Off position, and all non-ignition controlled circuits in proper working order. Up to twenty-five milliamperes are needed to enable the memory functions for the Powertrain Control Module (PCM), digital clock, electronically tuned radio, and other modules which may vary with the vehicle equipment. A vehicle that has not been operated for approximately twenty one days, may discharge the battery to an inadequate level. When a vehicle will not be used for twenty one days or more (stored), remove the IOD fuse from the Integrated Power Module (IPM). This will reduce batterydischarging. Excessive IOD can be caused by:

 

• Electrical items left on.

• Faulty or improperly adjusted switches.

• Faulty or shorted electronic modules and components.

• An internally shorted generator.

• Intermittent shorts in the wiring

 

If the IOD is over twenty five milliamperes, the problem must be found and corrected before replacing a battery. In most cases, the battery can be charged and returned to service after the excessive IOD condition has been corrected. (1) Verify that all electrical accessories are off. Turn off all lamps, remove the ignition key, and close all doors. If the vehicle is equipped with an illumi-nated entry system or an electronically tuned radio, allow the electronic timer function of these systems to automatically shut off (time out). This may take up to twenty minutes. (2) Disconnect the batterynegative cable. (3) Set an electronic digital multi-meter to its highest amperage scale. Connect the multi-meter between the disconnected batterynegative cable terminal clamp and the battery negative terminal post. Make sure that the doors remain closed so that the illuminated entry system is not activated. The multi-meter amperage reading may remain high for up to three minutes, or may not give any reading at all while set in the highest amperage scale, depending upon the electrical equipment in the vehicle. 

 

The multi-meter leads must be securely clamped to the battery negative cable terminal clamp and the battery negative terminal post. If continuity between the battery negative terminal post and the negative cable terminal clamp is lost during any part of the IOD test, the electronic timer function will be activated and all of the tests will have to be repeated. (4) After about three minutes, the high-amperage IOD reading on the multi-meter should become very low or nonexistent, depending upon the electrical equipment in the vehicle. If the amperage reading remains high, remove and replace each fuse or circuit breaker in the Integrated Power Module (IPM), one at a time until the amperage reading becomes very low, or nonexistent. Refer to the appropriate wiring information for complete Integrated Power Module fuse, circuit breaker, and circuit identification. This will isolate each circuit and identify the circuit that is the source of the high-amperage IOD.

 

Bottom line is .. .. continual undercharging is U/S battery or infrequent use. New £100 battery or New £100 battery charging or New £100 solar maintainer or New £100 electric handbag are all fraught. The only workable contributive workaround I've found is the batteryMOD. Its well documented from years ago by myself and others and comes the closest to keeping the car running for those of us of which I am one with "infrequent use" problems. The above is not a stab in the dark, a helpful guess etc but something I've actually tried.

 

I do two 15 mile trips a week, tried little intermediate and big solar panels in the windscreen for 2 years and they don't work in the winter. Don't waste your money - go for what does work - by someone who has found out by trial and error. Best of luck.

[robbie2red]

Thanks guys! No problems as yet! Put a new battery on last year, just after I bought the car, going well at the moment. Just don’t want to be caught out!