That 12v battery (again!)

[Roy124]

1 hour ago, AlJ said:

@Spo2  just need to look up in the manual, the location of the positive terminal under the bonnet but I think in the fuse box is typical. 

Probably all new Toyota and probably many other makes too.  However my last car had a black box about 2 inch square marked with red cross.  Inside was a robust metal bolt. Easy to use and I guess equally easy to get wrong. 😁

[AlJ]

51 minutes ago, IT Troll said:

Thanks @AIJ for the perfect guide. I had pretty much worked all that out, but it is great to have it confirmed with photos.

It is worth noting that the newer Noco GBX models have a power saving feature which means you have to press the Start button within 60 seconds of pressing the booster's On button.

This also means the Noco may have auto powered off when you go back to it, so don't accidentally turn it back on before disconnecting!

A good point and a great addition to the device. As for me, I was so keen to see if it had worked, I don't think it was anywhere near 60 seconds! 😁

[irshad]

8 hours ago, AlJ said:

Finally, a photo showing the NOCO booster and the leads going to the terminals. 
It now is simply a case of pressing the 'On' button on the NOCO (top of booster, on a light grey background), getting in the car, making sure it's in "P", holding foot on brake and pressing the "Start" button as normal. Your car should now burst into life. 
You can now go back to the engine bay, press the button to switch off the NOCO and remove the black and then red clips. 

many thanks  very useful as i cant see any where  in youtube or google how to connect the NOCO to MK4 Yaris

[AlJ]

57 minutes ago, irshad said:

many thanks  very useful as i cant see any where  in youtube or google how to connect the NOCO to MK4 Yaris

Glad to help 😊

[IT Troll]

I just read in the manual that after 14 days of inactivity, smart entry will automatically reduce to just the driver’s door in order to save Battery. Additionally, it is possible to completely disable smart entry in settings so that the handle sensors and receiver do not leech power.

This sounds like a useful option and I could easily live with having to press a button on the key-fob to lock/unlock the doors. However, I have also read that this then means you have to hold the key-fob against the push button in order to start. 😐

Are there any other good Battery saving settings?

[Max_Headroom]

I have been looking at the Yaris HB for a while and was not aware how bad the Battery problem was,  could i ask if there is a means of seeing the charge level of the 12v Battery on the dash etc?

[TonyHSD]

4 minutes ago, Max_Headroom said:

I have been looking at the Yaris HB for a while and was not aware how bad the battery problem was,  could i ask if there is a means of seeing the charge level of the 12v battery on the dash etc?

Hi, 

you can buy one of these or something similar to have constant info about your Battery voltage. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B093V384KK?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_FHXQDK869R16T6BZ8KBA

[Max_Headroom]

Thanks that is a small price for peace of mind.

I do quite a lot of short journeys through the week If i had one of these at what voltage would i take the car for a run to make sure the Battery was charged enough not to let me down?

 

[IT Troll]

1 hour ago, TonyHSD said:

you can buy one of these or something similar to have constant info about your battery voltage. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B093V384KK?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_FHXQDK869R16T6BZ8KBA

Doesn't a hybrid make these tricky to use? The gadget will only display the true 12v Battery voltage very briefly in the small window between the accessory socket gaining power and the hybrid system starting.

A Battery voltage reading is available on the hidden service menu on the older Touch infotainment system. I'm not sure about the newer Smart Connect.

[TonyHSD]

2 hours ago, Max_Headroom said:

Thanks that is a small price for peace of mind.

I do quite a lot of short journeys through the week If i had one of these at what voltage would i take the car for a run to make sure the battery was charged enough not to let me down?

 

If you have this phone charger in place , when you unlock the car turn acc mode, double press start button without pressing brake pedal, check voltage if drops below 12v best to recharge your Battery with smart charger like ctek5 or the likes  👍

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, IT Troll said:

Doesn't a hybrid make these tricky to use? The gadget will only display the true 12v battery voltage very briefly in the small window between the accessory socket gaining power and the hybrid system starting.

A battery voltage reading is available on the hidden service menu on the older Touch infotainment system. I'm not sure about the newer Smart Connect.

If you set the car in acc mode ( double press start button) or single press start button to make the 12v socket life you can get the exact voltage readings . If you want to be even more precise then you need to measure Battery with voltmeter while someone start the car. I did measured mine three days ago  while in acc mode and it seems healthy at 12.48V. 

[Max_Headroom]

25 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

If you have this phone charger in place , when you unlock the car turn acc mode, double press start button without pressing brake pedal, check voltage if drops below 12v best to recharge your battery with smart charger like ctek5 or the likes  👍

Thanks Tony.

If it did show below 12v using that method would taking it for a blast on the dual carriageway for a decent length of time do the job i don't have off street parking so running leads to the car would not be possible?

It would also do the car good as i said earlier i do a lot of short journeys so a regular blast would be beneficial.

[TonyHSD]

1 minute ago, Max_Headroom said:

Thanks Tony.

If it did show below 12v using that method would taking it for a blast on the dual carriageway for a decent length of time do the job i don't have off street parking so running leads to the car would not be possible?

It would also do the car good as i said earlier i do a lot of short journeys so a regular blast you'd be beneficial.

No need to be a blast, it doesn’t matter what speed you are doing, only matters how long the car is ON. If your journeys are less than 20min each time it’s likely to reduce Battery capacity. The trick is to keep the car in ready mode as long as possible. For example if you drive someone to the shop, let them off and if you are staying in the car waiting, do not turn off, keep in ready mode while waiting. Turning off and on the car often within short period of time really kills the Battery because there is an electric brake pump booster which pressurises and de pressurises the brake system each tmi,e the car been turned on or off and that is the largest 12v energy consumer. 

[Cyker]

Yeah it really just needs to be on - It's not like a normal car where engine speed affects charging speed, it's a DC-DC converter charger so it just needs to be on for long enough. TBH a typical commute that involves being stuck in traffic a lot should be enough to keep the Battery charged enough.

I left my lights on by accident last week and the car started just fine so I reckon as long as you're using the car regularly and not leaving it just sat there for weeks or only doing such short journeys a bicycle'd be faster then it'll be alright.

[Dala]

It doesn't matter how long the car goes.
20 minutes or 60 minutes.
If it does not light up while driving, the car Battery is charged with a voltage of 12.8V.
It is not enough.
It is necessary to recharge the car Battery in another way.
Smart charger or solar panel.

[flash22]

Voltage is fairly useless without knowing the current draw, charging is all ECU controlled so the charge rate will be anything from 2-100%

12.8v is resting voltage, not charging

[Max_Headroom]

36 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

No need to be a blast, it doesn’t matter what speed you are doing, only matters how long the car is ON. If your journeys are less than 20min each time it’s likely to reduce battery capacity. The trick is to keep the car in ready mode as long as possible. For example if you drive someone to the shop, let them off and if you are staying in the car waiting, do not turn off, keep in ready mode while waiting. Turning off and on the car often within short period of time really kills the battery because there is an electric brake pump booster which pressurises and de pressurises the brake system each tmi,e the car been turned on or off and that is the largest 12v energy consumer. 

Thanks again Tony, its a whole new world of driving. 😄

I hate shopping with a vengeance as we have to drive to the next town (9 miles)  i then wait while the wife does the supermarket shop as i hate the places i then load the car when she gets back so so i could sit in ready mode no problem, if i sat with the heater on in winter with the engine running would the 12v Battery still get a charge?

[Max_Headroom]

32 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Yeah it really just needs to be on - It's not like a normal car where engine speed affects charging speed, it's a DC-DC converter charger so it just needs to be on for long enough. TBH a typical commute that involves being stuck in traffic a lot should be enough to keep the battery charged enough.

I left my lights on by accident last week and the car started just fine so I reckon as long as you're using the car regularly and not leaving it just sat there for weeks or only doing such short journeys a bicycle'd be faster then it'll be alright.

Thanks.

[TonyHSD]

2 minutes ago, Max_Headroom said:

Thanks again Tony, its a whole new world of driving. 😄

I hate shopping with a vengeance as we have to drive to the next town (9 miles)  i then wait while the wife does the supermarket shop as i hate the places i then load the car when she gets back so so i could sit in ready mode no problem, if i sat with the heater on in winter with the engine running would the 12v battery still get a charge?

Yes, still will be charged. 👍 I drive at night and sometimes I work from the car at different sites and I need heating during winter and I keep the car on for hours. My car still on its original Battery from 2010 unless been replaced sometime before 2015 before I took ownership of the car but even so it’s a good number of years. 

[Max_Headroom]

26 minutes ago, Dala said:

It doesn't matter how long the car goes.
20 minutes or 60 minutes.
If it does not light up while driving, the car battery is charged with a voltage of 12.8V.
It is not enough.
It is necessary to recharge the car battery in another way.
Smart charger or solar panel.

could you explain what you mean by -

If it does not light up while driving, the car Battery is charged with a voltage of 12.8V.

[Max_Headroom]

2 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

Yes, still will be charged. 👍 I drive at night and sometimes I work from the car at different sites and I need heating during winter and I keep the car on for hours. My car still on its original battery from 2010 unless been replaced sometime before 2015 before I took ownership of the car but even so it’s a good number of years. 

Thanks again and thanks to all who have taken time to answer i was put off by the negative stuff i have read about the 12v Battery in forums i am sure many like me will find this information a great help.

[Dala]

48 minutes ago, Max_Headroom said:

could you explain what you mean by -

If it does not light up while driving, the car battery is charged with a voltage of 12.8V.

[flash22]

TBH  it's only going to  be as good as the calibration and/or the programming in the chip - even by those pics it's 0.3v or more a drift

the only true way is to capture the information with a calibrated meter an/or oscilloscope over a timebase

[Dala]

these are data from a few days
not from one moment

I just wanted to write that the resting voltage is very low

And what about float voltage?

[IT Troll]

On 4/6/2022 at 4:46 PM, flash22 said:

Press and hold the music or car button and turn the sidelights on and off 3 times - some cars with the touch2 you pull the hand brake up and down 3 times

On 4/6/2022 at 5:45 PM, Dala said:

or swipe the screen forth and back 5 times

I've tried the various sequences but they don't appear to work on the Smart Connect system. It is possible to turn off the audio and display. But pressing any of the infotainment buttons or touching the screen turns the display back on.

The sidelight method doesn't work because I don't have a music button or an off setting for the lights. Also don't have a handbrake.