Do I need a new battery?

[local hero]

sorry to be asking this as  there are lots of Battery topics on here but as usual I am a bit confused!

Firstly  I have a new to me 10 Yr old Rav4 dvd invincible 2.2  when I turn the engine off I get a little yellow triangle ⚠️ with the message   check smart entry and start system I decided to ask at a main dealer and was told its nothing to worry about it to do with the start stop system? But my car doesn't have that system! Then I was told change my key fob batteries which I did, to no avail, then I was told to charge my main Battery which I did, low and behold cured, only to find message was back next day,  so I got a Battery tester which showed 12.3 volts so I fully charged my battery with a  trickle charger 13.7v a few hours later and back down to 12.5 volts, as the main problem is I do not use my car a lot, will a new battery cure my little problem,  many thanks for you patience   and hopefully  advice 😀 Stew

[Torrox]

If this is the original Battery then you should replace with a new one.

[Roy124]

3 minutes ago, Torrox said:

If this is the original battery then you should replace with a new one.

There is one more check you should do.

You have checked the voltage before charging, after trickle charging, and next day.

Have you checked the voltage immediately after you have been driving?  See if your system is charging the Battery. 

[Corollanutter]

If you have used a trickle charger for just a "few hours" then you haven't really given it chance to charge up. For a low-rate charger (1 or 2A maybe?) you need to give it at least 24 hours (a 50Ah Battery from near flat will need around 30 hours to fully charge using a 2A charger and around 2-3 days from a 1A charger). However if you don't know when the Battery was last replaced, then with the imminent onset of winter getting a new one may well be a sound purchase. 

[local hero]

Thanks for answers, I really don't mind paying for a new Battery, any recommendations I have a Tayna Battery depot near me and they do their own brand with 5yr guarantee as well as varta, and yuasu?

[local hero]

1 hour ago, Torrox said:

If this is the original battery then you should replace with a new one.

I don't know if its oem I cannot tell the difference between Japanese and Chinese writing

[Rhymes with Paris]

20 minutes ago, local hero said:

Thanks for answers, I really don't mind paying for a new battery, any recommendations I have a Tayna battery depot near me and they do their own brand with 5yr guarantee as well as varta, and yuasu?

Yuasa every time IMO.

[knights_in]

2 hours ago, Roy124 said:

There is one more check you should do.

You have checked the voltage before charging, after trickle charging, and next day.

Have you checked the voltage immediately after you have been driving?  See if your system is charging the battery. 

You have three main things to check before you do buy a new Battery. 

1. Measure the voltage and charge the Battery up then disconnect and leave it standing for 10-20 mins. Then hold the voltmeter probes on the terminal and see if the voltage creeps down (if rapid then it is at least one bad cell, time for a new one) or stays stable voltage. 

2. If it is stable then connect the Battery to the car and measure the voltage over a minute or so and see if the voltage is creeping down (something is draining the battery) or is stable

3. if stable then start the car up, you can if you want measure the voltage the battery drops to under starting conditions (how damaged the plates are) and then you should see the alternator voltage kick in. Alternatively to step three do as Roy124 said, that will show you if the battery is charging or not as long as you drive for more than 10 mins in that journey.

47 minutes ago, Rhymes with Paris said:

Yuasa every time IMO.

I second this. Killed off one Yuassa within two years (bad batch) the black and orange national motor factors replaced it without question. I have now had this one for four years and seems to be going strong.

[local hero]

Thanks  again for advice, my new little Battery tester also tests alternator and Battery is being charged at approx 14v, I have a spare Battery a yuasa which has sat  in my garage for years and still showing 10.5 volts, so I gave it a quick charge, as soon as I disconnected charger it was showing 13v and this morning 20 hrs later with nothing connected it is showing 12.4 not sure what thi means?? Stew

[knights_in]

On 11/19/2023 at 11:44 AM, local hero said:

Thanks  again for advice, my new little battery tester also tests alternator and battery is being charged at approx 14v, I have a spare battery a yuasa which has sat  in my garage for years and still showing 10.5 volts, so I gave it a quick charge, as soon as I disconnected charger it was showing 13v and this morning 20 hrs later with nothing connected it is showing 12.4 not sure what thi means?? Stew

What Battery tester have you got, as it might be able to test CCA?

10.5V means that the Battery is flat. Did your Battery charger show the battery was fully charged when you took it off charge?

13V is pretty low for charging, sound's like it wasn't fully done charging to me. 

You will see a drop in voltage after charging due to the chemical reactions settling down. 0.6V over 20h is not too bad, it is less than ideal, but as it has been sat flat for some time it's doing okay. 

[local hero]

13 hours ago, knights_in said:

What battery tester have you got, as it might be able to test CCA?

10.5V means that the battery is flat. Did your battery charger show the battery was fully charged when you took it off charge?

13V is pretty low for charging, sound's like it wasn't fully done charging to me. 

You will see a drop in voltage after charging due to the chemical reactions settling down. 0.6V over 20h is not too bad, it is less than ideal, but as it has been sat flat for some time it's doing okay. 

Many thanks I have fitted new Battery and it would seem there was not much wrong with the old one, I have been told I have to register the new Battery with the car?? Happen to know if this is true👍 t👍 

[Cyker]

Thankfully no, that seems to just be a stupid german car thing where you have to code the Battery to the car for it to work properly on their bigger cars.

I've not seen anyone else do it and hopefully it will stay like that!!!

[knights_in]

4 hours ago, local hero said:

Many thanks I have fitted new battery and it would seem there was not much wrong with the old one, I have been told I have to register the new battery with the car?? Happen to know if this is true👍 t👍 

You do not need to register the Battery on this vehicle. If you did need to then you could have all sorts of dashboard warnings and alike.

[local hero]

I thank you both, the reason I have replaced the Battery is I am getting a message on my car when I turn engine off which says, check smart start and entry system after 15 secs it goes out ihave had it diagnosed as B2282 which a couple of people have had and it turned out to be a loose pin on a connector but I am really reluctant to let Mr T have a look at £150 + per hour, do you think an auto electrician might be better?? Thanks once again Stew

[Cyker]

I would trust a reputable auto-electrician far more than the average dealer for diagnostics - I've been burned too many times by my nearest ones to trust them with anything beyond basic servicing.

[local hero]

On 12/3/2023 at 5:34 PM, Cyker said:

I would trust a reputable auto-electrician far more than the average dealer for diagnostics - I've been burned too many times by my nearest ones to trust them with anything beyond basic servicing.

Thanks, the latest update my local garage that  mainly works on tractors do not have the neccesary techstream have ascertained that I may need to replace my cluster, they phoned the nearest main dealer and although they have never heard of this problem (that's the third) quoted £1100  for the part alone, I have found an auto electrician who has done this job several times, he doubts it will need a new cluster but if it does he will remove it  send it to be re furbished then re fit it, at roughly 1/3rd of the cost, its booked in for next week so hopefully  a result🤞 of sorts  Stew

[Cyker]

If they do good work, get their details and the areas they service - Would be handy for any forum members who also live in that area!

Hmm, maybe we should start a thread with people 'vetted' by forum members who do good work?

[local hero]

14 hours ago, Cyker said:

If they do good work, get their details and the areas they service - Would be handy for any forum members who also live in that area!

Hmm, maybe we should start a thread with people 'vetted' by forum members who do good work?

https://www.actronics.co.uk/instrument-clusters?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsburBhCIARIsAExmsu50K2JgRA3qp54Y-3XUnQ3vXJRlLK3BwDNP9I878bXo58Ty2ic0fPUaAqhxEALw_wcB

Above is a link to Actronics also there is another called CARTRONICS, but you will have to Google, considering I am supposed to be a Guru Master 😀 😉 😄 I am not very good at photos,links, videos and my wife just said you can add sex to that list 😀 Stew

[knights_in]

On 12/5/2023 at 11:42 AM, local hero said:

https://www.actronics.co.uk/instrument-clusters?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsburBhCIARIsAExmsu50K2JgRA3qp54Y-3XUnQ3vXJRlLK3BwDNP9I878bXo58Ty2ic0fPUaAqhxEALw_wcB

Above is a link to Actronics also there is another called CARTRONICS, but you will have to Google, considering I am supposed to be a Guru Master 😀 😉 😄 I am not very good at photos,links, videos and my wife just said you can add s*x to that list 😀 Stew

That is a good idea, I think there should be a sticky at the beginning of the forum.

On 12/4/2023 at 5:56 PM, local hero said:

Thanks, the latest update my local garage that  mainly works on tractors do not have the neccesary techstream have ascertained that I may need to replace my cluster, they phoned the nearest main dealer and although they have never heard of this problem (that's the third) quoted £1100  for the part alone, I have found an auto electrician who has done this job several times, he doubts it will need a new cluster but if it does he will remove it  send it to be re furbished then re fit it, at roughly 1/3rd of the cost, its booked in for next week so hopefully  a result🤞 of sorts  Stew

That sounds like an expensive issue. Are you able to remove the dash yourself and check the wiring loom? i.e check the pin from the ecu to the dashboard connector and rule that out first. As reconditioning ECU/Dashboards can get super expensive really quick.