12v battery maintenance, issues, etc.

[JoeyJoe]

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone could help me understand why I can't use the jump pack to start my girlfriends 2016 Yaris Hybrid.

Few weeks ago, she left the car in acc mode and drained the 12v Battery. I used a jump pack on the 12v terminal under the cover in the engine bay, and a grounded bolt, it started straight away, and has been fine for weeks.

This morning, the 12v is drained again, the hybrid system is making a constant noise like before, tried the jump pack again, and nothing at all. Changed the ground point and again nothing. Could this be as simple as the 12V is completely dead and can't even be jumped? Or is there likely a blown fuse?

Also, what type of Battery is needed? Halfords / Euro car parts won't list any matches.

[RickyC]

21 hours ago, hind said:

Read carefully 🙂 we are considering case when the parking mode is disabled and the car ignition is off! I stand by what I said earlier - bad design or manufacturer defect.

Ah, ok. 

In this case I agree with bad design.   Probably the best thing to do, if parking mode is not required,  is to connect the dash cam to a switched 12V source,  so when ignition is off camera is not powered.

[Dala]

A simpler solution :
If I want to use parking mode - I buy a Dashcam with parking mode.
If I don't want to use parking mode - I buy a Dashcam that doesn't have parking mode. It's even cheaper.

[70mpg]

8 hours ago, RickyC said:

Ah, ok. 

In this case I agree with bad design.   Probably the best thing to do, if parking mode is not required,  is to connect the dash cam to a switched 12V source,  so when ignition is off camera is not powered.

Exactly what I’ve done with my Nextbase camera and I’ve had no problems. I will take my chance without parking mode knowing I’m not in danger of draining the 12 volt Battery. I used the usb 1 fuse. 

[TonyHSD]

This perhaps will solve the 12 v Battery issues on many lightly used hybrids 

https://youtube.com/shorts/Xt67YsJNVcE?si=Kgbs8cCsNbDuLgpv

[Jeff43]

Dala

I took your advice and my Optimate 20W arrived today.  I used your idea about tilting it as I didn't like the idea of sucker pads on the windscreen.  I used a couple of very thick dictionaries, which gave me about 40 degrees - I'll get something more permanent in due course.  The red charge light is flashing slowly (cloudy today) and the monitor reports about half charge - that's after using the car every day for a week before leaving it unused for three.  Does turning off Smart Entry really prevent drain?  Is one solution to turn it off when the car is left for a few days?  My wife likes it but I'm not convinced.

[Dala]

Geoff

5 hours ago, Jeff43 said:

...The red charge light is flashing slowly (cloudy today)...

Battery save mode in progress - Battery is deep discharged / voltage at connection was less than 12V

5 hours ago, Jeff43 said:

...the monitor reports about half charge...

Was the monitoring check evening or the next morning?

blue (single flash) = 12.5 – 12.7V = 90 - 100%
yellow = 12.3 – 12.49V = 61 - 90%
red and yellow = 12.1 – 12.29V = 40 – 59%
red = less than 12.1V = less than 40%

I've only had yellow monitoring a few times in bad weather 

- Check after a sunny day how much it will show after sunset - It should display blue

- If after a sunny day, the next morning will often show yellow or red ice before sunrise, the car Battery is already bad

Attention. Opening the door will reduce the voltage. The solar controller must be positioned so that it is visible before opening the door

 

I use this application to determine the panel inclination : 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.th.suncalcorg&hl=en_US

 

In any case, after three weeks it should not be a problem to start the car in this configuration, even if the car battery is "slightly damaged" (it would be good if the sun shone on the solar panel occasionally) 🙂

[Jeff43]

In the booklet it mentions batteries as AGM (or gel) and STD.  Which will I have?

[hind]

STD = standard wet.

[JoeyJoe]

Bought myself a Topdon Battery tester, my girlfriends Yaris is showing about 60% health, 12mA resistance. Drove it for a few hours, tested it when it came back and was down to 57% with "REPLACE" on the tester.

Any recommendations of a good Battery to replace with? Just discovered the cost of AGM batteries.

[Chas G]

9 hours ago, JoeyJoe said:

Bought myself a Topdon battery tester, my girlfriends Yaris is showing about 60% health, 12mA resistance. Drove it for a few hours, tested it when it came back and was down to 57% with "REPLACE" on the tester.

Any recommendations of a good battery to replace with? Just discovered the cost of AGM batteries.

Interesting.

Do you connect the Topdon tester direct across the Battery terminals

Thanks

[JoeyJoe]

40 minutes ago, Chas G said:

Interesting.

Do you connect the Topdon tester direct across the battery terminals

Thanks

Yes, Just leave it in the car and attach the wires.

[anchorman]

Breaking news, I put a Dashcam in my mate’s new Lexus LBX the other day.  We had it powered up on and off and sure enough, in very short time we flattened the Battery.   Luckily, I’d released the bonnet and had it going in 2 minutes with the Gooloo.  It’s a pity because I’d got high hopes for the OE Yuasa Battery.   

[jthspace]

6 minutes ago, anchorman said:

Breaking news, I put a dashcam in my mate’s new Lexus LBX the other day.  We had it powered up on and off and sure enough, in very short time we flattened the battery.   Luckily, I’d released the bonnet and had it going in 2 minutes with the Gooloo.  It’s a pity because I’d got high hopes for the OE Yuasa battery.   

I'm about to install the Viofo cameras with the parking on function, but I plan to use the voltage cut-off device built into the power leads.  Did the dashcams you used have a similar device/function?

Actually, it will be sometime the week after next as the fuse doublers only just arrived and we are away on the canals next week.

[anchorman]

6 hours ago, jthspace said:

I'm about to install the Viofo cameras with the parking on function, but I plan to use the voltage cut-off device built into the power leads.  Did the dashcams you used have a similar device/function?

Actually, it will be sometime the week after next as the fuse doublers only just arrived and we are away on the canals next week.

The camera does have a parking function and we did get the hardwire kit but the owner wasn’t keen on leaving the fuse box lid off for the wire taps.  To be clear, the flat Battery was entirely my fault for having the doors open and not keeping an eye on things but it did go flat surprisingly quickly.  I don’t know what the Battery state was when he got to me either.  

[Dezzer21]

On offer from Thursday 12 at Aldi if anyone interested.https://www.aldi.co.uk/jump-starter-power-bank/p/739443802102200

 

[Jeff43]

Another question about the Optimate 20W solar charger.  The booklet mentions using a frame that you can buy to hold it at an angle, or use the suckers on the windscreen.  But is it OK to simply leave it flat on the top of the dashboard?  It won't generate too much heat at the back, will it?  It was pretty warm the other day and I didn't fancy leaving it propped on a dictionary as I had been doing due to the combustible nature of paper etc.

[hind]

29 minutes ago, Jeff43 said:

combustible nature of paper

You expect to reach 233 degrees Celsius inside of your car? 😛

[PeteChat]

On 9/8/2024 at 9:05 AM, Dezzer21 said:

On offer from Thursday 12 at Aldi if anyone interested.https://www.aldi.co.uk/jump-starter-power-bank/p/739443802102200

 

Does anybody know if these are suitable for our hybrid stop/start technology?

Thinking of getting one “ just in case “

[hind]

You need around 12 amps to successfully jump start Yaris Hybrid. They claim

Quote

• Approx. 400A of peak current

so it will do just fine 🙂 

[Sharnie70]

On 9/11/2024 at 1:42 PM, hind said:

You need around 12 amps to successfully jump start Yaris Hybrid. They claim

so it will do just fine 🙂 

That’s good. Saw it advertised and bought one today 😀

[PeteChat]

Went into Aldi first thing this morning and there were plenty of the jump starters available, so I bought one ( and stocked up on coffee pods while I was there 😂)

The jump starter looks fine, with an led light and usb socket for charging your phone. It also comes with the appropriate connection leads to attach it directly to the Battery. These are fine if your Battery is under the bonnet, but on my Yaris Cross it is hidden somewhere under the rear seat so you have to use the jump start terminal inside the fuse box. I had a look for this to make sure I could find it if/when it is needed. This bit is easy, but the jump starter leads are quite short so connecting the negative lead to a suitable lump of metal on the engine block might be a problem (the suggested place in the manual seems too far away). Rain stopped play before I could investigate further, but I would recommend a test fit before you actually need to jump start your car 👍

[Yaris_Cross]

As the guy explains the terminal only has metal on one side so make sure you put the jumper cable on the right way round, there are bolts near the fuse box that you can use as an earth.

 

 

 

[Cyker]

Yeah I was glad someone pointed that out as I assumed both sides of the jaws were wired up - didn't even occur to me that only one side actually did anything!!

Why did they even bother making the dead side out of metal!?

[Auris Geezer]

As a low milage user of my Yaris Cross (1k miles since March 24), in the hope I can mitigate the dead Battery issue, I've fitted a CTEK flylead to the 12v Battery and a local ground, so I can plug the charger straight in with no faffing.   How often do you think I should give it an overnight charge?

Thanks,

Cheers, Trev.