12v battery maintenance, issues, etc.

[anchorman]

3 hours ago, Roy124 said:

MyT under Standard Services states

"stay informed about your car location, battery level etc" 

I have yet to find it. 

You could monitor Battery level via the app on my Lexus but I took it to mean the traction Battery and all it said was “good” from what I remember.  It didn’t give details.  

[Roy124]

My MyT app does not show any Battery status.  I suspect it might be BZ4X specific. 

[Martin Cunliffe]

Is a Noco GB20 suitable and safe to start my 2021 yaris hybrid if the Battery goes flat

[Jasper.]

Yes , I have the GB40 but the 20 is adequate..

[Max_Headroom]

I dont see why not its just a jump starter  (a fancy one at that)

 

 

[Cyker]

Yeah it doesn't take much power - You just need to supply enough power to energize the ECU and close the traction Battery contactors, which is a lot less than what a starter motor needs to crank an engine!

I vaguely remember a post or article about someone managing to jump start a Mk2 Prius with a bunch of AA batteries, some tape, and some wire  

 

[Martin Cunliffe]

2 hours ago, Martin Cunliffe said:

Is a Noco GB20 suitable and safe to start my 2021 yaris hybrid if the battery goes flat

Thank you

[Dala]

On 5/8/2023 at 7:15 PM, Cyker said:

Yeah it doesn't take much power - You just need to supply enough power to energize the ECU and close the traction battery contactors, which is a lot less than what a starter motor needs to crank an engine!

I vaguely remember a post or article about someone managing to jump start a Mk2 Prius with a bunch of AA batteries, some tape, and some wire  

 

https://youtu.be/WSP_SoLoIYg?t=522

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002810792832.html    

[Chippy01]

Herself had her Yaris Cross serviced the other day, and when the service manager went through everything with her when we picked up the car afterwards, he said that their tests show that the 12 volt Battery was showing as a little weak, and suggested that she took the car out for a good half hour run to top it up.
Good advice really, as her new job commute is barely 3 miles, and I did suggest going the 'long way' to work which would at least triple the distance, and help somewhat.
On checking, Toyota in their wisdom have hidden the 12v Battery under the back seat, alongside the traction pack.
I would like to put a charger onto her 12v Battery overnight, just to give it a bit more oomph (she's experienced no issues yet), and I am pondering if there was a simpler way of connecting a charger to the battery, rather than hauling out the back seat?
Can it be done from the jump points under the bonnet, I wonder?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Corollanutter]

Either a NOCO or CTEC charger (it doesn't need to be a large one - a 2A version is fine if you are just top-up charging) and the add-on of the eyelet terminal leads. You can then attach these direct to the Battery and just plug the charger into the socket on the lead when needed. No need to access the Battery once that is done.

 

[Guest]

35 minutes ago, Chippy01 said:

On checking, Toyota in their wisdom have hidden the 12v battery under the back seat, alongside the traction pack.

Some bright spark (pun intended) needs a slap with a wet Cod for dreaming that up.

As Chris suggests and many others, a Battery maintainer is probably the best option. I have used CTEK and Maypole. Both very good.

Having to run the engine, go for a 30 minutes drive or take the long way round just to keep the charge, I think, defeats the object of owning a Hybrid?

[IT Troll]

1 hour ago, Chippy01 said:

Can it be done from the jump points under the bonnet, I wonder?

Yes. I had to do that last week. Have a read through the other thread which includes lots of info and photos of the options.

 

[Tommy X]

1 hour ago, Corollanutter said:

Either a NOCO or CTEC charger (it doesn't need to be a large one - a 2A version is fine if you are just top-up charging) and the add-on of the eyelet terminal leads. You can then attach these direct to the battery and just plug the charger into the socket on the lead when needed. No need to access the battery once that is done.

 

I am under the impression that the charger negative lead should not be connected directly to the Battery terminal but to a chassis earthing point, I charge my YC via the jumpstart terminal in the fusebox using a smart charger  

[FROSTYBALLS]

Similar topics merged.

[Chippy01]

19 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Similar topics merged.

I should have searched harder for the info. 😳 
Thank you all.
 

[Roy124]

Using the bonnet charging technique as illustrated above will be a PITA if you want to do it frequently. 

Accessing the Battery and hard wiring the  charger leads is, IMHO, the way to go.  The garage can do this easily if you don't want to risk it yourself. 

PS Chippy, I find the forum search engine unrewarding.  I am probably not doing it properly.  I find using Google to search works quite well. 

[Corollanutter]

1 hour ago, Tommy X said:

I am under the impression that the charger negative lead should not be connected directly to the battery terminal but to a chassis earthing point, I charge my YC via the jumpstart terminal in the fusebox using a smart charger  

You are correct, however if you are hard wiring there is really no problem in connecting directly if you so wish (or if it's easier to make the connection). The advice to connect the charger negative to a body point is to prevent any sparks in the vacinity of the Battery (i.e. when connecting / disconnecting the charger) from causing an explosion. When connecting / disconnecting a charger it's always positive first, followed by negative for this very reason (but TBH, anyone with a brain would turn the charger off first!!)  As the eyelets leads are a permanent connection, this precaution is not really required. 

[Tommy X]

1 hour ago, Corollanutter said:

You are correct, however if you are hard wiring there is really no problem in connecting directly if you so wish (or if it's easier to make the connection). The advice to connect the charger negative to a body point is to prevent any sparks in the vacinity of the battery (i.e. when connecting / disconnecting the charger) from causing an explosion. When connecting / disconnecting a charger it's always positive first, followed by negative for this very reason (but TBH, anyone with a brain would turn the charger off first!!)  As the eyelets leads are a permanent connection, this precaution is not really required. 

Yes Chris but with respect I was referring to hard wiring a charger lead to a chassis earth point, lots of cars with start/stop tech have some sort of a Battery management sensor on the negative terminal clamp which needs to be bypassed by connecting to the chassis earth point of the Battery lead 

[Handgun]

Could the problem be solved by removing the existing standard Battery and installing a aftermarket Battery perhaps with a higher capacity?

[Max_Headroom]

2 hours ago, Handgun said:

Could the problem be solved by removing the existing standard battery and installing a aftermarket battery perhaps with a higher capacity?

Read the thread this is discussed many times.

[Cyker]

Not solved, just given a stay of execution so to speak.

[Roy124]

I have been running the car regularly but yesterday, just for a change, I decided to use my CTEK charger for a change.  I was surprised.

Typical Battery voltage after about 24 hours was 12.35v.  I then used the CTEK for 16 hours.  The reading when I switched off the charger was 13.7v  and then dropped to 12.89v , we went for a drive and 4 hours later the Battery was back at 12.84v.

In other words the HV/12v recharge is sufficient to given a useable 12v+ but the CTEK charger pushed the Battery up an extra 0.5v.  

I'll monitor the voltage afresh over the next days to see how long before it drops to 12.25v

 

[Derek.w]

Roy124

Ctek charger is not charging all the time at some point after a full charge it switches off then after a time it turns on again when the voltage drops in one of two modes

Float mode 13.6 volts constant voltage

Pulse mode is varable 12.7 to 14.4 voltskeeps Battery at 95 to 100% fully charged.

So at some point the charger switches off so you have voltages of 12.6 or 12.8 volts.

[Roy124]

And today, 24 hrs later, the voltage had dropped to 12.76v.

The point, Derek, is not the behaviour of the CTEK during its charging cycle but that the Battery voltage POST-CTEK charge is, and has remained, significantly higher than the voltage after a normal Ready mode charge cycle. 

This suggests two things.  After a long run the Ready mode cycle provides a lower, but adequate, charge.  After numerous shorter runs the Ready mode cycle is possibly leaving the Battery charge much lower with the increased possibility of a flat Battery after a very few days. 

In conclusion, I think those who advocate a regular charger cycle are correct. 

[Dala]

1 hour ago, Roy124 said:

And today, 24 hrs later, the voltage had dropped to 12.76v.....

Roy, how do you measure car Battery voltage?
Multimeter or bluetooth monitor?