12v battery maintenance, issues, etc.

[Jasper.]

I took the Yaris to my local Listers Toyota last week for its first MOT and annual service and was asked at the service desk if the car had any modifications  ?

I replied by saying that I'd fitted a Noco charging connector to the Battery terminals and fitted a Yuasa Battery to replace the poor quality original. 

They seemed genuinely interested in what I had fitted as a replacement. 

[Countryside]

11 hours ago, Jasper. said:

I took the Yaris to my local Listers Toyota last week for its first MOT and annual service and was asked at the service desk if the car had any modifications  ?

I replied by saying that I'd fitted a Noco charging connector to the battery terminals and fitted a Yuasa battery to replace the poor quality original. 

They seemed genuinely interested in what I had fitted as a replacement. 

We’re they surprised ?

[Jasper.]

37 minutes ago, Countryside said:

We’re they surprised ?

I don't know about surprised  , I'm sure they get plenty of Battery complaints...

[jthspace]

I hadn't used the Yaris for 5 days and the Battery monitor was showing it slowly discharging with a SOC just below 60%

I purchased a new solar charger - a 20w version - to replace the 10w version I had previously.  It is much smaller than the 10w version, this one is about the size of the over-large paperback books you see at airports.

Here is what I bought and also a screen shot of the Battery SOC and voltage. I put the charger lead and croc clips on the tag in the fusebox / engine mount just before going out for my coffee fix (Jamaica Mountain Blue) in the MX5.  Weather is 7 decrees C, cloudy and some rain.

Impressed . . . 

 

[AlJ]

On 3/1/2024 at 9:30 AM, chazbri said:

Has any one any views on this ? If the Cross has been in ready mode for an hour each week as advised by Toyota to keep the battery charged does an equivalent amount of travel time per week offer the same amount of recovery?

Indeed it does. The system doesn't care whether you're driving or just sitting in it outside your home. As long as it's its Ready mode, it will charge the 12v Battery to a healthy level and maintain the traction Battery. 
Incidentally, I don't think an hour is enough per week. I'd recommend doing this twice. 

[AlJ]

On 3/1/2024 at 1:04 PM, Tom Corbett said:

Hi everybody.

This string has become very long so apologies for asking a question that may have already been answered. Our 2016 Yaris hybrid 12V battery is loosing charge quickly. The AA home start guy says the battery needs replacing. He doesn't carry suitable batteries and could not source one from the nearest Toyota dealer (Listers).

I have now booked up with Listers to get the battery replaced. Here is the weird bit though. It will cost me  £171 to buy the battery and fit it myself. A simple job. But if I get Listers to fit it, it will only cost £140!! This just sounds daft but it is true. The downside is I have to wait 25 days to get the job done, and then I will have to drive the car 12 miles to the garage hoping I don't break down on the way. 

I will carry on looking through this string.

I have found out, thanks to this forum, how to charge the 12V battery up to get the Yaris started up. Key to Ready, depress footbrake, wait a minute, stick to drive. Has worked so far.

So whether or not I do the job myself for the extra £30 or wait 25 days is the decision I have to make, but my question here is :

1/ What is so special about the piddly little 35 AH battery that it can only be purchased from Toyota, and is relatively quite expensive?

2/ What on earth is the thinking behind charging a negative amount for labour!?

Thanks and again apologies if this has already been discussed somewhere.

I will carry on looking through this string.

 

 

That pricing is ludicrous. Did they give any reason why that was the case? 
You're not going to break down on the way as once the car is in Ready mode, it's "running" and the big traction Battery and fuel system is keeping the 12v Battery charged up. 
How did this pan out for you? 

[Mojo1010]

Tom - although the AGM Battery are fitted to the MK3, it doesn't have to be that type as replacement. Can fit any of the same physical size Battery, get a good quality brand and higher Ah rating. 

[hogofwar]

What would be the best replacement Battery to get for a 2018 hybrid Yaris? Get the highest ah yuasa one that would fit?

[Countryside]

Does changing the Battery on a brand new Yaris or Yaris cross invalidate the warranty ?

[Jasper.]

Not as far aa I'm aware and I told my local Toyota dealer that I've changed mine..

[inteli7]

Is there a minimum amount the Battery needs to be on charge with a charger? If so, what would that be?

For example, can I leave it to charge for 8-12 hours, or does it have to stay more? What if you do 4 hours?

[Tommy X]

43 minutes ago, inteli7 said:

Is there a minimum amount the battery needs to be on charge with a charger? If so, what would that be?

For example, can I leave it to charge for 8-12 hours, or does it have to stay more? What if you do 4 hours?

Most smart chargers go into maintenance mode when the Battery is fully charged so the process is automatic, depends on the state of charge but I would think a minimum of 6 hours 

[hind]

There is no minimum time, just it won't charge it fully. Nothing would happen 🙂 every mAh pushed into Battery counts. 

[jthspace]

My 1993 MX5 goes on a Battery minder in November and comes out to play again in March.

[anchorman]

On 3/5/2024 at 11:32 PM, hogofwar said:

What would be the best replacement battery to get for a 2018 hybrid Yaris? Get the highest ah yuasa one that would fit?

Yes, exactly.  

[anchorman]

On 3/6/2024 at 7:26 AM, Countryside said:

Does changing the battery on a brand new Yaris or Yaris cross invalidate the warranty ?

No, they recommend it where needed.  

[Countryside]

10 hours ago, anchorman said:

No, they recommend it where needed.  

Many thanks Don it’s looks like the new engine is just in the GR sport and the premiere edition not the excel which is a shame 

[Derek.w]

On 3/2/2024 at 10:54 AM, jthspace said:

I hadn't used the Yaris for 5 days and the battery monitor was showing it slowly discharging with a SOC just below 60%

I purchased a new solar charger - a 20w version - to replace the 10w version I had previously.  It is much smaller than the 10w version, this one is about the size of the over-large paperback books you see at airports.

Here is what I bought and also a screen shot of the battery SOC and voltage. I put the charger lead and croc clips on the tag in the fusebox / engine mount just before going out for my coffee fix (Jamaica Mountain Blue) in the MX5.  Weather is 7 decrees C, cloudy and some rain.

Impressed . . . 

 

Hi Jeff. I also have a 20 watt solar panel its 3 years old so its is large but working fine after modifcation IE usb ports removed so just wired direct from solar cells to MPPT solar panel regulator today after giving the Battery a full charge from a CTEC smart charger see results.

 

[Graham47]

It looks to me that after disconnecting the smart charger and connecting the solar charger the Battery continues to discharge at a rate that is, at best the same or could even be, slightly more than before ? Am I missing something ?

[Dala]

6 minutes ago, Graham47 said:

It looks to me that after disconnecting the smart charger and connecting the solar charger the battery continues to discharge at a rate that is, at best the same or could even be, slightly more than before ? Am I missing something ?

The same with me.  I think the Battery is already in bad condition and will not hold the capacity.

[MCatPG]

12 hours ago, Derek.w said:

 

I assume you connected the CTEC smart charger at about 07:30

And you disconnected it at about 10:40, when there was a blip down to 13.0V followed by recovery to the sort of voltage you'd expect from a fully charged Battery, around 13.5V

What happened at 11:00? Was that when you connected the solar panel? The voltage dropped to about 12.5V, then recovered to about 12.7V, and then the continuous discharge kicked in, possibly because there isn't any output from the solar panel.

I suspect that your MPPT controller is getting no energy from the panel, and is actually drawing current from the Battery instead of putting it in. This draw should be negligible but if Dala is right (I think he is) and the Battery is in very bad condition this would explain why the discharge and consequential reducing voltage is greater after adding the panel than it was before, Sorry if that's a disappointment.

[hind]

Also keep in mind that 3h of charging is not enough for the lead-acid Battery to rebuild its capacity. Recondition mode should be enabled but this requires to disconnect the Battery from the car as the voltage might reach up to 15.8 V which might be dangerous to the car systems 

[Dala]

At 15.8V the car Battery does not need to be disconnected.  Disconnection is necessary at a voltage greater than 16V.

[hind]

Very close margin 🙂 personally I wouldn't risk it

[Dala]

15.8V is the maximum voltage that the CTEK charger will put into the Battery. For me, I measured the maximum value of 15.55V. 
I run this RECON program twice a year and do not disconnect the Battery.

ADD:

This is the same voltage that the charger would use if the ambient temperature was -15°C