Battery management with VCDS
- Thread starter JasonW
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- vcds vehicle battery
any smart charger, say 5A and above.
its just to combat the power draw of all the systems running, when the engine isnt.
50A might be a bit over kill .
I use either 5/10/15A smart chargers . . . . whatever is first to hand.
www.t6forum.com
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its just to combat the power draw of all the systems running, when the engine isnt.
50A might be a bit over kill .
I use either 5/10/15A smart chargers . . . . whatever is first to hand.
Battery Chargers - How I Did It -
Battery Chargers - How I Did It - So its that time of year again, cold, rainy. . . . . . . flat battery =[ This time we look at Battery Chargers. Our vans will most likely come with a AGM style starter battery, for this type of battery we need a "Smart Charger" . . . . but what does this...
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Noco 5A maybe?
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Victron 5A . . . .
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CTEK 5A
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or get your big-boy-pants out and go 15A
NOCO GENIUS5UK, 5-Amp Fully-Automatic Smart Charger, 6V And 12V Battery Charging Units, Battery Maintainer, Trickle Charger, And Battery Desulfator With Temperature Compensation: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike
NOCO GENIUS5UK, 5-Amp Fully-Automatic Smart Charger, 6V And 12V Battery Charging Units, Battery Maintainer, Trickle Charger, And Battery Desulfator With Temperature Compensation: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike
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Victron 5A . . . .
Victron Energy BPC120531064R Battery Chargers with Built-in Bluetooth Module: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike
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*****
CTEK 5A
CTEK MXS 5.0 Battery Charger with Automatic Temperature Compensation and CTEK 56-304 Comfort Connect Extension Cable, 2.5 m : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive
Buy CTEK MXS 5.0 Battery Charger with Automatic Temperature Compensation and CTEK 56-304 Comfort Connect Extension Cable, 2.5 m at Amazon UK. Free delivery on eligible orders.
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or get your big-boy-pants out and go 15A
Victron Energy BPC121531064R Battery Chargers with Built-in Bluetooth Module: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike
Buy Victron Energy BPC121531064R Battery Chargers with Built-in Bluetooth Module at Amazon UK. Free delivery on eligible orders.
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Thanks @Dellmassive . Helpful as always....
From the VCDS Ross Tech forums, a few seem to indicate that you need something that can knock out 20A without breaking a sweat.... especially when running VCDS off a laptop...
Some laptops seem to drain the battery when connected into the OBD port with the Hex-V2 interface... which mine is a victim of...
There's a 25A version of the one i was pointed towards which i'm thinking should be adequate... I just didn't want to be under-gunned.
From the VCDS Ross Tech forums, a few seem to indicate that you need something that can knock out 20A without breaking a sweat.... especially when running VCDS off a laptop...
Some laptops seem to drain the battery when connected into the OBD port with the Hex-V2 interface... which mine is a victim of...
There's a 25A version of the one i was pointed towards which i'm thinking should be adequate... I just didn't want to be under-gunned.
it depends what you are doing with VCDS . . .
you will only need 25A 12v supply if you plan on running power steering pumps or heavy duty electrical stuff as part of any diagnostic works over an extended period.
the OBD2 HEX dongles draw next to no power,
even the fuel lift pumps dont use much,
maybe you are testing the main headlights for hours . . . . ?
either way the 5A to 15A range will cover most work that can be done with VCDS . . . .
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The aim of the game is to keep the starter battery topped up at over 12.6v while using excess power from a main hook up charger/saver charger to power all the electricals in the van during the diagnostic session. . . .
so it depends . . .
T6 heavy electricals that may use more than the 5-15A range. . . . . . . .
electric power steering? (T6.1)
heated seats?
heated windscreen~?
head lights?
glow plug system testing,
coolant & fuel pumps running extended time
Normal stuff like ignition on during basic code scans and adaptions will be fine.
you will only need 25A 12v supply if you plan on running power steering pumps or heavy duty electrical stuff as part of any diagnostic works over an extended period.
the OBD2 HEX dongles draw next to no power,
even the fuel lift pumps dont use much,
maybe you are testing the main headlights for hours . . . . ?
either way the 5A to 15A range will cover most work that can be done with VCDS . . . .
.
The aim of the game is to keep the starter battery topped up at over 12.6v while using excess power from a main hook up charger/saver charger to power all the electricals in the van during the diagnostic session. . . .
so it depends . . .
T6 heavy electricals that may use more than the 5-15A range. . . . . . . .
electric power steering? (T6.1)
heated seats?
heated windscreen~?
head lights?
glow plug system testing,
coolant & fuel pumps running extended time
Normal stuff like ignition on during basic code scans and adaptions will be fine.
the OBD2 port ONLY powers the VCDS Dongle, . . . . it doesn't power the laptop.
Only the USB connection is powered from the laptop,
you will need to run the laptop from a specific 12v laptop adapter . . . (what i do . . ie DELL 12v adapter)
or the 240v laptop charger plugged into a wall socket . . .
or use a small 100W 12v inverter plugged into the 12v socket . . . ( i sometime do this) - in this case your battery charger needs to be enough to power the van at rest, plus run the laptop via the charger or inverter, plus run any extra kit as part of your diag session.
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Yes agreed if you are a VAG specialist and running diag sessions all day,
running car/van systems all day, then sure 20/25A and above would help.
I've got one of these Victron 30A chargers . . . . they are awesome,
i got it mainly for charging big lithium's . . . . . . they will munch up 30A flat out easy.
just see that as the Amp output goes up, so does the price.
have a look at this one (same as what I've got).
30A single output:
Victron Energy Blue Smart IP22 Charger 12/30(1) 230V - BPC123042022 : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive
Victron Energy Blue Smart IP22 Charger 12/30(1) 230V - BPC123042022 : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive
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edit: i show it running over here>>>>
Valence U27-12XP Lifepo4 Lithium Battery -- How We Done It --
Just to clarify. The Valence lifepo4 can be mounted side ways... It's in the manual. I'll post later.. And you no not need any external BMS. I regularly discharge at 45A , 55A or above when testing..... Above that things can start to warm up unless you are using super large cable sets.
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Thanks for suggestions @Dellmassive and @Loz
Yeah, i'm not doing anything special... just running scans and doing back ups... feeling my way around to try and understand it before making a few tweaks..
Today was connected up for around 10-15 minutes then every light imaginable popped up on the cluster, then flickered and dimmed due to a dead battery....
i'll have a charger hooked up and running next time.... or try Loz's suggestion..
Yeah, i'm not doing anything special... just running scans and doing back ups... feeling my way around to try and understand it before making a few tweaks..
Today was connected up for around 10-15 minutes then every light imaginable popped up on the cluster, then flickered and dimmed due to a dead battery....
i'll have a charger hooked up and running next time.... or try Loz's suggestion..
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