Upgrading Starter Battery - how to guide
- Thread starter Grim Reaper
- Start date
Is the DC-DC charger kicking in when the voltage rises? ie turning on on voltage sense rather than on ignition on sense
That was my next question! I had a split charge relay on mine and @travelvolts had to replace it after it burnt out. Only discovered when the Lithium was fitted.
@Higgidav if you disconnect the lithium what happens then?
I have tried taking out the fuse on the sense cable and connecting the charger directly to the starter batt and I get exactly the same result. I have also checked my BM2 is not faulty with my multimeter.
The good news is that the van fires first time even after standing for several weeks so despite the large swing which sometimes drops to 11.7V ish, all seems well. The leisure batt via the trickle charger keeps the starter at 13.2v and only when I connect the EHU do I get the charging profile shown on the photos.
I’ve not yet tried disconnecting the Lithium but will do a test and see what happens.
The good news is that the van fires first time even after standing for several weeks so despite the large swing which sometimes drops to 11.7V ish, all seems well. The leisure batt via the trickle charger keeps the starter at 13.2v and only when I connect the EHU do I get the charging profile shown on the photos.
I’ve not yet tried disconnecting the Lithium but will do a test and see what happens.
Ah ok. I also have a Victron smart charger connected that is switchable to both the leisure or the vehicle charger when connected to EHU. When connected to the vehicle it does not do what yours is doing so it could be a duff battery. But the battery monitor is very unreliable with regards to % & actual voltage. there is always a 5-10% difference between my Victron smart charger or BMV 712 and the battery monitor.
I suppose you could have some form of smart intelligence telling you that your Euro6 battery is at the correct level and it’ll drop the charge. But if it is starting with no issue (mine has dropped to 11.3v and started) then I’m not sure I’d be overly concerned.
Many thanks @Mick and at @Grim Reaper. I’ll do some more testing. I’m keen to get it sorted as I’m off to Europe for 10 weeks very soon.
Edit - just to close out my issue I have now replaced the starter battery with a Varta F21 80AH. It was a straight swap, coded with Carista, and appears to have solved the strange charging behaviour.
Edit - just to close out my issue I have now replaced the starter battery with a Varta F21 80AH. It was a straight swap, coded with Carista, and appears to have solved the strange charging behaviour.
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Thanks all for the guidance in this thread, just installed an Exide EK950 in my 17 plate Caravelle. I taped the little insulating jacket from the old battery onto the new one. In spite of the extra bulk, it just about fit - it went in diagonally first and then quite easy to wiggle into place and get the securing plate/bolt back in there. It came with only 12.1V so is charging now (Victron smart charger) for the rest of the day. I was able to register the battery using Carista and to reset the windows, as described in this thread. 
Update: As above, when I installed the battery I checked the voltage and it was only at 12.1V. I connected my Victron smart charger, confirmed it also read 12.1V and left it on charge until it reached "Storage" level - this took around 14 hours. I am seeing lots of info on the web that a battery is considered flat at 12V or less and full at 12.6V. Should I be concerned that it arrived so low?
I’ve upgraded to a larger capacity 019 Yuasa and tried searching for the answer but no joy…..
I’ve defined the new Ah and changed the serial (it was all ones before) but since I have no BEM manufactures code for Yuasa what should I use? OEM battery according to Carista was JCB.
I’ve defined the new Ah and changed the serial (it was all ones before) but since I have no BEM manufactures code for Yuasa what should I use? OEM battery according to Carista was JCB.
I have a smart charger ordered and would like it to charge my main starter battery when I have the camper plugged to hook up . I have the CTEK under the drivers seat can I contact the charger to this or do I have to run cables back to the battery?.
I have a plug just behind the drivers seat so was going to plug the charger Into there so when it’s hooked up it will start charging .
I have a plug just behind the drivers seat so was going to plug the charger Into there so when it’s hooked up it will start charging .
I'm in the same situation. I changed from EFB varta to AGM Yuasa and the garage said oh yeah yeah we coded it (when asked), but I checked on carista and it's still coming up with the old battery. Not only do I need the manufacturer code like you, I also need to change dual technology to AGM but that option just isn't there
@chazmanda from what I understand the main thing is to get the Ah set correctly and make sure the serial number is different. It seems a default serial number is 1111…. ( all ones). By changing the serial number tells ecu its a new/different battery and to recalculate everything. For me I just changed the last digit to zero.I'm in the same situation. I changed from EFB varta to AGM Yuasa and the garage said oh yeah yeah we coded it (when asked), but I checked on carista and it's still coming up with the old battery. Not only do I need the manufacturer code like you, I also need to change dual technology to AGM but that option just isn't there
Re battery type take a look at CARISTA blog for details Battery registration —is it just snake oil?
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I think I read somewhere the Efb/AGM does make a difference and it should be set. Who knows for sure. I'll set the ah now and the serial as you suggest (thank you). Bit annoying as I when to garage because they could code it properly for me, I just got a yeah yeah everythings done response...hhhmmph.
@chazmanda was the manufacturer code in your image what you had before or what the garage recon should be the code used for Yuasa?
Here's my before pic. I had a Varta before.
New upgraded battery is great. My start stops working all the time now. Going to give it a good run at the weekend and get it charged up.
andyhasalandy
Member
I have a single Victron charger wired under the drivers seat with an ON-OFF-ON changeover switch that switches between the DC-DC charger terminals (to van battery) and terminals on the leisure battery. As it happens if I leave the smart charger connected to the van battery the DC-DC kicks in and tops up the leisure too. Essentially the switch I have is 'VAN+Leisure (via DC-DC charger)' or 'Leisure Only'.
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