Battery Charging and VSR's
Submitted: Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at 09:47
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Top End Az
I currently have a late model Isuzu Dmax which is about 2 years old. Whilst driving from
Darwin to
Brisbane I noticed the battery was struggling some mornings. I decided to replace at Battery World (fantastic service at Indooroopilly btw).
I was a bit surprised that the original battery didn't last too long. Essentially, the tug gets driven about 5-10 km a day during the week, with a few camping trips and one long road trip a year. Hence, it's never really getting charged.
A mate suggested a battery charger and hook it up once in a while, which I will get.
I have a Century Ultra high Performance NS70LX under the bonnet for starting, and a Century Marine Pro 730 in the tray. Both connected by a Redarc Voltage Sensitive relay (VSR).
Two questions - Is it ok to hook the battery charger up to either battery as I am not sure that the VSR will interfere (for want of a better word) with the charging, or do I need to disconnect a battery before charging it?
Second - I am thinking along the lines of a Ctek MXS 15 or a Projecta 12v 15amp job. I am happy to leave it on charge over night, so it doesn't need to be recharging at a fast rate. Whilst at it, I may also use it to charge my Century Battery in the Toyota Aurion.
With batteries expensive I'm not in a hurry to replace another one any time soon.
All responses appreciated in advance. I'm not too much of a tech head so all advice welcome.
Reply By: Ross M - Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at 10:40
Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at 10:40
One thing you can do, is buy from Jaycar, a small digital meter around $12.
That will tell you all the time what voltage the system is running at.
All DMax I know of run at around 14.3 or .4 v while charging. My 2011 Dmax 14.4v
That should keep any battery correctly charged.
I agree the OE battery isn't as good as it could be and does seem to be lower/hold voltage than expected while not being charged.
It is good to have a battery charger to charge either battery IF required, but periodically/spasmodically charging the battery isn't really going to achieve any noticeable benefit.
Maybe when connecting the charger to the main battery, above a certain voltage as it achieves VSR voltage the two batteries may become connected by the VSR and then both will be charged at the same time. It might cycle the VSR on and off a few times as the voltage rises.
Only if the Aurion battery is flat for some reason would you have to use the charger on it's battery, same as the Dmax. Their charging systems are designed to charge the battery. Our 7 year old Corolla has original battery and never had a charger on it.
A
forum reply, recently mentioned their Ctek MXS15 had twice failed and the other brand was then used with continued success.
AnswerID:
536568
Follow Up By: Top End Az - Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at 11:10
Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at 11:10
Thanks
Ross M
In
Darwin, everything is only 5 min away in the car so they never really get a good run. I used to live in WA and commute 60km a day and my battery in my Mazda lasted over 7 years as
well.
I also read the same
forum reply as you about the Ctek, and I am more leaning towards the Projecta anyway as it seems to suit better for what I want.
FollowupID:
820716
Follow Up By: Thinkin - Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at 11:32
Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at 11:32
In defence of my Ctek MXS15 I have used and lent it to selected friends for some six years. I have no complaints of its performance, it works as expected.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Top End Az - Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at 12:50
Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at 12:50
So the cranking battery and Marine Pro 100amp hour battery obviously have different capacity. Will the charger accommodate this?
FollowupID:
820726
Follow Up By: ABR - SIDEWINDER - Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at 20:00
Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at 20:00
The ABC1220 will yes. The Ctek 15A will also. I would not use anything smaller than 15A.
Regards Derek from ABR.
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Follow Up By: Top End Az - Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at 20:25
Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at 20:25
Thanks Derek. Will
check it out
FollowupID:
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Reply By: The Bantam - Saturday, Jul 26, 2014 at 09:46
Saturday, Jul 26, 2014 at 09:46
Just a thaught about these short runs.
Yeh...you will find more problems than just the battery.
Diesels in general resent short runs a light loads.
Things generally attrbuted to short runs and light loads.
Clogging of Particulate filters or cat converters due to them not getting hot enough to burn the residue off.
Glassing of cylinder bores
Clogging of injectors.
Accumulation of moisture and thus sludge in the sump
Accumulation of fuel resudue in the sump due to rings not sealing and the engine not getting hot enough to boil it off.
Accumulation of other residue in the sump and on surface in the engine because the oil does not get hot enough for the additive to do their work cleaning the engine.
Yeh short runs are not at all good for diesels.
Might be an idea to get the vehicle out for a good fang up the highway or better still find a big
hill to climb one a week.
OR cough up for some sort of town car or even a moped or bicycle for the short runs.
cheers
AnswerID:
536620
Follow Up By: Top End Az - Saturday, Jul 26, 2014 at 11:40
Saturday, Jul 26, 2014 at 11:40
My thoughts exactly Bantam. We're taking it out for a fang to
Kakadu today and again next weekend. Just the usual problem of work commitments trying to get away.
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