12v battery maintenance, issues, etc.

[Jasper.]

46 minutes ago, Catlover said:

Tomorrow I will take a photo of the connections you get with the CTEX 5 and post them on here for you. 

Perfect , thank you.

[Catlover]

Photos of the CTEX 5. This is what you get in the box, including a bag to put the unit in.

The crocodile clips go across the connection Battery terminals, but as the 12v Battery in a Yaris hybrid is under the rear set the 2nd connectors may be more suitable. They permananlty screw into the Battery terminals and out of the seat somewhere where it can be tucked up when not in use. On the main CTEK 5 unityou can choose what program you want ie motorcycle or car, AGM battery, Recon option. Easy to use, 8 steps in total.

The battery in a Yaris Hybrid is under the rear seat (in the passenger area) so is an AGM type

 

[Roy124]

I plan to have the dealer fix the eyelet short lead to the Yaris when I get it. I will then use the CTEK extension lead to connect with the charger. In the Corolla I have the extension under the bonnet.  In the Yaris it will be with the charger. 

[Hibird]

I have CTEK 5 which on the rare ocaasions I have used is connected to the jump start terminal in the Yaris fuse. Not ideal as it of course involves removing the fuse box cover. I also have a Noco Genius 5 that I connect the same way again only on rare occasions.

I appreciate not everyone agrees this is a suitable location however I am unconvinced but always open to the thinking behind that. However connecting a charger to a Battery installed and connected in vehicle is another discussion and is something we all do at our own risk but worse things happen at sea as they say !

Connecting direct to the Battery via a sub harness available for both these chargers will make life easier  just take care that cable routing and access does not compromise the insulation integrity.

I have read many in depth reviews on both the above chargers and combined with my own experience definatley have a preference.

Why so many chargers are needed for Toyota Hybrids is another story but whats another few quid to get our £25k vehicles started .... ubelievable

 

[Roy124]

Hibird, Hibrid batteries aside, I have experienced flat batteries from time to time on previous ICE cars. Usually it was because I left a light on or a boot was not shut.  One occasion at an RTA my hazards were on and the Battery flattened. 

In 60 years I have had 3 chargers.  The first failed after 50 years, the 2nd was unsuitable for a hybrid and now I have a CTEK.  Less than £2 per year is good value.  Whether you need them after hybrid may be unlikely. 

[Hibird]

Wow 50 years out of a charger that's amazing Roy I got less than a minute out the paper shredder I bought last week !

[Jasper.]

5 hours ago, Catlover said:

Photos of the CTEX 5. This is what you get in the box, including a bag to put the unit in.

The crocodile clips go across the connection battery terminals, but as the 12v battery in a Yaris hybrid is under the rear set the 2nd connectors may be more suitable. They permananlty screw into the battery terminals and out of the seat somewhere where it can be tucked up when not in use. On the main CTEK 5 unityou can choose what program you want ie motorcycle or car, AGM battery, Recon option. Easy to use, 8 steps in total.

The battery in a Yaris Hybrid is under the rear seat (in the passenger area) so is an AGM type

 

Thanks Catlover,  I plan to fit the Ctek harness directly to the Battery terminals but this would be an easier job if I removed the rear seat base to gain access to the positive terminal.

Am I right in thinking that the seat base pulls up ? I'm sure I've read previously that this is the case ?

Another option maybe , looking at the positive terminal there is a red plastic cover that unclips and lifts up to reveal what looks like a charging point , similar to the jump start point under the bonnet  ?

[Catlover]

Sorry, I not familiar with a 2021 Yaris hybrid. If I remember correctly seat removal has been discussed on here, perhaps a search will find it.

[Bernard Foy]

3 hours ago, Hibird said:

Wow 50 years out of a charger that's amazing Roy I got less than a minute out the paper shredder I bought last week !

I bought one in 1969, it’s still works. I have a modern one also which I bought in Lidl about four years ago I’ve had to use it twice last year on my wife’s 2015 1ltr petrol Yaris, due to lockdown.

[Roy124]

The charger, bought in 1963 was a proper British one.  The case base was black crackle pained metal with a white crackle cover. 

I could be wall mounted where you hooked the back over two dome headed screws.  It had an ammeter gauge and a high/low switch.  High was IIRC 4 Amps and the low for trickle.  There was a user accessible fuse outside the case.  There waz no reverse polarity circuit etc.  Apart from its metal case it had large ventilation slots. 

Made for life not made to a life. 

[Bernard Foy]

4 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

The charger, bought in 1963 was a proper British one.  The case base was black crackle pained metal with a white crackle cover. 

I could be wall mounted where you hooked the back over two dome headed screws.  It had an ammeter gauge and a high/low switch.  High was IIRC 4 Amps and the low for trickle.  There was a user accessible fuse outside the case.  There waz no reverse polarity circuit etc.  Apart from its metal case it had large ventilation slots. 

Made for life not made to a life. 

60 years old next year a simple charger, made to last, no built in obsolescence like most modern devices nowadays 

[Hibird]

A 60 year old charger should be commended for still working. I would caution anyone thinking of using such a device to charge a Battery connected to a modern vehicles electrical system. These old units typically consisted of a transformer and half wave rectification with poor regulation and left to their own devices will overcharge and boil the connected Battery. I can only imagine the outcome on an AGM Battery.

Best to go modern but give respect to anything that still works after 60 years, which I am sure was the pont being made.

 

[Roy124]

It was.  It did fail in the end, can't remember how.  The other thing to remember and anyone under 40 who hasn't driven a vintage car will not know, 'sealed for life' is relatively new. 

Before charging the Battery was cleaned, six plugs were removed, and the garage well ventilated as the Battery gassed off while being charged. When everything was boiling nicely you had overcharged and should have selected trickle charge before that. 

I guess 2-3 hours on full, say about 15 amps then stack for the day with it trickling at 1-2 amps overnight might see you somewhere over 50% and able to start the car to allow dynamo to take over. 

Much less pressure on those days, though I remember a dynamo failure one dark Sunday night going back to camp, AA recovered me to a garage, the owner came out and replaced the dynamo, I remember the dynamo had to be 'flashed' and I was on my way at 0100.  Imagine that now. 

 

 

[Hibird]

Flat batteries & dynamos the 2 went hand in hand as we watched the ignition warning light flicker telling us we had to turn something off or face the consequences. We have moved on in reliabity and complexity and one day things will be perfect !

[Big_D]

You're bring back some memories there.

[Catlover]

In the CTEX box they include a means of making a permanant connection across the Battery, but you would need to remove the seat toget at the Battery in a gen 4 Yaris. Its a once only connection, then you just "hide" the connection cable somewhere convinient for use when needed. I did photos recently for someone and posted on here of what you get with a CTEK 5 smart charger.

[Dala]

On 2/5/2022 at 1:50 PM, Catlover said:

...On the main CTEK 5 unityou can choose what program you want ie motorcycle or car, AGM battery, Recon option. Easy to use, 8 steps in total.

The battery in a Yaris Hybrid is under the rear seat (in the passenger area) so is an AGM type .....

 

Is the Recon program good for AGM car batteries?
Some vendors do not recommend this option for AGM batteries.
I am also addressing this situation at the moment.

[Catlover]

I just been into the CTEK manual, and yes, the AGM batteries can be reconditioned, so RECON can be used. They recommend once per year. So with our two batteries, one an AGM the other are more standard type, as we got the CTEK 5 January 2021 the next time I do a full charge, probably April time it will be a Recon mode.

[Dala]

RECON program was also solved here: 

https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/197712-ctek-mxs-50-charger-can-be-used-to-recondition-agm-battery/

Will you disconnect the car Battery?  Or do you leave her plugged in the vehicle?  RECON has 15.8V!

[G L J]

My Launch edition failed to start a few weeks ago after being left for 3 days during a cold snap. Called Toyota assist and the AA sent a local recovery agent who started it immediately with a power bank.

Bought one of these off Amazon straight after to keep in the car.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hilka-Tools-83850400-Starter-Power/dp/B076615FJZ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Was out cleaning my car this afternoon and used the Power bank to start a Audi with a flat Battery nearby.

Went back to cleaning my car and my Battery was also flat and car would not start.

Connected power bank and it immediately started. Power bank was still showing full charge afterwards.

So glad I bought it and everything is in a zipped wallet that fits neatly underneath passenger seat.

[TonyHSD]

Great offer for Battery charger here. 👍https://www.aldi.co.uk/auto-xs-car-battery-charger/p/813260585046300

[Dala]

So I have already decided with the solution of discharging the car Battery when standing for more than a week at the Yaris Hybrid 2020.

I chose a combination of a CTEK TIME TO GO charger and an OPTIMATE SOLAR DUO 20W solar panel.

I had a permanent connection to the Battery from the solar system installed by a TOYOTA specialist workshop.

For CTEK I used the transition CTEK INDICATOR PIGTAIL.

I enclose photos and links to products. 

I charged the car Battery in AGM mode today and the car was locked.

The PANDORA SMART PRO car alarm has been set to "service mode" for this time.

The car battery voltage before charging was 12.3 V

The total charging time at 100% was 3.5 hours - from this I deduce that the battery should be fine. 

I'll see the next few days. 

-----------------------------------------------

OPTIMATE SOLAR DUO : https://optimate1.com/tm522d2/

CTEK TIME TO GO : https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-chargers-12v-24v/ct5-time-to-go-uk

INDICATOR PINGTAIL : https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-chargers-12v-24v/battery-charger-motorcycles/indicator-pigtail

-------------------------------------------------

 

[Roy124]

Dala, thank you for the photos.  Shows me where to have the CTEK power lead. 

What is that white bag? 

I used to have that CTEK indicator but returned it as it had only 3 lights, On Charge, Charge, and Flat. Now it might be that my Battery was already u/s and not holding a charge. 

How long does yours stay in the green after charging? 

[Dala]

This is not a white bag, but a woolen blanket so that when opening the door, the 220V cable does not scratch the car paint 🙂

Quote

How long does yours stay in the green after charging? 

I didn't try it now, after charging I took it off with the charger 

[Roy124]

Ah, blanket, I see. 

Regarding the lights, they are intended for connection to the Battery to tell you the state of charge and whether you need to use the charger.  I see now why you are using it as you are. 

In my use, I have  long lead wired to the Battery (under the bonnet) and plug my wall mounted charger into that.