12v battery maintenance, issues, etc.

[Chas G]

5 minutes ago, hind said:

When I had to charge mine, I used the piece mentioned in the manual 🙂 

But I can agree it's quite a distance away from the "+"

Definitely the safest way to do it but the leads on noco and my Battery charger are too short which is why I keep a jump lead handy to extend the earth length to the aluminium engine bracket.

[Cyker]

The Nocos aren't 'live' so you can connect them without worrying about arcing and make sure the leads are secure before activating it.

One common issue I've read with them is, if the Battery is super dead, the safety circuit in the Noco can't tell if you've put the jump leads on the right way round and won't supply power unless you hold down the override button.

[Chas G]

In ready mode, does the Battery charge more quickly if the headlights are on or is it best to turn them off automatic on to side lights only. The reason I ask is because I drive the car into my garage to leave it in ready mode to charge the 12 volt Battery and the head lights come on so I have been turning them to side lights only.

I seem to remember toyotas advice was not to use the ac, heater or radio as it depleted the Battery but the lights don't have an "off" setting.

[hind]

I'd check the voltage on the Battery with headlights on and off. Choose the setting which results in higher voltage. Higher voltage = more current going into the Battery.

[Chas G]

34 minutes ago, hind said:

I'd check the voltage on the battery with headlights on and off. Choose the setting which results in higher voltage. Higher voltage = more current going into the battery.

Makes me wonder why Toyota don't offer an nvq course in car maintenance and electronics. It would go nicely with my mechanical engineering degree from many years ago.

 

14.1 volts with head lights on 

14.13 volts with only side lights

[Roy124]

Higher voltage with headlights on.

Higher Battery drain with headlights on.

The Higher voltage input is needed to counter the Higher Battery drain. 

Is there a Higher net input with lights on?

I am quite content to connect the charger and put the car to bed.

[Mooly]

If the terminal voltage voltage across the Battery is higher with the headlights on then the current drawn by the lights is immaterial to the charge rate of the Battery as the DC/DC convertor is supplying all of that load requirement. It is the voltage across the Battery that determines if it is charging, not the current drawn by any load.

Although a slightly higher voltage may appear to increase charge back into the battery, in reality the difference is very small once the initial high current phase of charging has occurred and with a deteriorated battery that phase can be over in minutes.

The only realistic way to try and undo any sulphation and deterioration is to charge the battery at a rate of around 1/10 C (one tenth its capacity rating) for several hours. That means using a (considerably) higher than normal charge voltage. The battery should be removed and well ventilated with a watch kept on temperature rise.

[einfachGaer]

21 hours ago, Jules88 said:

The unit itself worked fine. I think because of the shorter wires, where we connected the negative (black lead) to a nut to the upper left of the fuse box didn't work. The AA man had a much longer lead and connected the negative lead to the main engine compartment to the left side, it just looked and seemed to work much better. I was following the guide from the other thread on here:

https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/205939-that-12v-battery-again/?do=findComment&comment=1630032

Of course it's also entirely possible we did something wrong, but it seemed ok.

There are 2 possibilities here. Either you had a poor connection or the Battery was not detectable by the noco jump starter because it was very depleted.

In that second case the noco won't provide power as a safety feature, but it has an override button for this situation. Check the manual of the noco for the proper procedure, I don't remember it in detail. Then it should send power to the leads regardless if it detects something or not.

[Primus1]

Can someone explain how to use ready mode..?, do I ,leave it in ready mode overnight?, or is it just for a set amount of time?, and does the hybrid Battery have to be full/nearly full..?

[BobDee08]

Hello , some advice please I own a 21 reg Yaris and like a number of new owners have suffered the inconvenience of the aux Battery failing. The AA guy attended recently and used a jump start kit to get me going. I have since purchased a yaber jump starter from Amazon, but have thankfully as yet not have to use it. In principle it appears straightforward to connect up and use.

I am considering purchasing a trickle charger to connect to the car when in my garage. However I have read reports that I would need to disconnect the aux Battery terminals before connecting up the trickle charger. As the said Battery is under the back seat, this may prove an inconvenience. Any suggestions would be useful. thank you.

[Mojo1010]

Trickle charge from engine bay as in diagram posted further up. 

[BobDee08]

Thanks, so no need to disconnect the terminals

[Cyker]

5 hours ago, Primus1 said:

Can someone explain how to use ready mode..?, do I ,leave it in ready mode overnight?, or is it just for a set amount of time?, and does the hybrid battery have to be full/nearly full..?

Ready mode is just another way of saying the car's Started and Ready to drive.

 

Basically just start the car and leave it on for half an hour. Or go on a random drive  

e.g. A few people here wait in the car while their SO is shopping, but instead of turning the car off like you normally would, just leave it on the whole time.

 

[jthspace]

1 minute ago, Cyker said:

Ready mode is just another way of saying the car's Started and Ready to drive.

 

Basically just start the car and leave it on for half an hour. Or go on a random drive  

e.g. A few people here wait in the car while their SO is shopping, but instead of turning the car off like you normally would, just leave it on the whole time.

 

But don't leave the car unattended as the engine may start during the 30/60 minutes in Ready Mode.

[CPN]

5 hours ago, Primus1 said:

Can someone explain how to use ready mode..?, do I ,leave it in ready mode overnight?, or is it just for a set amount of time?, and does the hybrid battery have to be full/nearly full..?

As others have already said, at least an hour in "Ready" mode should suffice and no, you don't need to leave it like that "overnight".

In relation to "does the hybrid Battery have to be full/nearly full", the system will always try to keep the hybrid main Battery (HV) between its "sweet spots" of ~40%<>~80% charge for Battery longevity and no, it doesn't need to be "full/nearly full". When you see the "compartments" in the visual display icons and they are showing all "full", that just means that the system has got it up to the ~80% mark and not, as you may think, ~100% SoC (system overall charge)

My car has often been parked up for a number of days showing only a couple of compartments full (~45%) with no detrimental affect whatsoever. It quickly recovers once you start driving about...

[Primus1]

Thanks guys…

[CPN]

One of the useful things about having a built-on garage at the side of the house is that anytime I am in the kitchen making a cup of tea or coffee, I can use Hybrid Assistant on my phone to connect to the car's bluetooth and my OBDII adaptor (yes, it does work from the car through a brick wall!) to do a quick check of how the Battery is today...

(that's been standing since Christmas Eve and is the original 3+ year old Mutlu Battery...)

[Roy124]

Alan asked a blindingly simple question.  "What is Ready Mode?"

I only discovered Ready Mode,  or rather had it pointed out by the AA man after recovering my car after the first lock down.  

He told me to check it was in Ready mode.  I had no idea what he was talking about.

In 'old fashioned cars' you turned the ignition key and started the starter motor which fired up the engine.  When the ignition light and oil pressure light went out you were go to go ie in Ready Mode

[Roy124]

Like CPN, I had 12.4 declining to 12.35v

[Dala]

7 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

Like CPN, I had 12.4 declining to 12.35v

0.05V drop in 6 days?  😮 I am quietly envious  😭

[CPN]

I may be completely wrong but I have religiously got into the habit of putting both key fobs to sleep (double click on "unlock" on the key fob whilst holding down the "lock" button) after the car is parked up and won't be used for a while and I believe that then, the car goes into a sort of "sleep" mode once it realises that it can't "see" the key fobs. This will only be on a Yaris with the full smart entry/exit system I guess...

Perhaps this helps to keep the current consumption down?...

[Tonycu]

Hi been to dealers today for 1st service and got them to fit the leads to the Battery under rear seat so I can use my charger or solar panel without popping the bonnet 

Nice neat job by the dealer at no cost to me

Another problem I had was connecting android auto to use my phone for navigation through the usb port

Apparently  the usb leads from your phone to the car  need to be data transfering  not a charging lead ,so a year on still learning about the Yaris

Due to get a Yaris cross in March 2024 for my wife so should have some fun again

[Primus1]

2 hours ago, CPN said:

I may be completely wrong but I have religiously got into the habit of putting both key fobs to sleep (double click on "unlock" on the key fob whilst holding down the "lock" button) after the car is parked up and won't be used for a while and I believe that then, the car goes into a sort of "sleep" mode once it realises that it can't "see" the key fobs. This will only be on a Yaris with the full smart entry/exit system I guess...

Perhaps this helps to keep the current consumption down?...

I thought the keyfob went into sleep mode after not sensing movement after 30secs or so..?

[CPN]

11 minutes ago, Primus1 said:

I thought the keyfob went into sleep mode after not sensing movement after 30secs or so..?

Not to the same extent as far as I know... e.g. if you walk up to the car with a keyfob set in this way, the car will not even see it and you won't be able to unlock the door by grabbing the door handle unless you actually push the unlock button on the keyfob (which also wakes the fob up).

In other words, just moving the fob has no effect on it.

[Dala]

16 minutes ago, Primus1 said:

I thought the keyfob went into sleep mode after not sensing movement after 30secs or so..?

Battery-saving function :

The battery-saving function will be activated in order to prevent the electronic key Battery and the 12-volt Battery from being discharged while the vehicle is not in operation for a long time.

In the following situations, the smart key system may take some time to unlock the doors.

The electronic key has been left in an area of approximately 6 ft. (2 m) of the outside of the vehicle for 10 minutes or longer.

The smart key system has not been used for 5 days or longer.

If the smart key system has not been used for 14 days or longer, the doors cannot be unlocked at any doors except the driver’s door. In this case, take hold of the driver’s door handle, or use the wireless remote control or the mechanical key, to unlock the doors.