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Battery / Charging Issue
mcg - 17/6/20 at 09:30 PM

I have an Odyssey Extreme Racing 25 / PC680 Battery from 2018 (still just in warranty)

Did 1 track day in 2018 and then spent most of 2019 plugged into a battery conditioner. Has had a number of months out of the car and then intermittently not plugged into the conditioner.

Recently the conditioner has taken an age to get it fully charged, getting stuck on the pre-charge phase.

After recently getting it fully charged (literally took a few days to charge) Tried it in the kit car and the car started on the button, having not been run for 8-9 months.

However the battery seems to be loosing charge quickly, then making it a bit of a struggle to start.

Plugged into battery conditioner again and is struggling to get to full charge.

Put a multimeter across the terminals today and it was showing over 19v.

My understanding is that it should be around the 13v mark.

So, I am wondering if it’s just a case of the battering being knackered from such inconsistent care, and also if something about my set up is causing the battery to drain when in the car.

Alternator seems to be working OK (light goes out when started)

Any help would be really great.

Cheers

Matt

britishtrident - 17/6/20 at 09:49 PM

Is in showing 19v charging from the engine or from the battery charger ?
Either way it looks like theres is a charging problem that has knackered the battery.

mcg - 17/6/20 at 09:57 PM

quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
Is in showing 19v charging from the engine or from the battery charger ?
Either way it looks like theres is a charging problem that has knackered the battery.


Engine was off but everything connected up. Battery charger disconnected.

britishtrident - 17/6/20 at 10:00 PM

quote:
Originally posted by mcg
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
Is in showing 19v charging from the engine or from the battery charger ?
Either way it looks like theres is a charging problem that has knackered the battery.


Engine was off but everything connected up. Battery charger disconnected.


That should be impossible check you multimeter against say 1.5 volt battery.

https://www.scannerdanner.com/forum/diagnostic-tools-and-techniques/2961-car-battery-basics-part1.html#21556

mcg - 17/6/20 at 10:20 PM

quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
quote:
Originally posted by mcg
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
Is in showing 19v charging from the engine or from the battery charger ?
Either way it looks like theres is a charging problem that has knackered the battery.


Engine was off but everything connected up. Battery charger disconnected.


That should be impossible check you multimeter against say 1.5 volt battery.

https://www.scannerdanner.com/forum/diagnostic-tools-and-techniques/2961-car-battery-basics-part1.html#21556


Will do. Will change battery on multimeter as well as it was flickering a few times. Thanks for your help. Will report back tomorrow

gremlin1234 - 17/6/20 at 10:38 PM

I agree check the meter first.
but also then check the battery on load, ie put the headlights on for a few minuets, and see how it behaves.

though I suspect the 'conditioner' has failed, and fried the battery :-(

mcg - 18/6/20 at 10:25 AM

quote:
Originally posted by gremlin1234
I agree check the meter first.
but also then check the battery on load, ie put the headlights on for a few minuets, and see how it behaves.

though I suspect the 'conditioner' has failed, and fried the battery :-(



So, I think part of the problem is the meter. Changed batteries on meter this morning and had a reading of 13.57v (engine off), and 12.56v (engine on). Plugged into charger for a couple of hours and it stayed on the desulphation and bulk charge phases for the whole time. Removed the charger to test it on another battery I have, and seems to be progressing normally, pointing to the charger being OK?

Following that did another multimeter test on the problem battery, and itshowed 12.5v (engine off), and 11.95 v running. I thought that the running the engine should increase voltage due to alternator input?

I do also have an issue with my main and fog lights not working, that I have not yet explored. Fuse seems OK, so next stop is to check the relays. Something clearly not right with the electrics, and not sure if one issue is affecting the other, or just coincidence.

Any more suggestions would be really appreciated.

Cheers

Matt

02GF74 - 18/6/20 at 01:06 PM

quote:
Originally posted by mcg

Following that did another multimeter test on the problem battery, and itshowed 12.5v (engine off), and 11.95 v running. I thought that the running the engine should increase voltage due to alternator input?

I do also have an issue with my main and fog lights not working, that I have not yet explored. Fuse seems OK, so next stop is to check the relays. Something clearly not right with the electrics, and not sure if one issue is affecting the other, or just coincidence.


Without a wiring diagram, it's difficult to comment on the above.

Firstly the battery chemistry means cell voltage cannot exceed 1.5v per cell, or 12 V in total. 19 V is not possible.

When engine is running, the alternator should be charging the battery so you should measure around 13. 5 across the battery terminals.

Deal with one problem a time, and that is the charging. You may want to remove relays/fuses for the lighting circuits.
Aternator self starts by currentl supplied via the charge lamp and depending on the pulley diameters, charging should start at around 1,000 rpm.

Check the charge lamp is connected and is on when ignition on. If it has been replaced by a LED, most likely it will need a parallel resistor to supply enough current for the alternator to self start.

gremlin1234 - 18/6/20 at 02:51 PM

quote:
Originally posted by mcg
...So, I think part of the problem is the meter. Changed batteries on meter this morning and had a reading of 13.57v (engine off), ... pointing to the charger being OK?...

yes that does suggest the charger is ok