VE Ute battery questions

[darb]

Heyas,

Ive got a VE SS ute ... as youre probably aware the battery is inside the cabin, behind the passenger seat.

The battery seems to be weak as p1ss! ... my VY with a standard battery would be able to crank loud music (a 4 channel amp powering a 12in sub, splits, and the deck) ... for practically days on end before power was ever an issue ... likewise with a 40litre engel sitting in the tray.

The VE however seems to go flat within a few hours of even just running an amp (the same amp) ... and thats using ipod directly into amp (so its not stacker chewing power) ... add the fridge and it dies in the butt quick smart.

What im contemplating is repalcing the batter, but being an "inside" battery, im wondering if anyone else has previously researched replacement batteries for the VE utes ... or any other input on the subject?

Either way with 2 or 3 deadenings already, the factory battery will be shagged ... so a new one, preferably with more plates and probably deep cycle will be in order. ... Possibly with a dual battery system, and some sort of smart solenoid ... im yet to go pick the brain of my local auto sparky yet so im not sure what my options are, considering the battery is inside cabin and VE's seem to be a little mysterious with their electrical system.

Also, noted when the battery does go flat ... it turns every single light on, headlights, interior domes, etc ... and you can NOT turn them off, nor lock or unlock ... just what drugs were holdens engineers on in regards to the electrical system!

As to engineering menu ... ive given up trying to understand the "battery charge" reading ... it seems to have a mind of its own and doesnt seem to correlate to actualy battery charge. Ive seen it say 95% when its been OFF for 3 hrs and almost not enough juice to start ... othertimes after a 4 hour long drive, itll say 60% ... i dont get the logic of that reading.

Are there any known issues with VE's being crap at keeping charge high, or anything along those lines? I do know the power that comes out of the factory accessory socket is a farce, no idea what the car is doing but it would constantly upset the fridge (6-8amps) and other issues (have now put in a direct feed from the battery to a jack in the toughdek in the tray so thats no longer an issue).

I still cant quite comprehend why the thing gets nailed so quickly, and moreso its the stereo (key in ignition on accessor, as the amp is not direct feed) ... either the battery in VE is just plain CRAP, OR the car is not charging properly. This all occurred even from day one ...

Thoughts, opinions on best (without spending too much $$) way forward? (for anyone with specific experience to VE / VE utes)

[Bombaman]

Personally my ute hasnt had any battery problems, im running a Monoblock amp to 2x Kicker Comp CVR's. Had this running with a 80L Waeco in the tray no problems (with the 2-way cranking aswell). There have been some issues with the VE with the battery draining overnight, happening to everything from Sedans, to Barges, and even the utes.

If you are going to replace the battery the battery tray can hold a much longer battery, but not wider. If you thinking of going dual bats there is plenty of room under the tub liner in the tray to install a second battery, or re-locate the orignial if you want to put a diffrent battery in.

[darb]

hmm how the heck have you been getting away with those amps and a 80L engel and not killing it ??!

im starting to think its a VE curse at play here, i.e its not so much the battery ... its either 1) the VE just destroys power if the key is even in ... and/or 2) VE doesnt charge properly. (no car ever does charge as good as a proper charger ... but im comparing VY to VE charging sytems here...)

What I might do to start with is put a power source switch on the amp power ... so for day to day stuff, it runs according to the ignition ... but if running sound stationary / camping / wakeboarding arvos ... i can flick it do a direct feed and therefore remove the keys from the flippin dash!

VE's going flat on their own though? whats the crack with that? The car keeps chewing power even when closed and locked?

How could holden **** things up that badly? surely not?

[Bombaman]

How are you grounding your amp/where? Also what voltage is your car running at at Idle?

Might be worth pulling out your audio gear for the moment and taking it back to holden to check out.

[HYMEY]

Mine goes flat running the factory stereo. They are shit. When I removed it and tested it with the multimeter it was reading 11v. The battery was low on acid so I topped it up to its correct level. The battery then dropped to 9V output after 6 hours on the charger it was reading 13! 11 was the highest it would go b4 topping it up. so go figure. I was told to use the VE calais battery but IMO Holden should replace it.

cheers

[darb]

yeah that seems to be the general consensus thus far. I wonder if holden have ever conceded the point officially or stuck to their "thats just a characteristic of the vehicle" line while staring at the f*&king floor and praying youll just walk back out the door!

Just had a big yarn to a auto sparky mate ... reckons the way forward is a deep cell ( v. good one..) in the tray, connected through a smart solenoid ... run the fridge & amp etc off the secondary, rest of car off the primary ... the idea being it protects / isolates the starter battery when voltage drops below a certain amount (not sure how its suppsoed to do that without denying the VE system/computers/starter access to the primary battery ... especially if the drain is coming from that to start with...) but anyway im sure it makes sense!

If the factory deck alone is enough to drain (in short periods) which is does seem to be, then no amount of smart switching or dual battery is going to help too much in any case.

I think my plan will be to have amp and fridge run off second deep cycle... pull the frickin key OUT ... ipod into the amp ... bypass the main car systems altogether.

The switch apparently has an over-ride so even if you somehow manage to kill the primary (but not the secondary) ... it will connect the two batteries while switch is pressed and give the starter motor full access to both batteries.

Will also put a 3 way switch on the power source for amp so that day-to-day the amp goes on and off with the ignition, but when parked up somewhere ... switch it over to pulling off the secondary (where fridge and flouro camp lights etc will be permanently wired into...)

Maybe?! haha

[Blown 540]

Like everything people have different opinions , it depends on what you have experienced, mine was shit would go flat if it sat for a couple of days,put a decent one in, no more problem.Trying to get warranty on the crap one i would rather cut my arm off.Thanks holden for nothing.

[darb]

yeah i think rather than looking at replacing the primary (fairly crappy) battery and possibly still hving the issue ... i think it would be a wiser use of money to purchase a 2nd battery (seeing as im looking at a 2nd battery either way) ... and wiring the smart solenoid into it as above ?

that would mean whilst ill still have a crappy holden battery as primary , it should do fine given the smart solenoid / 2nd battery will protect me against being unable to start (and give enough run time reasonably to enjoy myself) ... and in theory most of the charge / de-charge assaulting would occur to the deep cell which is more designed to handle it..

Im not even thinking to entertain myself by bringing any warranty replacements in ... was never on the cards heh heh :)

[kingwalker]

holdens use the exide battery LN2, LN3, AND LN4 . ln4 is used for the export market,ln2 ln3 are black made in sa,ln4 white and made in italy,and recharged here in sa, i think of hand there about 700cca, not sure but they are coming down the line tommorrow , ln4 is about the same as n70zz, cca, looks like you need something with a bigger reserve capicity

[Desertws6]

It would be a good idea to get the battery check first. Running a deep cycle battery for secondary things in the car like a fridge is a good idea. But never run the car on the deep cycle, that's not what they are designed for, and it will die quickly.
Deep cycle is goo for exactly that deep cycles, ie like a electric trolling motor for fishing. Car usage will kill it.

Talk to a sparky about an isolation system for a second battery.

Are the stereo componets turing off when the key is removed?

Cheers,
Steve

[Micks]

Holden have never been renowned for using generous duty batteries in their vehicles. Should be adequate for normal usage though.
I would ensure the electrical system is working correctly prior to upping the capacity or adding a secondary battery. As far as charging the secondary battery would be as simple as using a battery supply from your existing with an inline diode (Min 5amp)to prevent back feed to your cars normal electrical system.

Cheers
VYT

[SSV8TE]

Gday mate,
must say last time i went to tassy for work and left ute in long term carpark for 10 days when i got back it only just started. Driving it every day dont have any probs but also have stock stereo too so dont have music going long when car is off.
Best of luck ,

Andy.

[darb]

OK an update ... my auto sparky mate (and all the lads at his workshop) have said they wont touch the VE with a bargepole in regards to the charging sytem and my hope for a dual battery setup ... said he simply wont go down the avenue as it would end up costing a fortune and probably a fair bit of heartache ... their opinion is the charging system / BCM algorithms etc are simply retarded.

In regard to my battery, it sits at aroudn 12.4 steady after a long drive, 12.0 with key on but car not running. THe "battery charge" percentage reading is always somewhere between 40 - 60% and doesnt seem to differ , even when DEAD, and even after a 5hr coutnry drive.

Voltage jumps to over 14volts when running and while charging, then drops.

My thoughts are either 1) my battery is screwed (defective from day one) or 2) the VE charging system is inadequate or for some reason is not charging correctly??

Thoughts on how I may prove / pinpoint the cause?

The battery is a 55ah , 460CCA rating black coloured battery ... not exactly a super battery.

Im tempted to rip the factory battery out and throw it on some sort of proper test.

Anyone know of a good replacement factory battery? Somethign with a higher CCA or "ah" rating perhaps?