VE Battery

[BLACK 346]

I have heard that the battery in VE Commodores cannot be charged without a special charger? Is this true? I have just spent a month away with work and now it appears that the battery is dead. It was driven once by my wife whilst away, and I took it out this morning with no issues, but this afternoon whilst I was in the shed doing some stuff and had the radio going it just died (whole car went black). Is the battery stuffed? I have CTEK on it at the moment, and have got it started again, but thinking I might need new battery?

[bush_basha]

Can charge them with any charger as far as I'm aware. I leave a ctek on mine when not in use. Tho once the battery goes fully flat they normally wont last much longer

[Micks]

That's right if you charge with an conventional one don't charge it for too long. No more than 8 hrs.

[BLACK 346]

That's right if you charge with an conventional one don't charge it for too long. No more than 8 hrs.

Thanks mate. I have a CTEK on it at the moment, will see how it goes.

[team illucid]

Go for an Optima battery, reasonably cheap replacement and good for times in storage.

[Drizt]

Varta E44 also an option, works well in mine.

[markone2]

I charge the VE Senators Battery with an 8 year old super cheap $29.00 charger :) due to the fact it can sit parked for 3 months at a time.works for me.

.

[Xjas]

Go for an Optima battery, reasonably cheap replacement and good for times in storage.

I've had an optima in mine for the last 3 years, it still going strong even though its been run completely flat a few times when the missus has left the GPS plugged in.

[BLACK 346]

Left it on CTEK all night and it is now fully charged. Will see how it goes over the next few days. Thanks for all the input :)

[wms]

Left it on CTEK all night and it is now fully charged. Will see how it goes over the next few days. Thanks for all the input :)

Interested to hear how your battery goes if you don't mind posting an update after a week or so.

My VE SS will be left sitting for just over 2 months later on this year and I had been thinking about the battery. Someone told me that if your battery goes fully flat and is left to sit fully flat for any length of time, it will likely die shortly thereafter charging it back up. Someone else told me that when I return, if its flat, and it probably will be, to use jumper leads to start it instead of a charger and then take it for a drive for at least a couple of hours. I don't know whether either piece of advice is accurate or reliable though...:confused:

[whitels1ss]

I have an SS that I hardly ever drive these days. (I have not driven it for 5 1/2 months at the moment.)

I just lift the earth cable off the battery each time I leave it parked & the battery never goes flat

because I became sick of having to charge it (with my el-cheapo battery charger I bought from Target 28 years ago:lol:) whenever I felt like starting it up.

[XUV]

I have heard that the battery in VE Commodores cannot be charged without a special charger? Is this true? I have just spent a month away with work and now it appears that the battery is dead. It was driven once by my wife whilst away, and I took it out this morning with no issues, but this afternoon whilst I was in the shed doing some stuff and had the radio going it just died (whole car went black). Is the battery stuffed? I have CTEK on it at the moment, and have got it started again, but thinking I might need new battery?

How old's the battery ?

It might pay to put it on recondition mode over night.

Once you've done that , check the voltage after a couple of hours and the next day,

if it holds above 12.1 it should be good, below that it's dropped a cell and will cause pain.

And when you go away next hook up the ctek and leave it on and it'll keep it nice, just put it on winter (snow flake) or AGM mode.

[BLACK 346]

Interested to hear how your battery goes if you don't mind posting an update after a week or so.

My VE SS will be left sitting for just over 2 months later on this year and I had been thinking about the battery. Someone told me that if your battery goes fully flat and is left to sit fully flat for any length of time, it will likely die shortly thereafter charging it back up. Someone else told me that when I return, if its flat, and it probably will be, to use jumper leads to start it instead of a charger and then take it for a drive for at least a couple of hours. I don't know whether either piece of advice is accurate or reliable though...:confused:

Sure can mate, will post update on how it is going at the end of the week :)

[BLACK 346]

How old's the battery ?

It might pay to put it on recondition mode over night.

Once you've done that , check the voltage after a couple of hours and the next day,

if it holds above 12.1 it should be good, below that it's dropped a cell and will cause pain.

And when you go away next hook up the ctek and leave it on and it'll keep it nice, just put it on winter (snow flake) or AGM mode.

That is exactly what I did with my old SS when it was laid up. The issue I have with the Calais is that with the battery being in the boot, I have to leave the boot open to run the charger to it. Is it possible to trickle charge the battery from under the bonnet? I see a positive charge point, but where do I put the earth?

[XUV]

That is exactly what I did with my old SS when it was laid up. The issue I have with the Calais is that with the battery being in the boot, I have to leave the boot open to run the charger to it. Is it possible to trickle charge the battery from under the bonnet? I see a positive charge point, but where do I put the earth?
any car metal , look in your owners manual on how to jump start and connect on same points or
you would of gotten one of these , [below pic], extend it to come out ya boot connected to battery or bonnet via jump start points.
http://www.batterychargersdirect.com.au/uploads/7/5/5/8/7558624/3218967_orig.jpg

[BLACK 346]

any car metal , look in your owners manual on how to jump start and connect on same points or
you would of gotten one of these , [below pic], extend it to come out ya boot connected to battery or bonnet via jump start points.
http://www.batterychargersdirect.com.au/uploads/7/5/5/8/7558624/3218967_orig.jpg

Yes, I do have that one, will look to rig it up under the bonnet as you suggest. Cheers mate.

[Wonky]

Is it possible to trickle charge the battery from under the bonnet? I see a positive charge point, but where do I put the earth?

Yep, being a ute with the battery behind the passenger seat that's how I trickle charge mine. Same as jumping it, just use any good metal point for the earth eg the engine lifting hooks.

The advantage of an Optima D34 like I have is it can cope with being flattened a few times and comes back as good as new.

[Drizt]

The advantage of an Optima D34 like I have is it can cope with being flattened a few times and comes back as good as new.

Correct. The Optima D34 is what is known as a deep cycle battery. Designed to cope with being drained to flat and then cycled back up to full capacity. They are great for the car audio guys that leave their car stereos playing for hours with the car turned off.

[BLACK 346]

Correct. The Optima D34 is what is known as a deep cycle battery. Designed to cope with being drained to flat and then cycled back up to full capacity. They are great for the car audio guys that leave their car stereos playing for hours with the car turned off.

I put a D34 in my SS about 4 months prior to selling it. They are pretty well priced these days compared to a few years ago.

[wms]

any car metal , look in your owners manual on how to jump start and connect on same points or
you would of gotten one of these , [below pic], extend it to come out ya boot connected to battery or bonnet via jump start points.
http://www.batterychargersdirect.com.au/uploads/7/5/5/8/7558624/3218967_orig.jpg

Which model CTEK would be recommended to buy to trickle charge the battery while I'm away for a couple of months?

[mechatron]

Which model CTEK would be recommended to buy to trickle charge the battery while I'm away for a couple of months?

The MXS5.0 is a very good unit. I use it all the time. There was a special on ebay a while ago where these were selling for $67 delivered

[IJ.]

The MXS5.0 is a very good unit. I use it all the time. There was a special on ebay a while ago where these were selling for $67 delivered
x2, damn good charger and has "Recon" mode in case you do run an Optima dead flat and it won't come back ;)

[wms]

x2, damn good charger and has "Recon" mode in case you do run an Optima dead flat and it won't come back ;)

Thanks Mechatron and IJ.

They're $90 odd shipped on ebay atm but seems like the go.

cheers !!

[mechatron]

No worries at all wms. Even at $90 they're excellent value

[planetdavo]

Any 12V charger can charge a VE (calcium) battery, but the so called "smart" chargers can do a number of processes that help to lengthen the potential lifespan of the battery- including (sometimes) rehabilitating quite average older batteries or ones that have become deeply discharged.
Increasing numbers of new car batteries and replacement batteries are now calcium, with other newer types much less common. It's worthwhile getting a "smart" charger these days.

[XUV]

Which model CTEK would be recommended to buy to trickle charge the battery while I'm away for a couple of months?
yeah get the mxs 5.0 it'll handle all your battery needs up to 4wd 130ah batteries

and they've just released an updated 'red button' model with an automatic temp adjuster

and don't be tricked into paying extra for it as it's the norm.

I just updated and bought one with bonus impact rubber surround for 91 bucks delivered on ebay.

[wms]

yeah get the mxs 5.0 it'll handle all your battery needs up to 4wd 130ah batteries

and they've just released an updated 'red button' model with an automatic temp adjuster

and don't be tricked into paying extra for it as it's the norm.

I just updated and bought one with bonus impact rubber surround for 91 bucks delivered on ebay.

Cool - thanks for the heads up. I think I'll grab one :yup:

[Toddler78]

Cool - thanks for the heads up. I think I'll grab one :yup:


search for a thread on here re cteks its a good read. I posted a link to a seller who was selling them at a great price.

[wms]

search for a thread on here re cteks its a good read. I posted a link to a seller who was selling them at a great price.

Cheers Toddler78, I'll check it out. :cheers:

[BLACK 346]

Ok, as promised I am reporting back on the battery post charging with the CTEK and any issues with it. Well, the car cranks over ok and everything else appears normal. The only exception being, and I am not sure if it is related, but now when I crank the car over it starts and then stalls. It does this every time I start the car. Any idea's whether this could be related to a dying or poor battery? I know battery's cause weird issues, but starting and stalling? Seems odd. The car starts second crank and does not miss a beat after that.

[cashie]

That is exactly what I did with my old SS when it was laid up. The issue I have with the Calais is that with the battery being in the boot, I have to leave the boot open to run the charger to it. Is it possible to trickle charge the battery from under the bonnet? I see a positive charge point, but where do I put the earth?

There's a positive and a negative (earth) terminal under the bonnet. The earth is near the positive towards the front of the car.

[BLACK 346]

There's a positive and a negative (earth) terminal under the bonnet. The earth is near the positive towards the front of the car.

Thanks mate, found it in the manual and will use that from now on for trickle charging :)

[BLACK 346]

Was poking around under the bonnet this morning and found the hose/tube that goes from the drivers side of the motor to the passenger side of the VCM OTR had come adrift from the actual intake. I have put this back in and secured it so it cannot come out again. Since I have done this the car starts normal again. Hoping this was causing the starting probs, but not convinced yet.

[wms]

Was poking around under the bonnet this morning and found the hose/tube that goes from the drivers side of the motor to the passenger side of the VCM OTR had come adrift from the actual intake. I have put this back in and secured it so it cannot come out again. Since I have done this the car starts normal again. Hoping this was causing the starting probs, but not convinced yet.

Sounds like it's all worked out mate. Thanks for the update. I went ahead and bought a CTEK MXS5.0 and it arrived yesterday.

[wms]

I went ahead and bought a CTEK MXS5.0 and it arrived yesterday.

I had to go away interstate so put the CTEK on. Got back after 4 days but I see it has only reached stage 7. Does anyone know how many days the CTEK needs to stay on charging before it moves to Stage 8 ?

[XUV]

I had to go away interstate so put the CTEK on. Got back after 4 days but I see it has only reached stage 7. Does anyone know how many days the CTEK needs to stay on charging before it moves to Stage 8 ?

10 days .......
stage 7 is maintenance and 8 is a pulse , if there are 4 green lights it's good to go.

It does it's stuff well, don't overthink it and the manual is worth a read.

[wms]

Thanks for that XUV.

Yep - I have read the little manual that came with it but I couldn't find any time frames for it moving to each stage of the process. Before I make an appointment at Spec Savers, can you direct me to where/what page or section in the manual it says that it takes 10 days on stage 7 before it moves to stage 8 ?

[XUV]

Thanks for that XUV.

Yep - I have read the little manual that came with it but I couldn't find any time frames for it moving to each stage of the process. Before I make an appointment at Spec Savers, can you direct me to where/what page or section in the manual it says that it takes 10 days on stage 7 before it moves to stage 8 ?

why yes of course,
go to manual http://www.ctek.com/Archive/ProductManualPdf/MXS%205.0_EN.pdf
scroll down to 'CHARGING PROGRAMS AND OPTIONS COMBINATIONS'under FLOAT or stage 7 it says '10days Charge cycle restarts if voltage drops'
check out pic below
http://www.motorcycle.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/022514-CTEK-battery-charger-3-chart-633x360.jpg

it's in the FAQ'S Section too.

http://www.ctek.com/au/en/page/support/faq


'My MXS 5.0/MXS 10 jumped from Float (step 7) to Absorption (step 4) and restarted, is that normal?'

'In order to keep the battery in good condition The charger will restart in Float if the battery voltage drops below 12.5 V.
That may occur if for example the car is locked or locked up while charging.
The charger will go back to step 7 (Float) as soon as the battery is 100% charged again.
10 new days of Float will follow, and after that step 8 (Pulse).'

[wms]

Thanks XUV

just made an appointment at Spec Savers...:(:eyes:

[XUV]

hey, never noticed this before, but, they have one called the CTEK MXS 5.0 TEST & CHARGE
Does a load test on battery and test's ya alternator .

http://youtu.be/HB-yWujGSUw