cheetahdavie Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 Well nearly flat..just cranks over. My van has stood outside throughout the bad weather..but I forgot the that the battery needed charging in such cold conditions. I hope someone can point me in the right direction?. Fiat 2.3 Jtd.[2005{o5}] I use a C-tek 7000 charger. When I lift the bonnet I am faced wit a battery showing the exposed Negative terminal and the covered positive. It is covered by a black clip on plastic "box"into which a thicker cable goes. To charge the vehicle battery can I remove/lift this clip on box to access the positive terminal? Does it affect the habitation Electrics? Finally....if I cant remove said box, will leaving the vehicle on EHU charge the van battery as well as the Leisure battery? Any advice greatly appreciated *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 cheetahdavie - 2010-02-07 6:53 PM Well nearly flat..just cranks over. My van has stood outside throughout the bad weather..but I forgot the that the battery needed charging in such cold conditions. I hope someone can point me in the right direction?. Fiat 2.3 Jtd.[2005{o5}] I use a C-tek 7000 charger. When I lift the bonnet I am faced wit a battery showing the exposed Negative terminal and the covered positive. It is covered by a black clip on plastic "box"into which a thicker cable goes. To charge the vehicle battery can I remove/lift this clip on box to access the positive terminal? Does it affect the habitation Electrics? Finally....if I cant remove said box, will leaving the vehicle on EHU charge the van battery as well as the Leisure battery? Any advice greatly appreciated *-) Can't advise specifically on your "removing/lifting the clip" question, but there may be something in your Fiat handbook to tell you how to 'jump start' your vehicle. Assuming there is, if you follow the instructions on where to attach the jumper-leads to your vehicle and attach the C-tek battery-charger cables in a similar way, that should work. On your "...if I cant remove said box, will leaving the vehicle on EHU charge the van battery as well as the Leisure battery?" question - it depends on what make/model of motorhome you own and the charging system fitted to it. Some on-board battery chargers charge the leisure-battery and motor-battery in tandem when the motorhome is on EHU. Others charge either the leisure-battery or the motor-battery according to the position of a selector switch. Many charge just the leisure-battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Regarding the positive post, you can just get access to the clamp under rear right of cover, you wil see the nut exposed. Not easy to get jumper leads on but more than sufficient fo rteh charger croc clip. To lift the cover of there is a realease tab/clip yo can see on top of plastic. Quite easy to remove and lifts straight up. You do not need to disconnect the battery to charge it in situ, however after you get it reasonably charged, because you have had low voltage on starting, I would disconnect the negative for about 30 seconds and reconnect, This will reset any electronic systems which may have been affected by low cranking voltage. Do make sure you have a note of the radio code before disconnecting the battery and how to re-enter it just in case it resets. I also sugggest you let the Ctek fully recharge the battery, you may be tempted to try starting before full charge, but I would let the Ctek charger complete a charge cycle as it will help condition the battery after the deep discharge. This may take some time 24 to 48 hours or more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheetahdavie Posted February 8, 2010 Author Share Posted February 8, 2010 Many thanks to you for your helpful replies. I have tried the EHU this affternoon,but without success.The leisure battery charged @13.8amps..but my internal charge unit did not switch to the Vehicle battery. Tomorrow I will remove the "Black box" as suggested [attempt to get a cro clip on the + terminal] and give it a decent charge on the C-Tek..hopefully this will get me started.I will also disconnect the neg briefly as advised. I would love to give a full charge over many hours,but my van is some 60 yds away,down the drive and on a long cable so a bit difficult to leave on charge. I also do not have the Radio/Cd codes so time would seem to be important? Many thanks for advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 As mentioned in my appauling spelling of last post, the clipped cover does not actually have to be removed. If you peer under at the back you should see the clamp nut. Low cranking voltage can cause upset to the Temp gauge, when turning on the ignition you might see it going exactly have way up the scale. Do not worry about it is not damaged. But will require a system reset by disconnecting the battery -ve and reconnecting. Even if not needed now, I would get hold of your radio codes, if it is the original radio then a main dealer should be able to get it for you. edit - typos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 I'm not Fiat-familiar, but I would have thought that, with a 'coded' radio, there's a strong likelihood that disconnecting the motor-battery will cause the anti-theft code to be lost, irrespective of how long the battery remains disconnected. If that's correct, then it needs bearing in mind if the code isn't available to permit the radio to be re-set. (Surely there must be something in the vehicle's Fiat handbook about this?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheetahdavie Posted February 9, 2010 Author Share Posted February 9, 2010 I connected up the long trailing lead,managed to lift the "black box and get a crocodile clip on the positive teminal..and gave the battery a 45 min charge. [Derek was spot on..I lost the Radio/CD player..not having the codes I thought of the expense and with tears in my eyes] I cranked the motor.crossed my fingers.. First time start..[charged well from the alternator]. [on the first attempt to start it remained dead as a dodo..but found this to be a connection problem between "black box " and battery post] I tried many things short of hurling the radio..but nothing other than "noise" so gave it up [ a very expensive lesson]. Lo and behold went down to van this evening to ensure alarms/doors etc were safe..idly tried the CD..it played?? tuned the radio to "Classic FM"...and it now works.??? I try to avoid electrics,sometimes even wiring a plug taxes me..but this time.. Thank you all again Beers on me at peterborough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 [on the first attempt to start it remained dead as a dodo..but found this to be a connection problem between "black box " and battery post] .....ermmm!!! could this have been your problem all along? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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