Lenard Posted July 16, 2023 Share Posted July 16, 2023 Hi one and all, After 30 plus years of M/homing I should know the answer to my question?!. Can I safely use the jump start connections under the bonnet to charge the starter battery?, to save taking the floor up in the passenger footwell. I will be using the charger recommended by Derek. Cheers Lenard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 In principle that should be OK. Discussed on the Fiat Forum here https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/charging-the-battery.487844/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John52 Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 3 hours ago, Derek Uzzell said: In principle that should be OK. Discussed on the Fiat Forum here https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/charging-the-battery.487844/ Yes (I'm Reg65 on there) I've just replaced my old battery charger with a smart battery charger from Lidl for £15 - works great and you can put it on and leave it without risk of overcharging. Gives a lot more info on the status panel than the old type chargers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 The Ducato Owner Handbook (04/2019 - Edition 1) includes guidance on battery recharging. The procedure advised differs according to whether or not the vehicle has the Start&Stop feature, but (unsurprisingly) assumes that the Ducato's starter-battery will be connected 'directly' to the battery-charger, rather than 'remotely' by exploiting the under-bonnet connections intended for jump starting. The Handbook's guidance on jump starting refers to the possibility of using an auxiliary battery (that can be stand-alone or in another vehicle) but the advised procedure includes no mention of Start&Stop. My Hyundai car has a Start/Stop system and its manual includes dire (NEVER EVER DO THIS) warnings about not recharging its starter-battery while it is connected to the car. However, although the guidance on jump-starting my car includes that warning, the procedure itself (like the Ducato's Handbook) just involves connecting up to the car's under-bonnet connectors. Me, I connect my battery-charger directly to the Hyundai's starter-battery, making sure - before I turn on the charger - that all the car's doors, bonnet and boot are closed and that the car is unlocked (so that its alarm system is not on). The car seems to be unconcerned by this approach - or at least it hasn't so far issued any snotty messages about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John52 Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 My Start Stop 2.3 Ducato (Manufactured Dec 2021) handbook says if you want to charge the battery take it to a Fiat Dealer 🙄 Apparently one guy did and they told him to charge it through the underbonnet connectors as normal. Which is what I did, with no issues. But, as I said in the split charging thread on the Ducato forum (fitted 4x100ah secondary batteries where Fiat says a maximum of 1x20ah - hopeless for a motorhome) - I am not advising anyone else to do it. I am just saying thats what I did and it works fine But if you do it you do it at your own risk same as me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 Hi If you are using an old unregulated charger , make sure you disconnect your battery and charge independently It should of course be OK if using a microprocessor charger as the OP advises he is using , but again yes of course at your own risk Not so sure I would take that risk with my motorhome with a cheap charger. . Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 THREAD MODERATED. Please read Rule 2 here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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