Fitting a battery conditioner... Do's and Don'ts

[Jimblob]

Battery conditioner fitted... and it's thrown up an error Light on dash!

2nd mod fitted ;-) if you can call it that! I'm claiming it!

I fitted a CTEK battery charger today . It needed M8 sized connectors to connect to the battery - which i had. I added some additional duct tape to the cable and the shroud just in case there is any rubbing. I will probably cut a very small neat recess in the shroud with my Dremel later on for a neater finish.

The charger lights up perfectly and all looks to be working perfectly.... one problem, after installation an error light has been thrown up on the dash saying "12V Battery needs service".

I'm thinking this is due to me disconnecting the battery as i fitted the connectors. Does anyone have experience with this on other Lotus's? I'm hoping that it will clear itself after a while... could I use an ODB reader to clear the code? Does an Emira even have this port? If so any idea where?

If none of the above I'm sure the dealer would some work seeing as they've not had much to do for months!
Thanks

 

[Jimblob]

I spoke to Lotus and they are now investigating as they themselves advise that people fit a trickle charger / battery conditioner if you leave you can un-driven for any period of time….

I’ve also purchased an ODB reader to see if I can clear the code myself.

 

[TomE]

Useful info, thanks!

On the Evora, if you disconnected the battery too soon after turning off the ignition then it would confuse the ECU and throw an airbag warning light when you re-connected. The ECU needs time to settle after the ignition is turned off, so the car needs to be left for 15-30 minutes before disconnecting the battery. It needed the right type of ODB reader or a visit to the dealer to reset the airbag light.

This issue sounds like it could be similar.

 

[Markc]

Battery conditioner fitted... and it's thrown up an error Light on dash!

2nd mod fitted ;-) if you can call it that! I'm claiming it!

I fitted a CTEK battery charger today . It needed M8 sized connectors to connect to the battery - which i had. I added some additional duct tape to the cable and the shroud just in case there is any rubbing. I will probably cut a very small neat recess in the shroud with my Dremel later on for a neater finish.

The charger lights up perfectly and all looks to be working perfectly.... one problem, after installation an error light has been thrown up on the dash saying "12V Battery needs service".

I'm thinking this is due to me disconnecting the battery as i fitted the connectors. Does anyone have experience with this on other Lotus's? I'm hoping that it will clear itself after a while... could I use an ODB reader to clear the code? Does an Emira even have this port? If so any idea where?

If none of the above I'm sure the dealer would some work seeing as they've not had much to do for months!
Thanks


View attachment 20967

Schmee is due to fit one to his Emira. His team maybe able to shed some light?

 

[CDM1855]

Do we know what’s the longest you can leave the car without driving it, before the battery dies

 

[hml_xy]

When disconnecting the battery on my Evora GT430 nothing happens when you switch it back on. But I have to say that the Emira is on a way other level when it comes to monitoring of the car.

@CDM1855 My guess is 4 weeks should be possible. On my Evora (with the small/light Li-Ion battery) I was ok for about two weeks. But it was probably shortened by the tracker I have installed which doesn't get good GSM in the underground garage.
So my assumption is based on the capacity of the Emira battery being higher than the one in the Evora.

 

[Pugwash]

Manual says starting difficulties could occur after 18 days.

 

[Markc]

Manual says starting difficulties could occur after 18 days.

That doesn’t seem very long compared to other cars I’ve owned

 

[Markc]

That doesn’t seem very long compared to other cars I’ve owned

Although a quick Google suggests it’s around 2 weeks for most cars

 

[TomE]

When disconnecting the battery on my Evora GT430 nothing happens when you switch it back on. But I have to say that the Emira is on a way other level when it comes to monitoring of the car.

@CDM1855 My guess is 4 weeks should be possible. On my Evora (with the small/light Li-Ion battery) I was ok for about two weeks. But it was probably shortened by the tracker I have installed which doesn't get good GSM in the underground garage.
So my assumption is based on the capacity of the Emira battery being higher than the one in the Evora.

My Evora with a standard lead acid battery will last 2 weeks but not 3.

 

[Bilbao-Emira]

My Evora with a standard lead acid battery will last 2 weeks but not 3.

Mine lasts 4 weeks

 

[scoates]

My Emira hasn't moved for 5 weeks and no charger attached to it. I'll give it a check today to see if it starts and get the trickle on it for a day or two to give it a top up.

 

[scoates]

Went to check on it, unlocked without issue, all systems started properly and not even a hesitation when starting the engine! Also took the opportunity to confirm that you can start the car in Sport or Track by holding the start button with no pedals pressed for 5 seconds. Left the charger off for now, think it would easily last a few more weeks.

 

[Jimblob]

Pics of the battery charger connections for reference if anyone needs to know how there’s will fit…

 

[FlyNavy01]

I know Porsche recommends that the negative lead be attached to the body rather than the battery post to avoid problems with the battery management computer. In fact, there’s a big sticker warning about this right next to the battery. If you can find an unused threaded hole in the battery compartment somewhere that may help alleviate the problem.

 

[Jimblob]

I know Porsche recommends that the negative lead be attached to the body rather than the battery post to avoid problems with the battery management computer. In fact, there’s a big sticker warning about this right next to the battery. If you can find an unused threaded hole in the battery compartment somewhere that may help alleviate the problem.

Thx for the suggestion.

I’m going to leave it alone with the charger disconnected untill tomorrow when my ODB reader arrives. I’ll then try to clear the code… then if that works I can see if turning on the charger throws up the warning light again.

I’ll report back tomorrow.

 

[Pugwash]

Thanks @Jimblob. Useful pictures. Not seen a bus bar on a battery like that before.
Did the nuts come off cleanly or were they semi-captive (ie not designed to easily come off?
Did you fully disconnect the battery when doing this?
The unit attached to the earth looks like the one on my Jaguar which I think is the battery condition sensor. It tells me if the battery is low. Perhaps that got disconnected and that’s what is throwing the error code?
IIRC the Jaguar guys told me to try and avoid disconnecting this when I fitted the CTEK fly lead but if I did the error code would clear itself after a number of start stops (once the system had enough clean starts). When I fitted the fly lead I popped the nut off but kept pressure on the leads so everything else is was still connected as I did it. No issue.
Not sure my Evora was as intelligent as that and I don’t recall the battery having all that extra hardware attached when I attached the fly lead.

 

[Jimblob]

Thanks @Jimblob. Useful pictures. Not seen a bus bar on a battery like that before.
Did the nuts come off cleanly or were they semi-captive (ie not designed to easily come off?
Did you fully disconnect the battery when doing this?
The unit attached to the earth looks like the one on my Jaguar which I think is the battery condition sensor. It tells me if the battery is low. Perhaps that got disconnected and that’s what is throwing the error code?
IIRC the Jaguar guys told me to try and avoid disconnecting this when I fitted the CTEK fly lead but if I did the error code would clear itself after a number of start stops (once the system had enough clean starts). When I fitted the fly lead I popped the nut off but kept pressure on the leads so everything else is was still connected as I did it. No issue.
Not sure my Evora was as intelligent as that and I don’t recall the battery having all that extra hardware attached when I attached the fly lead.

I fully disconnected the negative terminal first - I thought that was good practise (maybe not though!).

The reason I did that was that I wanted to connect the negative terminal to the actual negative battery terminal.

I tried to do that but the bolt that clamps onto the terminal is captive at both ends so I had nowhere to put my circular connector. That’s why I connected to the bolt where I did…

I was aware that there was “something” between that and the negative terminal - I guess that’s the conditioning serape you mention.

I’ve started and run the car 3 times since I fitted it so let’s see what happens tomorrow. Fingers crossed. Also I will get my ODB reader tomorrow which may help - although I’ve never used one before… can’t be that hard!

 

[Pugwash]

Useful info, thanks!

On the Evora, if you disconnected the battery too soon after turning off the ignition then it would confuse the ECU and throw an airbag warning light when you re-connected. The ECU needs time to settle after the ignition is turned off, so the car needs to be left for 15-30 minutes before disconnecting the battery. It needed the right type of ODB reader or a visit to the dealer to reset the airbag light.

This issue sounds like it could be similar.

Emira manual does say wait 30 mins after switching off before disconnecting the battery.

 

[Jimblob]

It had been switched off overnight before I connected it… and I don’t think I turned it on at all before I did the work… Or maybe I did inadvertently 🤔