DIY cranking or booster battery pack

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MikeT
Posts: 4809
Joined: 11 Jun 2007, 16:17
Location: Christchurch, Dorset. UK
My Cars: 2005 C5restyle 1.6HDI 16v 110hp VTR Estate
2008 C5 X7 1.6HDI VTR+ Saloon
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Re: DIY cranking or booster battery pack

Post by MikeT »

So with my disgusting cosmetic human fat extraction batteries, I get 17mins at full power or 30+mins at half power. Just waiting for a cold snap now to see if that's adequate or not then I can look into making it remotely automatic so I don't have get out of my warm cave to start it :D
Gibbo2286
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Re: DIY cranking or booster battery pack

Post by Gibbo2286 »

MikeT wrote: 09 Dec 2018, 06:18


A couple of DUP members discussing Brexit. :-D
Man is, by nature, a lazy beast, he does not need twice encouraging to do nothing.
MikeT
Posts: 4809
Joined: 11 Jun 2007, 16:17
Location: Christchurch, Dorset. UK
My Cars: 2005 C5restyle 1.6HDI 16v 110hp VTR Estate
2008 C5 X7 1.6HDI VTR+ Saloon
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Re: DIY cranking or booster battery pack

Post by MikeT »

Car was literally dripping all over outside and it was quite damp and chilly this morning so hoped I'd find condensation within to test my new heater, but oh no, dry as a bone inside it was. The four damp traps in the footwells haven't absorbed any moisture at all over three days now. Typical! :roll:

The good news is the Battery Management System performs better than expected in protecting the LifePO4 cells when connected to the car's electricals. In fact, it's more conservative in it's overcharge protections than I assumed. I'm now quietly confident they can be left permanently connected as I've exhausted all recharging test scenarios I can think of.

The only other project test I've not attempted yet is cold cranking as I'm still waiting for the replacement monitoring system to arrive, which can measure up to 500amps. Apparently, I do have a class 5 starter motor fitted to the C5 according to service.citroen though I think I'd prefer to test the booster pack project on the smaller engined C3 first. :lol:
MikeT
Posts: 4809
Joined: 11 Jun 2007, 16:17
Location: Christchurch, Dorset. UK
My Cars: 2005 C5restyle 1.6HDI 16v 110hp VTR Estate
2008 C5 X7 1.6HDI VTR+ Saloon
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Re: DIY cranking or booster battery pack

Post by MikeT »

Getting bored with Chinese Ebay sellers careless attitude toward their business. The second all-singing volt/ammeter I waited on turned up today only to find it's not wireless, as advertised.
Not the end of the world I suppose, just needs a slight rethink of the cranking test strategy as I've got all other parts required. Just need to build up the courage to try it now. :lol:

Talking of deliveries, my main laptop needed a new fan/heatsink assembly which also arrived today. I took the opportunity to upgrade the processor at the same time from i3 to i7 and had a heart-in-mouth moment when it didn't power up afterwards. For some reason both ram modules decided to sulk, but after a few reseats one then the other got recognised, to my relief. Maybe I should also treat it to a SSD though I'm not up on the latest advances/capacities/costs. Any recommendations?
MikeT
Posts: 4809
Joined: 11 Jun 2007, 16:17
Location: Christchurch, Dorset. UK
My Cars: 2005 C5restyle 1.6HDI 16v 110hp VTR Estate
2008 C5 X7 1.6HDI VTR+ Saloon
x 231

Re: DIY cranking or booster battery pack

Post by MikeT »

It's not been cold enough to test the pre-heater in-car and despite it being horribly wet most days no internal condensation has formed either which is disappointing in that respect but most welcome nonetheless.

Although the wiring is rated for over 60A, I've raided my junk box and wired in a 40A maxi fuse and relay - taken from a scrapped Xantia :)
Reason being I'm programming and testing a remote switch to operate it with so the car can be toasty and defrosted when I get in it.
MikeT
Posts: 4809
Joined: 11 Jun 2007, 16:17
Location: Christchurch, Dorset. UK
My Cars: 2005 C5restyle 1.6HDI 16v 110hp VTR Estate
2008 C5 X7 1.6HDI VTR+ Saloon
x 231

Re: DIY cranking or booster battery pack

Post by MikeT »

Heater remote switch works fine indoors so signal should be stronger in the car. I'm unable to test the effect of sub-zero temps on the batterys but doubt it will be much of an issue. Hopefully, it means the end of my anti-social extended cold-idling when the screen needs defrosting/demisting with the added bonus of not having to leave home to do it.
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