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

[Scruff111S]

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

View attachment 20999

Great pics. Just a quick question. How does the plastic cover on the right side of the battery come off? Also, when undoing both nuts, attaching charger connectors, then reattaching nuts, surely does that mean there is no distribution to power supply?

 

[Jimblob]

Great pics. Just a quick question. How does the plastic cover on the right side of the battery come off? Also, when undoing both nuts, attaching charger connectors, then reattaching nuts, surely does that mean there is no distribution to power supply?

The plastic cover just clips on and off fairly easily.

I disconnected the power when trying to see if I could connect my charger connector to the main battery stub rather than using the bolt after the battery conditioner thing!

 

[Scruff111S]

The plastic cover just clips on and off fairly easily.

I disconnected the power when trying to see if I could connect my charger connector to the main battery stub rather than using the bolt after the battery conditioner thing!

Cheers, does the battery retaining bracket have to be removed to unclip the plastic?

 

[Jimblob]

Cheers, does the battery retaining bracket have to be removed to unclip the plastic?

If you mean the big bracket along the bottom of the battery that holds the battery down then no you don’t have to remove that, the plastic cover just unclips in-situ.

 

[Scruff111S]

If you mean the big bracket along the bottom of the battery that holds the battery down then no you don’t have to remove that, the plastic cover just unclips in-situ.

Cheers mate.

 

[Jimblob]

The scanner turned up but I can’t clear the particular battery code that’s been thrown up on the Emira… on the plus side it did clear a warning light on my other car that’s waiting to go into the garage - so I know it works.

I’m waiting for a call back from Lotus to advise.

 

[vision]

The scanner turned up but I can’t clear the particular battery code that’s been thrown up on the Emira… on the plus side it did clear a warning light on my other car that’s waiting to go into the garage - so I know it works.

I’m waiting for a call back from Lotus to advise.

Im confused, I personally would unwind the battery nuts exposing the +/_ threads and then put on the terminals and tighten up? maybe Im just stupid but that is what I have done on my exiles in the past with no issues.

 

[Scruff111S]

Im confused, I personally would unwind the battery nuts exposing the +/_ threads and then put on the terminals and tighten up? maybe Im just stupid but that is what I have done on my exiles in the past with no issues.

Yes, I thought that would be the way to do it, if I could only get the plastic off the right hand side of the battery.

 

[Nova]

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.

I looked into this and see that Porsche has the exact same type of little black box attached to the negative terminal side of the battery. Apparently, the little black box is a current sensor. No doubt this current sensor is combined with a voltage sensor to monitor the status of the battery and the general health of the vehicle's electrical system. Once you attach a battery management system to the terminals of the battery directly, this current sensor is bypassed. The battery management system would then detect that the battery voltage is inexplicably increasing even though there is no detectable current flowing into the battery. This indicates a faulty condition.

 

[Jimblob]

Yes, I thought that would be the way to do it, if I could only get the plastic off the right hand side of the battery.

I’m confused as well! What do you mean by unwind your battery nuts to expose the +/- threads?

Which nut do you mean by battery nuts? And which threads do you mean by threads? Do you mean the bits I’ve pointed to in green?

I think where I’ve attached it to on the positive is fine but I’m not 100% on the negative.

The problem on the negative is that the bolt I’ve circled is captive on both ends so I can’t get my terminal over it.

 

[Jimblob]

I looked into this and see that Porsche has the exact same type of little black box attached to the negative terminal side of the battery. Apparently, the little black box is a current sensor. No doubt this current sensor is combined with a voltage sensor to monitor the status of the battery and the general health of the vehicle's electrical system. Once you attach a battery management system to the terminals of the battery directly, this current sensor is bypassed. The battery management system would then detect that the battery voltage is inexplicably increasing even though there is no detectable current flowing into the battery. This indicates a faulty condition.

Sounds logical.

Where are you suggesting that I attach the chargers terminals?

 

[Nova]

Sounds logical.

Where are you suggesting that I attach the chargers terminals?

The positive terminal can stay where it's at. You'll need to find a negative attachment point that's direct to the chassis of the car. I'm curious if the two screws at the bottom of the battery tray are attached to the metal chassis. You can check with a meter. If they are attached directly to a metal part of the body, one of the two screws would be a good spot.

 

[Pugwash]

Out of curiosity, I just checked what I had done with my Jaguar. The positive goes to the battery and the negative to a convenient earth point on the body. This was a recommended by a Jaguar technician. This may or may not have anything to do with your battery error message.
Would be interested to hear what Lotus technical recommendation is when they get back to you as we are all going to installing these flyleads eventually.
For info, CTEK also do a fly lead with three traffic light leds built into it so you can see at a glance how your battery is doing.

 

[Scruff111S]

I’m confused as well! What do you mean by unwind your battery nuts to expose the +/- threads?

Which nut do you mean by battery nuts? And which threads do you mean by threads? Do you mean the bits I’ve pointed to in green?

I think where I’ve attached it to on the positive is fine but I’m not 100% on the negative.

The problem on the negative is that the bolt I’ve circled is captive on both ends so I can’t get my terminal over it.

In your photo, that is the way i thought to attach the trickle charger. Is this the correct way?

 

[Jimblob]

I’ll try the battery tray for the negative connection.

My only thoughts is that the battery earth strap connects onto the battery in the same place that I used so I thought that it’s effectively the same point…

Let’s see what tomorrow brings when I drive the car a few more times after moving the connection point.

Also I’m expecting a call back from Lotus.

 

[howard1650]

The little box on the -ve terminal is call a Battery Management System (BMS). It tells the ECU the state of battery. If you put a load between the battery -ve and the BMS it will get confused. It will take 24 hours to learn the battery health. Just make sure the -ve from the charger is the not between the BMS and -ve battery terminal. If you want try resetting the BMS, have the car running and unplug the module's coms connector for 10s (the little connector on the side of the BMS). It will then take 24 hours to measure the battery and report the correct state - I hope this help. Lots of information on BMSs via Google etc

 

[Pugwash]

Thank you @howard1650 , that is most useful. And welcome to the forum.

 

[digilotus]

The little box on the -ve terminal is call a Battery Management System (BMS). It tells the ECU the state of battery. If you put a load between the battery -ve and the BMS it will get confused. It will take 24 hours to learn the battery health. Just make sure the -ve from the charger is the not between the BMS and -ve battery terminal. If you want try resetting the BMS, have the car running and unplug the module's coms connector for 10s (the little connector on the side of the BMS). It will then take 24 hours to measure the battery and report the correct state - I hope this help. Lots of information on BMSs via Google etc

Great first post @howard1650! Welcome to the forum!

 

[Andrea]

Have you managed to solve the issue? I'm planning to instal a battery conditioner as well and I'm following this thread very carefully! since it will be the first time for me I want to make sure I wont install it on the wrong battery (which is not lithium battery, correct?) nuts

 

[digilotus]

The Emira handbook has battery specifications. Its a standard (non-lithium) battery.

Emira Handbook | Lotus Cars United Kingdom

Your new Lotus Emira is built in the true tradition of Lotus sports cars; high performance with precision handling. Understand more about your vehicle with the Lotus Emira handbook.

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