I think I will probably need a new set of batteries before Winter sets in. In ye olden days that would be a job that I wouldn’t hesitate to do myself, but in these days of ecu’s and spikes etc, is there anything I should do after powering down before disconnecting the old batteries and installing new ones?
On my 2004 Renault Premium i first turn off the master switch then dissconect the live lead then the earth and reconnect live first then the earth then turn master switch never had a problem.If charging the battery i first turn off the master switch then connect the 24volt charger for up to an hour then dissconect turn master switch never a problem.But never power start or you will blow an ecu
disconnect the leads, remove the old batteries, fit the new batteries, refit the leads, job done
how complicated do you want it?
shuttlespanker:
disconnect the leads, remove the old batteries, fit the new batteries, refit the leads, job donehow complicated do you want it?
Yes, that’s what I would have said up until the over-reliance on electronics arose, I’d sooner ask before risking blowing up a £600 ecu.
Ensure ignition is off and keys removed, always remove earth/negative cable first, and re-connect last. The reason for doing this is if when working on the live/positive cable and you inadvertantly touch anything thats earthed (chassis/battery box etc) with the spanner at the same time your working on the live theres no circuit to be made 
Ta.
A second question, when I was younger, car batteries had a scrap value. Metal prices being what they are nowadays, I’m wondering if truck batteries have scrap value, and if so how much?
Harry Monk:
Ta.A second question, when I was younger, car batteries had a scrap value. Metal prices being what they are nowadays, I’m wondering if truck batteries have scrap value, and if so how much?
Off the top of my head scrap price for batteries is about £10+ a piece paid by weight, I recently took a selection of 6 batteries and came away with £70, well worth the trip to the scrappy 
Harry Monk:
Ta.A second question, when I was younger, car batteries had a scrap value. Metal prices being what they are nowadays, I’m wondering if truck batteries have scrap value, and if so how much?
Worth weighing in Harry, I took an old truck battery to the scrappy about three months ago (it had been in my garage for 20+ years!) and it made £35 which amazed me to be honest!
Pete.
Once you’ve got the old batteries out the way touch the terminal leads together this allows capacitors in the electronics to discharge and clear all the memory. This should prevent any weirdness on reconnection and might even clear a few electronic faults.
When the new ones are in give the terminals and clamps a good smear all over of vaseline or special battery grease if you’ve got it. Might be stating the obvious but make sure you route the leads so you can get the caps unscrewed to check water level.
Also worth mentioning they could well be 65kg+ a piece and would be a two man lift for H&S in a commercial workshop so make sure your back’s up to it.
Big Joe:
Ensure ignition is off and keys removed, always remove earth/negative cable first, and re-connect last. The reason for doing this is if when working on the live/positive cable and you inadvertantly touch anything thats earthed (chassis/battery box etc) with the spanner at the same time your working on the live theres no circuit to be made
You beat me to it Joe. I learnt this the hard way when I was 17 with my first car (a 1984 Mini) and by the time I realised what I had done the spanner was too hot to touch! Thankfully I got the other lead off before a fire started…
Paul
Harry Monk:
I think I will probably need a new set of batteries before Winter sets in. In ye olden days that would be a job that I wouldn’t hesitate to do myself, but now I’m running a Renault and I don’t think that I’ll be able to stop the elastic band from untwisting when I disconnect the electrical supply, it will take up my whole weekend if I have to wind the elastic band back up as I’ve got a heavy load on Monday so I need it twisting really tight. Does anyone have any advice?
Thanks for the advice, I’ve got a Sealey drop-tester now so I’ll check them out on Sunday when I’m up the yard.
I’ve got a price for new batteries in case they fail, £107 each plus VAT which seems pretty good to me considering I paid £70 for a new battery for my car two years ago.
The old batteries that your taking off, I presume that it’s only precautionary 
There was a bloke in Sidcup that used to renovate batteries (or whatever you want to call it) as long as the plates inside were all good he would do whatever he did and the battery would be as good as new again, maybe worth looking around your area to see if there’s someone similar 
I’ve done a bit of research into battery technology recently, there’s some radical stuff out there, but it’s bloody expensive, the thing is, we are asking our current batteries to multi task and they don’t like it. The loads that we put on them with invertors and microwaves and all that gubbins are drawing a lot of power and that is the big enemy of current battery technology, they do not like being discharged so much. The main purpose of current batteries is to provide Cold Cranking Amps, this is something they’re very good at too. So it may be more economical in the long term to reserve the main batteries for starting and get one of those deep cell jobbies for your amenities, you can link them into the alternator with relays and they are designed to be discharged and the recharged, so each set of batteries is then doing the job it is designed to do 
I’m not entirely convinced. I do have a lot of 240v equipment, but as I understand it the truck’s alternator powers all of this if the engine is running and so it doesn’t discharge the batteries
I’m more inclined to think that the batteries are four years old and that’s as much as you can expect from a battery set.
Harry Monk:
I’m not entirely convinced. I do have a lot of 240v equipment, but as I understand it the truck’s alternator powers all of this if the engine is running and so it doesn’t discharge the batteries
Same here, if I’m using the microwave I always run the engine on fast tick over until I’m done with it, if I’m sitting around all day and using the inverter to power the laptop and night heater I run it on fast tick over for half an hour before shutting down for the night, works fine for me
Those deep cell or glass mat batteries are a bit pricey too, up to a grand in $$$$'s so probably the same in good old pound notes too 
newmercman:
The old batteries that your taking off, I presume that it’s only precautionaryThere was a bloke in Sidcup that used to renovate batteries (or whatever you want to call it) as long as the plates inside were all good he would do whatever he did and the battery would be as good as new again, maybe worth looking around your area to see if there’s someone similar
I’ve done a bit of research into battery technology recently, there’s some radical stuff out there, but it’s bloody expensive, the thing is, we are asking our current batteries to multi task and they don’t like it. The loads that we put on them with invertors and microwaves and all that gubbins are drawing a lot of power and that is the big enemy of current battery technology, they do not like being discharged so much. The main purpose of current batteries is to provide Cold Cranking Amps, this is something they’re very good at too. So it may be more economical in the long term to reserve the main batteries for starting and get one of those deep cell jobbies for your amenities, you can link them into the alternator with relays and they are designed to be discharged and the recharged, so each set of batteries is then doing the job it is designed to do
There are some pretty fancy chargers that can pick up a completely dead battery, or renovate older ones. Apparently what happens over time is sulphate, or something like that, builds up on the plates making the battery less efficient at holding a charge. The way to get rid of it is to give it a high charge, but doing this for a prolonged period can overheat the battery and warp the plates. So these chargers send out pulses of high charge instead.
I was looking for a 24v charger at the beginning of the year, needed something that could be left on the battery as the trucks stand for long periods in the Winter. Ended up buying one from a company that supply stuff for the leisure craft industry.
Quite often you can find some useful gadgetry in a marine shop, same in a camper van place, they mostly run big diesels in both, so there’s a lot of commonality and sometimes you can pick up a bargain or two
muckles:
newmercman:
The old batteries that your taking off, I presume that it’s only precautionaryThere was a bloke in Sidcup that used to renovate batteries (or whatever you want to call it) as long as the plates inside were all good he would do whatever he did and the battery would be as good as new again, maybe worth looking around your area to see if there’s someone similar
I’ve done a bit of research into battery technology recently, there’s some radical stuff out there, but it’s bloody expensive, the thing is, we are asking our current batteries to multi task and they don’t like it. The loads that we put on them with invertors and microwaves and all that gubbins are drawing a lot of power and that is the big enemy of current battery technology, they do not like being discharged so much. The main purpose of current batteries is to provide Cold Cranking Amps, this is something they’re very good at too. So it may be more economical in the long term to reserve the main batteries for starting and get one of those deep cell jobbies for your amenities, you can link them into the alternator with relays and they are designed to be discharged and the recharged, so each set of batteries is then doing the job it is designed to do
There are some pretty fancy chargers that can pick up a completely dead battery, or renovate older ones. Apparently what happens over time is sulphate, or something like that, builds up on the plates making the battery less efficient at holding a charge. The way to get rid of it is to give it a high charge, but doing this for a prolonged period can overheat the battery and warp the plates. So these chargers send out pulses of high charge instead.
I was looking for a 24v charger at the beginning of the year, needed something that could be left on the battery as the trucks stand for long periods in the Winter. Ended up buying one from a company that supply stuff for the leisure craft industry.
we have 2 of these fancy chargers and although they are good the battery gets to a point when even these dont work, infact they have on more than 1 occasion knackered a battery beyond renovtion!
just another thing to add if you are going to the trouble of changing batteries buy a good make like varta with the highest AH rating possible!
after poor results we now steer clear of banner and hella batteries! but we have had good results with varta or numax and we only now fit the largest capacity possible
moose
Harry Monk:
I’m not entirely convinced. I do have a lot of 240v equipment, but as I understand it the truck’s alternator powers all of this if the engine is running and so it doesn’t discharge the batteries
At tick over the alternator will only be able to put out a fraction of its rated output and so if you’re drawing a high current then some of it will still be coming from the batteries. How much will obviously depend on how much you’re drawing and how big the alternator is. A quick Google suggests that the standard alternator on a Volvo FH (for example) is 110A and so with a big inverter you could easily be drawing more than the alternator is putting out unless you have set it to idle at quite a high speed.
To be honest I would think that unless you’re using a lot of power for a long time then you’re probably better off not running the engine as 5 minutes at tick over will probably only just put back into the batteries what starting the engine took out.
Harry Monk:
I’m more inclined to think that the batteries are four years old and that’s as much as you can expect from a battery set.
I’m with you there. A four year old battery in a truck will almost certainly be on its last legs.
Paul
Anybody noticed how batteries dont give you a warning now like they used to? You know a bit slow on first start,now it seems ok today and u/s the next morning.