A place for more technical discussions. Please make sure you post in the correct section on the site, this way it keeps the site tidy AND ensures you get a more relevant answer.
I have historical voltage data going back years from my tracker which I studiously transcribed but it becomes irrelevant once I fitted the isolation mechanism for overnight readings. What it does show is that because it is a smart alternator it never really charges above about 13.5 to 13.8. One of the more recent ai suggestions is to trick it into charging at 14.4 by running with the headlights actually on instead of auto as allegedly that tells the ecu to get the alternator to just be an alternator. As you can probably tell I'm not competent in electrical work, I'm getting better but it's not how my mind works.
Temeraire R.E.D Retired Extremely Dangerous
Bellerophon daily dose of disappointment.
Leviathan 155 prado shortie. Aka the biggest small car in the world.
It's also worth mentioning that the battery killing is not just happening in a relatively small time period per battery but also in a vanishingly small milage as up until me taking it on as my project car it has essentially been operated as the 4th car behind the jimny fleet and while it's been kept used it's primarily been the tow car. I know that sitting for long periods is not ideal for any car and will flatten batteries much like short trips aren't good so we have consciously taken it out at least every month and gone like to Northallerton and back in it to keep it used. But even then there's a difference between a battery going flat and simply not being able to hold charge.
In case you can't tell I like things to just work, all this enigmatic transient inconsistent doing it when you feel like it nonsense sends me loopy.
Temeraire R.E.D Retired Extremely Dangerous
Bellerophon daily dose of disappointment.
Leviathan 155 prado shortie. Aka the biggest small car in the world.
One of the more recent ai suggestions is to trick it into charging at 14.4 by running with the headlights actually on instead of auto as allegedly that tells the ecu to get the alternator to just be an alternator.
I unplugged the connector on the battery negative shunt on my Jimny back in April 2025. It now has a dumb alternator and constantly charges at 14.4 volts. Before I did this I was constantly getting messages from my tracker that the vehicle battery was low, now I don't get them.
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