[Sean Nugent]

I have a trickle charger that I would like to attach to my car. It comes with either 2 clamp connectors (no) or two ring connectors that I can connect to the battery on a semi-permanent basis. There is then a plug-in connector to the rest of the charger which I would probably leave in the garage and only connect when I don't drive anywhere for a good few days.

I seem to remember reading something somewhere that says connect the +ve to the battery and the -ve to somewhere else on the car, not the battery -ve point for some reason.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

 

[Xinix]

It has a coulomb counter device attached to the battery and if you attach the charger directly to the battery the device'll give wrong readings.

 

[Sean Nugent]

It has a coulomb counter device attached to the battery and if you attach the charger directly to the battery the device'll give wrong readings.

so +ve to battery, -ve to ground, somewhere on the car - that has a useful screw

 

[prawlin]

From what I’ve seen on my 2020 E-Niro it’s frankly pointless. The car looks after the 12V battery very nicely. If you do want to top it up for good luck now and again just leave it in Utility mode for a few hours. 14.7V constant voltage charging for as long as you like.

That’s my opinion anyway
Peter

 

[Billy the Kid]

I have a trickle charger that I would like to attach to my car. It comes with either 2 clamp connectors (no) or two ring connectors that I can connect to the battery on a semi-permanent basis. There is then a plug-in connector to the rest of the charger which I would probably leave in the garage and only connect when I don't drive anywhere for a good few days.

I seem to remember reading something somewhere that says connect the +ve to the battery and the -ve to somewhere else on the car, not the battery -ve point for some reason.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

My charger is a Ctek which sounds very similar to yours. I have connected the comfort connect 6mm eyelets and plug directly to the battery and have had no problems at all, I charged as soon as I received the car as I knew I would be in the car messing with settings. Will post photo if require.

 

[prawlin]

But you can be sat in the car playing with settings for as long as you like, even 24/7!… With no negative impact on the 12V battery at all. Just either power on to ready state OR use utility mode. As long as you avoid the stupid accessory mode (powering up without foot on brake) then all will be fine.

Before getting my E-Niro, I read (and contributed to) several threads relating to aux battery manual charging needs and related issues. Now that I’ve got my car and seen for myself how well it looks after the auxiliary battery, I see no need whatsoever to use an external 12V maintenance charger.

Warning. I noticed that if you roll up to do rapid charge but leave car on and ready, then car will charge no worries when you plug in (and aux battery is maintained ok during the charging period). However, be aware that when the charging ends and you unplug, the car appears to still be on and ready but it isn’t. It drops into a sort of non driveable accessory mode when you unplug. If you happen to remain in this state even just a few minutes it is really hammering the aux battery! So the advice here for this condition is to immediately power off after you unplug (or better still even before you unplug?). That way you avoid any unnecessary aux battery heavy load discharging.

Peter

 

[Billy the Kid]

But you can be sat in the car playing with settings for as long as you like, even 24/7!… With no negative impact on the 12V battery at all. Just either power on to ready state OR use utility mode. As long as you avoid the stupid accessory mode (powering up without foot on brake) then all will be fine.

Before getting my E-Niro, I read (and contributed to) several threads relating to aux battery manual charging needs and related issues. Now that I’ve got my car and seen for myself how well it looks after the auxiliary battery, I see no need whatsoever to use an external 12V maintenance charger.

Warning. I noticed that if you roll up to do rapid charge but leave car on and ready, then car will charge no worries when you plug in (and aux battery is maintained ok during the charging period). However, be aware that when the charging ends and you unplug, the car appears to still be on and ready but it isn’t. It drops into a sort of non driveable accessory mode when you unplug. If you happen to remain in this state even just a few minutes it is really hammering the aux battery! So the advice here for this condition is to immediately power off after you unplug (or better still even before you unplug?). That way you avoid any unnecessary aux battery heavy load discharging.

Peter

My point was I wanted to charge as soon as I bought the car, having read that many people had had a flat 12v soon after receiving their car.
I know what you’re saying about utility mode and I do use it when necessary, but when I received my car I hadn’t seen your analysis of what utility mode did. Thanks

 

[prawlin]

My point was I wanted to charge as soon as I bought the car, having read that many people had had a flat 12v soon after receiving their car.
I know what you’re saying about utility mode and I do use it when necessary, but when I received my car I hadn’t seen your analysis of what utility mode did. Thanks

Fair enough thanks. I must say I was also a strong advocate of external maintenance charging for the Aux battery after reading about such legacy issues. But now I’ve seen the car and the operation of the excellent battery saver plus feature and the revelation of the utility mode charging ability I’m converted..... I’ve seen the light 🙏
Credit where due, though, it was @KiwiME that firstly revealed the nature of the utility mode to me. That was indeed a revelation.

Peter

 

[Sean Nugent]

I put a Power Monitor on mine. But it reads very differently (I think) from the OBD2 adapter I have which normally reads 60-80% (higher after a longer journey, or after charging), whilst the PM2 reads a nice high voltage and implies a very high %. I just checked the PM2 voltage against a cheap multimeter, and they are very similar (close enough that I am happy <.1v)

Not sure how to reconcile the two readings. I shall take another reading tomorrow morning after charging and the battery has settled down

 

[KiwiME]

By OBD2 adapter, if you mean data rather than just the 12V supply present at the connector, there is no data without the LDC being "on" and that will mess up your numbers. In fact the only good way to measure the voltage is when the car has been left untouched for some time with all doors closed. This is why the Bluetooth devices are really the best.

Was searching to find out what mysterious device you have with such a generic name and encountered this little gem. It appears to be an offshoot of the BM2 many of us know and love but is "Hyundai" branded, always good when the service tech is looking for something to blame on the owner. Even better, it's externally fused unlike the BM2.

Hyundai 12v / 6v Bluetooth Battery Monitor Sensor HYBM-2

<h3 dir="ltr"><span>6v / 12v Battery Monitor</span></h3> <p dir="ltr"><span>The Hyundai HYBM-2 <strong>Bluetooth Battery Monitor</strong> / Sensor provides battery health data directly in your pocket! The HYBM - 2 allows you to monitor your battery healt

hyundaipowerequipment.co.uk

 

[Greg Elmassian]

Why do this if you are not having trouble.

also realize that forums are most populated with people having problems.... you don't see a thread that says "my 12v battery is fine and has never gone flat"

Wait until and if you have an issue.

Also, the "columb counter" is a weird way of saying there is a low ohm resistor on the minus terminal the system uses to detect charge/discharge amps...

And there is no evidence I have seen that charging the battery directly on the terminals causes the system to read the wrong voltage (which is what it uses to detect state of charge), or the computer explodes, or the universe is going to end tomorrow.

Relax, and realize that the threads you see with 12v problems are representative of the MINORITY of owners.

Delete half of them due to user error, and then compare that small number to the TOTAL number of Niro ev's sold.

Greg

 

[Carty]

My charger is a Ctek which sounds very similar to yours. I have connected the comfort connect 6mm eyelets and plug directly to the battery and have had no problems at all, I charged as soon as I received the car as I knew I would be in the car messing with settings. Will post photo if require.

I have bought the “CTEK Go” unit for my ZS EV.
I have also used the supplied 6mm comfort connect ring connectors.
The red live wire is directly connected to the positive post of the battery and black negative eyelet is connected to an earthing post that is attached to the body shell of the car.
It is a very neat and convenient system to use.
The CTEK charger connects and disconnects in seconds.
No bulky crocodile clamps that could spring off and no clearance issues either.
The CTEK instructions and information on the Halfords web site suggest that the negative terminal should always be connected to an earthing point on the body shell and never directly to the battery post.

 

[Billy the Kid]

I have bought the “CTEK Go” unit for my ZS EV.
I have also used the supplied 6mm comfort connect ring connectors.
The red live wire is directly connected to the positive post of the battery and black negative eyelet is connected to an earthing post that is attached to the body shell of the car.
It is a very neat and convenient system to use.
The CTEK charger connects and disconnects in seconds.
No bulky crocodile clamps that could spring off and no clearance issues either.
The CTEK instructions and information on the Halfords web site suggest that the negative terminal should always be connected to an earthing point on the body shell and never directly to the battery post.

Mine is now attached to the car body earthing point.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

The logic of the instructions has nothing to do with the question of before or after the "current measuring shunt"...

The common logic of companies that make chargers is always to attach clamps as far from the battery as makes sense, due to the history of the possibility of sparks when connecting could ignite hydrogen gas.

Over the years of course with sealed batteries, this is really a non-existant problem, since the sealed batteries only vent in extreme cases, highly unlikely, and if you think further, the times you use a battery charger would be anything but the time the battery could be generating gas (since it comes from charging, high current charging in fact).

But the warning practice prevails, to cover them from being sued in case you are indeed charging an old vented battery.

Also consider the connecting instructions for example you are to connect the positive first (you have to connect to the battery terminal, since it is rare to have an "unguarded" positive, high current connection (in the old days, you could often reach the heavy cable to the starter).

Then you connect the negative wire to the body, because it is still high current capable, and away from the battery.

All of this is completely unnecessary for a sealed battery, and even more so for a low amperage charger.

But all the warnings and old history prevail to this day, keeping the manufacturer safer from being sued.

Greg

 

[KiwiME]

From what I’ve seen on my 2020 E-Niro it’s frankly pointless. The car looks after the 12V battery very nicely. If you do want to top it up for good luck now and again just leave it in Utility mode for a few hours. 14.7V constant voltage charging for as long as you like.
That’s my opinion anyway
Peter

Yep, and you're dead right. Our cars already have a 150 amp 12V battery charger on-board which is already automatically engaged, or manually accessible as described with a few button presses to reach Utility mode.
Of course there's nothing wrong with using an external charger but it's an unnecessary complication. In the unlikely event you are caught with a dead battery (such that the car won't turn on) a jump pack might be a better purchase.

A bluetooth battery monitor, by which unloaded voltage history can be checked effortlessly with your smartphone anytime when within 10m of the car, is an inexpensive and useful tool for inquisitive minds to characterise the behaviour so you don't have to guess.

 

[Sean Nugent]

Was searching to find out what mysterious device you have with such a generic name and encountered this little gem. It appears to be an offshoot of the BM2 many of us know and love but is "Hyundai" branded, always good when the service tech is looking for something to blame on the owner. Even better, it's externally fused unlike the BM2.

Hyundai 12v / 6v Bluetooth Battery Monitor Sensor HYBM-2

<h3 dir="ltr"><span>6v / 12v Battery Monitor</span></h3> <p dir="ltr"><span>The Hyundai HYBM-2 <strong>Bluetooth Battery Monitor</strong> / Sensor provides battery health data directly in your pocket! The HYBM - 2 allows you to monitor your battery healt

hyundaipowerequipment.co.uk

I keep saying power monitor - but actually mean BM2 - sorry