Battery charging

[bobby2000]

I find I'm not using my XC60 so much at the moment, so would like to put it on a trickle charger, being a battery conditioner type of charger. Has anyone else done this or even just charged the battery up with a normal battery charger
I'm taking the main battery is under the bonnet, not in the boot.?

[Whiterdesign]

Hi bobby, you will need an AGM type charger due to the type of battery . The best ones are CTEK, not cheap but be wary of cheaper models. You MUST not charge directly onto the battery in the boot, but use the battery points situated in the passenger side of the engine bay. The positive one has a large red plastic cover on it and the negative terminal is situated a few inches away nearer the wing. It looks like a large bolt stuck up about an inch.
I have been thinking about doing the same myself as my start stop hasn’t worked for months due to doing a lot of short journeys

[Clan]

Originally Posted by bobby2000

I find I'm not using my XC60 so much at the moment, so would like to put it on a trickle charger, being a battery conditioner type of charger. Has anyone else done this or even just charged the battery up with a normal battery charger
I'm taking the main battery is under the bonnet, not in the boot.?

Battery is at the rear under the floor compartment in the centre of the area where you might expect a spare wheel to be . however there is a charging +ve point under the bonnet on the left side under a flap . negative must go on the bare metal stud provided in the same area .
I would not worry too much , volvo say in storage the battery must be charged every 3 months .. You will get a LOW BATTERY message long before it lets you down ..

[Lexman8]

Exactly as Whiterdesign says, especially not connecting a charger to the main battery in the boot. My understanding is that using the charging terminals in the engine bay ensures that both batteries are charged correctly.

I occasionally use my Ctek charger if the car is going to be unused for several days and I've made a lot of short journeys (especially in winter) and find it always brings the stop/start function back to immediate use. It also helps ensure that ERS, etc, will work.

Being an intelligent charger, the Ctek can be left safely attached to allow continuous topping-up if necessary. I certainly wouldn't use an old-style 'dumb' charger with there being so many electronic modules in these cars.

[nu11eaf]

As above I recommend the ctek charger, I used to use the 7.0 amp Ctek charger for my XC90 as my stop start never worked unless battery charged, I too do mainly short trips but I suspected that my battery was faulty and after several goes at rectifying the problem it was finally diagnosed as a faulty battery. (never had a problem starting car just with the stop start)
My stop start never fails to operate now even though I am doing mainly short trips. I have never had to use my battery charger since. And we should not need too.
Anyone having problems with their stop start I would recommend you get your battery tested as there were some faulty AGM batteries put on these cars. There have been several posts on this forum about bad batteries being replaced.

[simonjedrake]

Originally Posted by nu11eaf

Anyone having problems with their stop start I would recommend you get your battery tested as there were some faulty AGM batteries put on these cars. There have been several posts on this forum about bad batteries being replaced.

I had the same issue with my MY16 XC60 and was constantly being told the Battery was fine and that I should simply charge it. But one service visit I refused to accept the same answer and asked the dealer to perform a different test. So a full VIDA test was performed and heh presto it was found to be faulty, So a new one was installed and my start-stop system worked perfectly from them onwards.

[Quacker]

I use a dumb charger on all kinds of vehicles that have sophisticated electrics and have done for years with zero problems. My daughter’s Qashqai had a dead flat for some reason last week [suspect the keyless start is kept awake if the key is stored by her Wi-fi modem] and I jumped it from the Ranger pickup to get it going and charged it for three or four hours with a 20 year old cheapy charger and it has been fine ever since. I could site numerous other examples of doing the same.

[Fursty Ferret]

The issue is not the car's electrical system, but that an AGM is quite vulnerable to damage from incorrect charging. Either your dumb charger will only partially charge the battery or overcharge it.

I've always wondered why Volvo is so adamant that a charger should never be connected to the battery terminals without isolating the battery from the rest of the car.

[Lexman8]

Originally Posted by Fursty Ferret

I've always wondered why Volvo is so adamant that a charger should never be connected to the battery terminals without isolating the battery from the rest of the car.

It was the same with my Merc; they advised disconnecting the battery from the car before charging. There were no dedicated charging terminals.

On these SPA cars with two batteries, presumably the engine bay terminals feed a charge controller in the car which offers another level of protection. With this and a Ctek I've not had any problems charging in situ.

[bobby2000]

Originally Posted by Whiterdesign

Hi bobby, you will need an AGM type charger due to the type of battery . The best ones are CTEK, not cheap but be wary of cheaper models. You MUST not charge directly onto the battery in the boot, but use the battery points situated in the passenger side of the engine bay. The positive one has a large red plastic cover on it and the negative terminal is situated a few inches away nearer the wing. It looks like a large bolt stuck up about an inch.
I have been thinking about doing the same myself as my start stop hasn’t worked for months due to doing a lot of short journeys

Hi Thanks for your reply.
I have that type of charger, it has maintained my previous car battery for 7 years and was 9 years old when I sold the car recently.
I now have a little Smart car runner around, which now does most of my daily stuff, but it's not a long distance machine.
It's good to know that I can charge the battery via the terminals under the bonnet.
Thanks again.
Bob