2017 XC60 Battery Charging

[moosehead74]

New member here having bought my first Volvo 18 months ago after 20 years of Merc ownership. Vehicle is mainly used for towing our caravan and have to say the D5 AWD tows it effortlessly. I still use my C Class as a daily hack so the XC60 only gets used occasionally. I sometimes get the 'low battery charge' warning come up on the dash and gather that Volvo's seem to be particularly prone to this.

I have a 3.8A CTEK stop/start charger - a couple of questions:

1. Is it OK to charge battery without disconnecting?

2. Like the Merc I notice from the manual that you are not supposed to connect directly across the battery, i.e. connect to the positive battery terminal and then engine mount on drivers side of vehicle. Problem is the charging leads on the CTEK won't stretch that far apart. Unlike MB with dedicated charging / jump start points Volvo don't seem to have thought about this. Any ideas would be welcome.

Many thanks

[Tannaton]

The "battery low" warning is just that and if you know why its occurring, it's not necessarily a worry.

When charging via an external charger.... (this is documented in the owners manual)

- Leave the battery in the vehicle and connected
- Then Connect the +ve lead from the charger to the +ve terminal of the battery directly
- Then connect the -ve lead from the charger to a earthing bolt, chassis or engine.

When disconnecting - do that in reverse order (i.e. -ve lead first).

There is a battery monitoring system that keeps an eye on the power going through the negative lead.

The reason for connecting/disconnecting the -ve lead first/last is if there is a spark, it's not immediately adjacent to the battery which may have been giving off hydrogen gas during charging.

[HDAV]

Get a tow point charger.

http://disco4.com/shop/tow-electrics...e-etc-p45.html

[moosehead74]

Originally Posted by HDAV

Get a tow point charger.

http://disco4.com/shop/tow-electrics...e-etc-p45.html

That looks a brilliant way to connect. Many thanks.

[Mick787]

Just attach a CTEK connecting 'rats tail' to the chassis earth point and the +ve terminal and plug in the CTEK as needed. CTEK also supply an optional connecting lead which has indicator lights on it that resemble a set of traffic lights which give an idea if it needs a charge. So easy to use!

[moosehead74]

Originally Posted by Mick787

Just attach a CTEK connecting 'rats tail' to the chassis earth point and the +ve terminal and plug in the CTEK as needed. CTEK also supply an optional connecting lead which has indicator lights on it that resemble a set of traffic lights which give an idea if it needs a charge. So easy to use!

Not sure if there is a convenient Earth in close proximity for the leads to reach. Will need to take a closer look.

With the tow bar electrics solution, does anyone know if the battery pin is always live or only when ignition is on?

[GrahamHR]

Originally Posted by moosehead74

Not sure if there is a convenient Earth in close proximity for the leads to reach. Will need to take a closer look.

With the tow bar electrics solution, does anyone know if the battery pin is always live or only when ignition is on?

There should be very many earthing points near to the battery +ve. Basically any metallic part connected to the engine with a bolt or stud.

[Mick787]

Yes, there is an earthing point to the rear of the battery under the removable panel. I sent images of the point and how to get to it to a fellow member a few weeks ago on this same matter. It is very easy to get to. I have the CTEK 7 and the charging lead -ve is connected to that point. If you want to consider doing this, send me a pm and I'll forward the same e mail and details to you. Check out the post on Dec 29th by Samball....... I must say, mine is a MY 2016. It has to be worth a look.

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=301502

[HDAV]

Originally Posted by moosehead74

With the tow bar electrics solution, does anyone know if the battery pin is always live or only when ignition is on?

Pin 9 should be perm live pin 10 switched on 13 pin wiring....

[moosehead74]

Originally Posted by Mick787

Yes, there is an earthing point to the rear of the battery under the removable panel. I sent images of the point and how to get to it to a fellow member a few weeks ago on this same matter. It is very easy to get to. I have the CTEK 7 and the charging lead -ve is connected to that point. If you want to consider doing this, send me a pm and I'll forward the same e mail and details to you. Check out the post on Dec 29th by Samball....... I must say, mine is a MY 2016. It has to be worth a look.

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=301502

Many thanks. I'll have a look at the weekend and will send pm if stuck. As I have a tow bar and electrics I like the sound of this option as it doesn't involve removing panels, etc. Volvo haven't made it easy compared to MB!

Not having had start / stop and two batteries before what happens when you connect the charger? Does it charge both the starter and support batteries at the same time?