Optimate battery conditioner
Discussion
I have an optimate battery conditioner and it was fitted to the car when I bought it a few years ago. The conditioner is wired into the boot, and it has a pair of wires that thread over the rear passenger wheel and then disappear into the car.
I am not convinced that it is working correctly and would like to know where the pair of wires are most likely to connect to in the car. It is not the battery terminal that is for sure as I had the battery out last night. Does anyone have a suggestion where I should look so I can check that the conditioner is both connected and delivering a charge.
David
I am not convinced that it is working correctly and would like to know where the pair of wires are most likely to connect to in the car. It is not the battery terminal that is for sure as I had the battery out last night. Does anyone have a suggestion where I should look so I can check that the conditioner is both connected and delivering a charge.
David
True. What has been puzzeling me is the unit has a series of LEDs on it with icons of smiley faces, but I have never seen anything other than the power on LED light up when I plug it into the mains, so I wonder if the two wires are connected to anything. I guess I should pull a bit of carpet up and trace them, and see where they lead.
David
David
simpo two said:
I guess that if you connect a multimeter across the two wires, if they're connected to anywhere useful you should get a reading of 12-14V.
If it's not wired up, you could remove the unit, fix it to the garage wall and connect it via the cig socket when you tuck the car up!
david010167 said:
True. What has been puzzeling me is the unit has a series of LEDs on it with icons of smiley faces, but I have never seen anything other than the power on LED light up when I plug it into the mains, so I wonder if the two wires are connected to anything. I guess I should pull a bit of carpet up and trace them, and see where they lead.
Lack of lights sounds suspicious. If the voltage across the wires is 0, then I'd just cut the thing out. I think once you start pulling up stuck-down carpets they're never the same again - and even if you do trace the wires all the way to a pair of cut ends, what do you do then?
Good question, what do I do when I find my end is missing...
oh well, I will see what I can find.
David
oh well, I will see what I can find.
David
simpo two said:
True. What has been puzzeling me is the unit has a series of LEDs on it with icons of smiley faces, but I have never seen anything other than the power on LED light up when I plug it into the mains, so I wonder if the two wires are connected to anything. I guess I should pull a bit of carpet up and trace them, and see where they lead.
Lack of lights sounds suspicious. If the voltage across the wires is 0, then I'd just cut the thing out. I think once you start pulling up stuck-down carpets they're never the same again - and even if you do trace the wires all the way to a pair of cut ends, what do you do then?
Surely if you lift the Carpeted Flap just behind the Passenger Seatbelt you should see a load of wires coming over the wheel arch from the Boot.
Hopefully u should find these wires here.
Must add though it does sound like they are not wired up to anything. The lights should change as it slowely takes you battery through the recharge processs.
BB
Hopefully u should find these wires here.
Must add though it does sound like they are not wired up to anything. The lights should change as it slowely takes you battery through the recharge processs.
BB
I do. It goes over the wheel arch, then exits the flap behind the passenger seat and then disappears under the carpet for destinations unknown. I guess I need to go outside and do a bit or carpet feeling and see were it leads.
David
David
Ballistic Banana said:
Surely if you lift the Carpeted Flap just behind the Passenger Seatbelt you should see a load of wires coming over the wheel arch from the Boot.
Hopefully u should find these wires here.
Must add though it does sound like they are not wired up to anything. The lights should change as it slowely takes you battery through the recharge processs.
BB
The mystery is solved. I followed the wires under the carpet, finding that they headed towards the battery, which would make sense. Then pulling the carpet back from the left hand side of the passenger footwell, I discovered that the wires were nicly bundled up with terminators on the end, very odd. A few minutes later I connected it to the battery, and hey presto the thing lights up and appears to work.
It is a complete mystery to me, why the conditionaer is neatly installed in the boot and all the wires nicly routed to the battery, only for the final step to be missing.
David
It is a complete mystery to me, why the conditionaer is neatly installed in the boot and all the wires nicly routed to the battery, only for the final step to be missing.
David
Its working, I plugged it in Sat night and on Sunday morning I had a green light next to the picture of a smiling battery.
and no you do not have to leave the boot open, mine shuts quite happily with the power cable plugged int the wall, and the alarm turned on.
David
and no you do not have to leave the boot open, mine shuts quite happily with the power cable plugged int the wall, and the alarm turned on.
David
simpo two said:
Congrats.
Maybe the last chap replaced the battery and didn't like the idea of conditioners - or if it was done by a garage maybe they left it off as being outside normal TVR practice etc.
But I suppose you've still got to open the boot and leave it open while its plugged in?
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