Jump to content
Click here if you are having website access problems ×

Banner Battery Life after death


CtrMint

Recommended Posts

Hey All,

I stupidly left the ignition on in my 420 and have seemingly done damage to the Banner battery, even though a CTek was connected.  There's literally no voltage, it appears open circuit and the charger refuses to see it.  I removed it to test etc.

I've ordered a replacement as I appreciate what's happened has probably done permanent damage.  Rather than send it to the tip, I'm wondering if there's any possibility of getting some life back into it.  I've a number of trailer related projects on the boil and a test car battery would be handy.

Any workable tips to recover ?

thanks for the advice.....

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member

Yes, you might be able to.

1 Top it up.

2 If it wasn't detected by the smart conditioning charger then try brute force with an old-fashioned dumb trickle charger or jumping from a vehicle with the engine running ≥ 3,000 rpm.

3 After a bit of that try it with the smart conditioning charger again.

4 This might force it back into life. But I would never rely on it anywhere that it mattered if it didn't start the engine. But as a low-current bench or workshop power source that wouldn't be the case.

Jonathan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I never charge my Banner but do have a cut off key which I use whenever the car isn't in use.
8 years, 2 years and the odd slow start after 18 months are my 3 experiences. I bought one ready to swap the other day for £77 and they are simple to replace. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks all. 

I gave it a poke this afternoon with a bench power supply set at 12v and 1A.  That seems to have sparked it into life but its not well.  The CTek is now happy to charge it too.

I've managed to get the Banner to hold 12v but it certainly can't support any form of drain.  In fact even its presence in the circuit seems to impact any secondary supply.  I've added a booster pack, and also a trailer battery across the terminals the 420R still won't crank.  I connected the trailer battery the 420R and all good, she started straight away.

I've opted for a replacement Banner from Tayna as I likely damaged the battery, so can't really complain about them. Picking a different battery for me is limited by who will delivery to the Isle of Man,  batteries are tricky things for shipping, many online retailers don't want to known.  Tayna were super helpful.

It would have been nice to have considered a lighter battery such as a LiPO but I've four CTek charges due to Amazon/Hermes inability to communicate. The chargers only support the classic lead acid, so i've stuck with the same setup.

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nw Jonathan.  
I've left the Banner on the CTek to see if it can at least recover the battery to a usable state for low current applications.  I'm building a rear facing camera system of the trailer, so having a battery in the study is handy for dev.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Banner isn't a maintenance-free type. As John says, checking the electrolyte level needs to be part of the regular maintenance routine. If it spends a long time on a conditioning charger it WILL electrolyse water off and the levels will drop. Mine needs toping up every spring when it's had extended periods on the conditioner over winter. The internals really aren't that nasty. You just need to flip the little caps open with a coin or larger washer and top up with distilled water to the mark. You don't actually have to handle acid at all, and even if you do get it in your hands the worst you'll get is slightly sore skin, and even then onlymif you don't wash it off straight away. There's really nothing to be scared of.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So the CTek seems totally happy with the battery now, it's made it into the green on the 7 or so lights on top of the charger.  The battery voltage seems stable too for instance I left full beam on for 5 mins, it didn't cause a significant change in voltage.

I've not had chance to get some distilled water due to work etc but will take a look at this weekend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member

"So the CTek seems totally happy with the battery now, it's made it into the green on the 7 or so lights on top of the charger.  The battery voltage seems stable too for instance I left full beam on for 5 mins, it didn't cause a significant change in voltage."

That's interesting,,, are you now considering using it away from home?

Voltages of batteries that aren't under load can be misleading. Dedicated load testing equipment is common in the trade. The best DIY test is measuring the minimum battery voltage when cranking the starter.

How about checking the levels, topping up if needed, leaving it overnight on the smart conditioning charger and then running that test... or the full house:

Battery voltage:
• At rest
• Minimum during cranking
• At 3,000 rpm.

Jonathan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...