Battery Charging

[TFM150K]

"CODED batteries"? What's that all about for goodness sake? Something else to avoid?

[bmcecosse]

I can hardly wait........

[kennatt]

not sure that this is allready in,it seems as though if you change anything on a modern it needs to go to the main dealer for the system to be reset. I was told that some cars need this even after simply changing a side light bulb,madness.

[MarkyB]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=563502

Read it and weep, or laugh if you run a Morris

[Trickydicky]

From reading the posts it appears its not the battery that gets coded but the electronics that get told, "you have a new battery".
It has something to do with how the electronics compensate the voltage/amps required to charge the battery if the battery is on its way out.
This is one of the ways modern cars rely on electronics to help get the best fuel economy.

[rayofleamington]

Believe it or not, So called "smart charging" with ecu control of alternator set point voltage, battery state of charge, battery state of health monitoring is already getting to be 'old hat'.

Whilst it is easy to criticise modern cars for their complexity, when it works well it is there to help. My wife's peugeot is on the original 12 year old battery. Back in the good old days a few decades ago this was just plain not possible in a normal vehicle life.
Whilst I am not a fan of Pug's at all, the wifes car has some features that have clearly protected battery life.
For instance in event of an engine that won't run you can't operate the electric windows. The heater stays off until after the engine starts. The stereo cuts off 20 mins after stopping the engine.
All of this happens whether you want it or not. Therefore if your engine stops working when you're driving with windows open you are stuck like that!

On some premium cars the alternator stops charging when you accelerate, so as not to suck a few hundred watts of engine power. And conversely can be set to deliver more 12v charging when you're engine breaking. It only has a small efficiency effect over all but every little helps.

Cars with automatic stop start are likely to be monitoring battery state of health and state if charge to avoid stop start engine cranking and periods of 12v load without alternator support if the battery is too weak.

On the flip side, a car with auto stop start capability may have a more robust battery (capable to take higher depth of discharge without ageing) than a standard unit. Due to stop start vehicles the battery technology has been pushed further forward.

When taken a bit further such as belt starter generators acting as mild hybrid systems the lead acid battery capability and size/ weight makes lithium phosphate or lithium ion batteries look like a good option.

This is merely the tip of the iceberg as plug in hybrids will be coming thick and fast as pure EVs have not gained enough market share fast enough due to traction battery cost, complexity and size/weight. That will give us a generation of cars with multiple batteries and running off multiple energy sources.
If we're lucky the batteries and recharge speed for pure EVs will keep going forwards so we get back to a more simple car again with just one power source and one propulsion system.

Simple is best. Long live the Morris Minor!

[MarkyB]

I'd be shocked (NOT) if they are programmed like ink jet cartridges so they have to be replaced when not finished.
For your own safety no doubt.

[TFM150K]

I'd be shocked (NOT) if they are programmed like ink jet cartridges so they have to be replaced when not finised.
For your own safety no doubt.

Does that mean you can take them out, shake them, put them back in and they'll work for another fortnight 'til the courier brings the replacement?

[MarkyB]

No, it means you can see ink in them but the printer just wont print
You are thinking of old laserjets that will keep printing for ages on low toner

[rayofleamington]

I guess it will depend on which car maker chooses to do this.
Rather like DPF systems they can be good quality and self maintaining over life or designed to last 60k miles then need expensive parts and dealer tools to reset.

I've had to suffer the DPF woes (based on a very poor implementation) and helped people with coded injectors but never yet heard of a 12v system that needs diagnostic tool to correct the system after a battery change.

Coded injectors are generally when the injector behaviour needs to be matched in the ecu calibration rather than just to make life hard for the DIYers.