Charging XS Power Batteries

[shogen]

So, I'm looking into replacing my Kinetik batteries in hopes that my low idle voltage may be a result of not so great battery conditioning and whatnot.

Is it recommended to charge the XS Power when you first get them shipped to you? If so, would the CTEK MUS 3300 be good for it? What setting should it be on? The car or snowflake icon

Thanks in advance for any information regarding this matter...

- SHo

[crunkjuice1]

I don't really know about that charger but its always good to put the batteries on a charger even if it looks like its sitting at a good voltage. Mechman actually recommends to fully charge batteries before you install the alt. Follow charger instructions or if you haven't bought it yet I would at least recommend the battery tender plus brand charger, it has a rather low charge in amperage (1.5amps) but I had my multimeter on the battery throughout charging and it never went past the 14v range that is important so you dont gas the batteries. I know you have been having a rough time hope you get things straightened out.

I read Nathan said even if it would take awhile to charge that would be fine. Another thing I read was if your fine with over night depending on how much the batteries are low. Some people will say if the batteries are sitting fine when you get them just use them but I started charging them out of the box.

[crunkjuice1]

link

http://smartercharger.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Multi-US-3300_us.pdf

from what I see on the instructions yes the snow flake sign would be used.

[audiofanaticz]

Cteks are great chargers and what I prefer for a charger. I use a larger Ctek on occasion to recondition my batteries. The Ctek chargers offer a lot of options!

Depending on what batteries you end up buying the ctek 3300 is way to small of a charger for you.

While all Ctek chargers are good for Lead Acid, Wet, MF, Gel, AGM batteries, the 3300 charger is only rated for 12Ah to 75Ah when charging the batteries, and 12-120Ah while maintaining a full charge on the batteries.

So the only batteries by XS Power that charger would be good for due to the Ah ratings are the:

d375 - 15ah

d545 - 14ah

d680 - 20ah

d925 - 28ah

d975 - 35ah

d1200 - 44ah

d2400 - 70ah

d3400 - 67ah

d5100/d5100R - 60ah

d6500 - 75ah

d1400 (14volt battery) - 50ah

d1699 (16volt battery) - 50 ah

Of coarse if you used 2 d3400 batteries you would have a combined ah of 134, which would make the Ctek 3300 charger way too weak.

If you bought Five d375 batteries they would total up to 75ah which is just at the max ah for charging with the Ctek 3300.

So like I said its going to depend on what batteries you choose to buy, and then how many batteries.

Your other options would be to disconnect all your batteries and charge them one by one each time you are going to charge them, but this could get to be very tedious and old very quick!!

Id strongly suggust stepping up to the Ctek 7002 charger, which is good for 14Ah to 150Ah when charging, and 14Ah to 225Ah when maintaining a charge. They sell for a little under $100 depending on where you buy it.

I love the Ctek 25000 which is a 25amp charger, its compact size and strong, but they sell for around $230 on the internet.

You can always look into the XS Power chargers at this price point too, but you dont get the reconditioning option with them

Now for your low charging voltage at idle, could be due to a couple things.

You could have a bad cell in a battery (you would have to test each battery individually to see which battery has low voltage or use a 100amp load tester you which you can buy for around $50 from most autopart stores. The agm battery cells read around 2.1 volts each (depending on condition and charging habits of your batteries), so if you had a battery with a bad cell, and it was fully charged it read in the low 10volt range.

~You could have a weak or worn out serpentine belt causing belt slip.

~You could have a bad belt tensioner if its a spring loaded one and its not providing enough pressure on the belt.

~If you have a manual adjustable tensioner you could try tightening it up some more for more belt pressure.

~If your using a stock alternator it maybe on its death bed (this could hold true to a high output alternator too).

~Depending on the make and model of your high output alternator it could just have poor output at lower rpm speeds. Usually alternators that are built for more power at higher rpms tend to have poor idle output.

~Depending on your alternator pulley size, you maybe able to go with a smaller pulley to achieve more idle output.

~You could have loose or corroded pos/neg connections on your batteries or alternator, fuses.

As for if you should charge your new XS Power batteries before installing them, the answer is Yes!

The batteries do ship charged, however they could of lost a little voltage depending on how long they have been sitting.

More then likely once you put the battery on the charger it will only take 5-10 minutes on the charger before the charger says it is full.

Hopefully this little essay helps ya out

[teamjeffrey]

yes your spouse to charge them before you install but you have to use a agm battery charger i prefer the IntelliCharger hf 1215

[crunkjuice1]

Fanaticz hit a good one on the belt did you get a new one? Were you able to use the O.E size belt? Last year Eric helped me find the proper belt size I needed for everything to work right. It was a good wrestle but helped my slip.

[audiofanaticz]

but you have to use a agm battery charger

CTEK chargers can charge 12-volt lead-acid, Wet, MF, Gel, AGM, and Ca batteries.

[MECHMAN]

You should charge them first, but if the resting voltage is 12.7+ I don't see it being a problem as that would be just like starting your car after letting it sit overnight.

The reason we want batteries charged fully is that with a large battery bank or low batteries the alternator can overheat trying to bring their voltage back up. Alternators are designed to maintain battery voltage, not recharge dead batteries.

[shogen]

The belt is a new gates belt and was exact size of stock. Asked Eric before purchasing alternator and was told perfect mate.

How can I check for slipping? Car runs and sounds great. Any signs to looks for?

[Mha]

Other then charging before you install why do you have to charge them? I mean doesnt the alt do that? Im new and just got my first d3400 so if you could inlighten me with info I would be thankfull. And how often