Member Since: 22 Sep 2008
Location: Either Pub or Work!
Posts: 225
2nd Battery!
Hi Guys,
My car is suffering a bit in this cold weather due to short journeys back and forth to work. I am looking at putting a second battery on it. I have been looking a the optima yellow top but Which one is right for the D3 any ideas? "The fate of the wounded lies in the hands of the one who applys the first dressing"
Member Since: 04 Aug 2005
Location: Newbury
Posts: 6861
D34 from memory, might be worth giving TFC a shout to see the best place to get them from currently...?
3rd Jan 2009 11:12 pm
Hassle
Member Since: 19 Nov 2008
Location: Sleaford
Posts: 723
I don't think it's a yellow top battery you need though as that is for auxiliary equipment, i.e. fridge, roof top lights , inverter running a computer, hair drier, kettle.
TFC installed my second battery (and some more stuff) and did a top job I can really recommend using his services.
The installed battery is an Optima Yellow Top 55Ah. This was at the time the largest Yellow Top battery that would still fit in the off-side battery compartment.
The battery is separated from the main battery by a National Luna 'smart solenoid', although Iain reckons that that is not necessary at all.
But it shows the charge state and has lots of nice colorful leds And it also gives you manual control over wether the batteries are tied or not.
The Yellow Top batteries are quite universal in nature: they claim to be able to deliver a large current (for starter battery assist) as well as being fairly resistant to deep discharge (good for powering fridges and stuff like that). 2006 Zermatt Silver TDV6 'SE' Auto, Mantec sump guard, Frontrunner roofrack, Lightforce 140s, split charge system and... a Jetboil.
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Last edited by Beaker on 3rd Jan 2009 11:23 pm. Edited 1 time in total
3rd Jan 2009 11:20 pm
blue meanie D3 Decade
Member Since: 04 Aug 2005
Location: Newbury
Posts: 6861
the yellow top in mine kept the car going for a day extra when the alternator was 'in a state of fornication' so gets my vote
3rd Jan 2009 11:22 pm
10forcash
Member Since: 09 Jun 2005
Location: Ubique
Posts: 16534
The main benefit of the Optima batteries (and the reason I sell 'em ) is that they are the only ones that will tolerate the higher than usual charge voltage the D3 produces - other than the OEM lead-calcium of course, but they won't fit in the spare compartment. Choice of red, blue or yellow Optima's depend upon usage although generally the Yellow Optima D34 is the battery of choice
3rd Jan 2009 11:35 pm
GLYNNE
Member Since: 06 Oct 2006
Location: KENT
Posts: 4645
How much would, lets say a yellow top, be fitted, to run fridges and other accessories
3rd Jan 2009 11:43 pm
10forcash
Member Since: 09 Jun 2005
Location: Ubique
Posts: 16534
With charge system,(not NL or similar, my own 8) ) Optima D34 Yellowtop and up to four outlets, prices start at £420+vat
3rd Jan 2009 11:45 pm
drivesafe
Member Since: 23 Feb 2006
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Posts: 867
Re: 2nd Battery!
Blaserman wrote:
Hi Guys,
My car is suffering a bit in this cold weather due to short journeys back and forth to work.
Hi Blaserman, if you have a need for a second battery, go for it, but having a second battery fitted is not going to resolve your cold start situation.
Your problem is that your cranking battery is not being fully charged while the vehicle is in use because the of the situation you have already worked out.
Because you don’t drive long enough!
In any situation where a vehicle is not being driven long enough to fully recharge the battery, every time the vehicle is started, the battery will progressively loose it’s charge. I call this the Shopping Trolley Syndrome and it’s very common and ultimately the Shopping Trolley Syndrome not only cause starting problems, it leads to a short battery life.
In your case, if you are going to continue to operate your D3 in this manor, then the ONLY way to correct this problem is to charge the battery while the vehicle is not in use.
There are a couple of ways to achieve this and it has been discussed extensively in the thread linked below.
One more point, very relevant to this thread. While the Discovery 3 and Range Rover Sports have what is probably the most advanced charging system found in any vehicle and this system WILL speed the charging of the cranking battery, ultimately, the speed at which a battery is charged is down to the type of battery, NOT the vehicle it is in.
The Optima battery can be faster charged than the d3’s Calcium/Lead/Calcium battery and in a D3 will charge quickly but many other makes of vehicles now have high charging capacity.
A Calcium/Lead/Calcium battery will take longer to charge than an Optima and this will be case no matter what make of vehicle they are in.
Blaserman, this leads back to your problem. Unless you plan to do longer drives, the ONLY way you are going to fully charge your battery and solve your cold starting problems is to charge the battery while the vehicle is not in use.2008 TDV8 RR Lux + 2009 D4 2.7
4th Jan 2009 5:29 am
Blaserman
Member Since: 22 Sep 2008
Location: Either Pub or Work!
Posts: 225
Cheers guys,
If the yellowtop will not help with the starting problems, what about changing the main battery to an Optima red top? Would this not help if they charge faster? The journey to work is 6 miles each way, which is obviously not quite enough to put in what is used to start the car.
When starting the car on a cold morning I get a message saying 'HDC system fault' and 'special programmes not avalible'. Is this the case? or will they still operate?
I have put this down to a voltage issue having read the posts on here. Am I right or wrong? "The fate of the wounded lies in the hands of the one who applys the first dressing"
Member Since: 03 Sep 2006
Location: Manchester
Posts: 14368
Yes sounds like voltage issues
If you switch it off after a minute or so and restart do the warnings go away ?G4 Gone ...but not forgotten
4th Jan 2009 8:07 pm
DiscoStu
Member Since: 09 Apr 2006
Location: London
Posts: 11412
Blaserman wrote:
When starting the car on a cold morning I get a message saying 'HDC system fault' and 'special programmes not avalible'.
Exactly what I have on mine, due to mostly shortish journeys.
A Yellow Top will help, depending on how it's connected. Mine is connected in parallel with the main battery once the ignition is on - even if the voltage is down there's more than enough current to start the engine. Saying that, I haven't had any low voltage issues since the 2nd battery was installed.Disco 5 HSE Lux
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peyiqaJrmMU
4th Jan 2009 8:20 pm
drivesafe
Member Since: 23 Feb 2006
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Posts: 867
Hi DiscoStu, how often did you have low voltage problems before you fitted the dual batteries, because your type of usage may have been boarder line usage in the first place.
My system, and I’m not promoting it, actually keeps the batteries connected after the ignition is turned off and this means the Optima will keep the Calcium/Lead/Calcium cranking battery from discharging any where near as quick as it would when just sitting there by itself, but even this type of set up does not resolve the problem of short trips.
If hard starting caused by low battery voltage is the problem then, as posted, the solution is to get the cranking battery voltage up while the vehicle is not in use and no dual battery system is going to do that.
You are going to be far better off correcting the problem in the first place by using a battery charger, whether you have a need for a dual battery system or not.2008 TDV8 RR Lux + 2009 D4 2.7
4th Jan 2009 9:58 pm
DiscoStu
Member Since: 09 Apr 2006
Location: London
Posts: 11412
My dual battery is primarily to run a fridge - it just happened to cure low voltage issues as well. I always got HDC faults etc in cold weather, but never really had a problem starting the car until I got the HSE, when the main battery went flat before I'd installed the 2nd battery. I put it down to the kids watching the TV at every availble opportunity (and I mean even when we're at home they like to go and sit in the car and watch TV ). Now the 2nd battery is in, no issues at all Disco 5 HSE Lux
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peyiqaJrmMU
4th Jan 2009 10:34 pm
Blaserman
Member Since: 22 Sep 2008
Location: Either Pub or Work!
Posts: 225
Quote:
Yes sounds like voltage issues
If you switch it off after a minute or so and restart do the warnings go away ?
Yes after a few minutes running time the warning lights vanish and everything returns to normal."The fate of the wounded lies in the hands of the one who applys the first dressing"
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And it also gives you manual control over wether the batteries are tied or not.
2006 Zermatt Silver TDV6 'SE' Auto, Mantec sump guard, Frontrunner roofrack, Lightforce 140s, split charge system and... a Jetboil.
) is that they are the only ones that will tolerate the higher than usual charge voltage the D3 produces - other than the OEM lead-calcium of course, but they won't fit in the spare compartment. Choice of red, blue or yellow Optima's depend upon usage although generally the Yellow Optima D34 is the battery of choice
How much would, lets say a yellow top, be fitted, to run fridges and other accessories 
). Now the 2nd battery is in, no issues at all 
