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Battery charging ... a rookie's question

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Battery charging ... a rookie's question

Postby Big_Baz » Sun Jun 10, 2018 6:11 am

Hi folks,

Baz here in New Zealand, a proud new owner of a year 2010 T330 Transit .... the only remotely 'modern' car I have ever owned :lol:

A rookie's question .... my van has been parked up for many months and is very low on battery charge. Starts happily with a booster pack thingee but may need a new battery and I'm missing the radio PIN card. So two questions .....

1. Is it safe (vehicle electrics etc) for me to charge the battery without disconnecting it ?

2. If I ever lose the radio settings (dead flat battery or swapping in a new battery) can I retrieve radio functions without the PIN ?

Many thanks in advance, Baz :D
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Re: Battery charging ... a rookie's question

Postby blue estate » Sun Jun 10, 2018 7:03 am

2 straight answers NO& NO
to many complicated electronics , and radio will lock out

on the radio front pull it out and see if some kind person has written code on it
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Re: Battery charging ... a rookie's question

Postby daraioj » Sun Jun 10, 2018 8:16 am

Big_Baz wrote:Hi folks,

Baz here in New Zealand, a proud new owner of a year 2010 T330 Transit .... the only remotely 'modern' car I have ever owned

A rookie's question .... my van has been parked up for many months and is very low on battery charge. Starts happily with a booster pack thingee but may need a new battery and I'm missing the radio PIN card. So two questions .....

1. Is it safe (vehicle electrics etc) for me to charge the battery without disconnecting it ?

2. If I ever lose the radio settings (dead flat battery or swapping in a new battery) can I retrieve radio functions without the PIN ?

Many thanks in advance, Baz :D
Not sure which radio model you've got but you need to find the serial number. (In most of them you press and hold 1 and 6. It'll cycle through some info the last of which is the serial number)
It will be either Vxxxxxx or Mxxxxxx. There's free calculators for M codes. Not for V serial numbers though. You can get the code on eBay. I paid something like 2€ for mine. I think there's paid phone apps too.
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Re: Battery charging ... a rookie's question

Postby Altransit » Sun Jun 10, 2018 8:49 am

I use a Ctek smart charger, and it's absolutely fine to connect one of these, or similar, to the battery when connected, I do it all of the time :)

I wouldn't risk connecting a high output, or fast charger though :shock:

If your 330 is a RWD, you may have two batteries :idea:
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Great info ..... most appreciated !

Postby Big_Baz » Sun Jun 10, 2018 9:25 pm

Thanks a lot folks

* I'll resist the temptation to charge the battery without disconnecting it :twisted:
* I'll check today for a hidden code on the radio unit
* I see the cTek Smart charger is available here if I need to go that way
* And I found the PIN calculator thingee on eBay ... 0.99p ... cool !

So, I am good to go. A great forum - I will look forward to participating :D

And off-topic. Gosh, that Duratorq engine has some pep. and a nice smooth delivery of the power too. Wellington NZ is a hilly wonderland and I am very impressed at this early stage.

Cheers, Baz
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Re: Battery charging ... a rookie's question

Postby daraioj » Sun Jun 10, 2018 10:56 pm

Big_Baz wrote:Thanks a lot folks

* I'll resist the temptation to charge the battery without disconnecting it :twisted:
* I'll check today for a hidden code on the radio unit
* I see the cTek Smart charger is available here if I need to go that way
* And I found the PIN calculator thingee on eBay ... 0.99p ... cool !

So, I am good to go. A great forum - I will look forward to participating :D

And off-topic. Gosh, that Duratorq engine has some pep. and a nice smooth delivery of the power too. Wellington NZ is a hilly wonderland and I am very impressed at this early stage.

Cheers, Baz
:D glad you're liking it!

If the batteries were flat chances are they'll need replacing.
Have a look under the drivers seat. You'll probably have two batteries. If that's the case, the one at the back is the starter one and it will be pretty obvious if it's dead. The one at the front powers everything else and when it dies it causes all sorts of weird behaviours. Central locking might start playing up, dashboard lights might stay on forever, etc. But if the starter one is ok the van will start and run fine so it might be a while before you realise what's going on.

Just keep that in mind.
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Re: Battery charging ... a rookie's question

Postby goldcoast » Thu Jun 14, 2018 1:06 pm

If it has 2 batteries under the drivers seat, you can disconnect only one (+ive) terminal from one battery at a time and charge it. That way you won't loose the radio code.
If it has been flat for some time TRICKLE CHARGE WITH A REVERSE PULSE CHARGER AT 500ma
The reverse pulse charger will de-sulfate the plates and encourage the sulphate to dissolve back into the acid solution (H2SO4), making the batteries almost new again.
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