FPV ute alarm system backup battery

[FiftyOne]

About time I got around to posting something worthwhile so here we go. 
2006 FPV Ute and I’m forever having the battery run down.  For many reasons I’ve had to disconnect the battery as I haven’t been around to drive the Ute much lately but it’s even got to the point that the engine is quite sluggish to get going even when left connected overnight. 
When disconnecting the battery, the alarm system is activated and you hear the most woeful wail for all of about 5 seconds until the internal battery dies.  It’s an unusual setup I haven’t found a huge amount of info on, but from what I know base model utes don’t really have an alarm system and this unit is a bit of a tack-on.

Anyway it’s a fairly easy thing to get at.  Single 10mm nut holding it near the booster in the engine bay.  There is a very small green connector with a pita latch to get off.  It’s a two hand job buried down in the guard and will likely be seized a bit. I got in with a small flathead and broke the clip to free it, I’ll tie it back together later.  Just make sure the wire doesn’t fall back down the hole. 

 

Looking at the back of the unit there is a part number and it even suggests there is a battery replacement available however I’m not lucky enough to have that information now so I’ll get on the google monster to see what I can find. 

4 Philips head screws in the back, free those & pull the metal bracket back and the whole unit opens up.

 

The battery cells are wrapped in green & stuck in with double sided foam.

 

Small connector to the board. 

 

Leaping back the plastics the buttons suggest they are a ni-cad rechargeable unit. Testing with a multimeter I’m getting 1.5v each or 6v all up. I would suggest these are technically I <3 Bananased.  If I fail to find a for like replacement I’ll find something good from jaycar and McGyvor it back in. However for over 12 years I would suggest these have done a pretty good job. 

Can anyone take a guess what that replacement battery number is and let me know? I can't find anything online

[arronm]

A battery store like batteries plus will make you a replacement. 

 

https://www.battery.com.au/battery-repacking

 

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.ret.hu/media/product/22598/479527/GP_NiMH_button_cells.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjyyc2dxOXdAhUId94KHeOJAYQQFjAFegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw3eU15rShEUdQAkC_6LfjA3

Edited 01/10/18 03:20 PM by arronm

[FiftyOne]

Cheers for that.  Doesn't look like the 4 cell unit's are standard.  Thanks ford.

 

I'm half thinking I'll buy 2 of these from Jaycar and put them in series. Even just finding the individual cells seems to be a bit of a stretch so a "for like" replacement I can do myself is an option I'll consider but I'll give that crowd a buzz tomorrow too

 

https://www.jaycar.com.au/3-6v-650mah-rechargeable-ni-mh-battery/p/SB1646

Edit* on closer inspection the rated mAh on the stock unit is only 170 and the voltage isn't quite right either. So assuming I was able to use that jaycar one, it would out last civilization, so maybe gang up a couple of these instead

https://www.jaycar.com.au/uniden-cordless-phone-battery-2-4v-ni-mh-650mah-ctb96-65aaah2bmj/p/SB1654

Edited 02/10/18 09:51 AM by FiftyOne

[arronm]

The cells are 4 x 1.2v.   They are is the GP link I posted.  

 

4 in series. 170BVH

[FiftyOne]

So I had a chat to the battery repackers and they were very helpful.  They were upfront and said it was going to be more in labour to make a set than it would be to source the cells, which I kind of expected.

 

Bouncing around ideas, they were concerned their welder would harm the cells and effect the voltage of the final pack, something they had experienced before.  We discussed pro's & con's maybe looking at other form factors or chemistry's until I was directed to Jaycar where it's been suggested as long as the voltage is correct and the chemistry is for-like and heat stable, something like the phone batteries will work.   So at this point I'm sourcing some cells and we'll see what happens.   I guess that's the life of these older cars now that the electricals are failing.

 

Will post back what I come up with.

Edited 03/10/18 11:20 AM by FiftyOne

[arronm]

Get 4 of these and solder up.

 

https://au.rs-online.com/web/p/coin-button-rechargeable-batteries/3252872/

[FiftyOne]

Good find.  The ute will be sitting for a while so any extra capacity is good for me. 

Other option would be a few of these;

https://au.rs-online.com/web/p/coin-button-rechargeable-batteries/4363529/

[FiftyOne]

So I've got everything back on the road again. Fix is reasonably easy and cheap.

As planned I McGyvor'd the two new battery packs together and reassembled everything.  I was amazed because everything seems to be working so well all of a sudden.  I think this will fix the battery drain issue, but even when the vehicle battery was charged there seemed to be a hiccup in cranking and a hesitation when first setting off. Doesn't do that now so maybe a dying battery is all it was.  Subjectively I've replaced old vehicle batteries and sworn that a fresh battery made the car drive better, but an immobilizer battery? 

 

So the below is a comparison between the cells.  There are only a few mill between them but it will be a tighter fit. (There are more images in the shared folder too)

 

The plugs on the packs are different however the wire gauge is the same.

 

 

The new pack will live in the same location on the board.  Note the two black holes either side of the pack which screws will go through securing the board in to the casing.  I set the packs to the side away from the caps as I didn't want them getting struck and risk letting the magic smoke out.

 

 

The bigger issue was having room in the case.

 

These plastic standoff's required a modification to allow room.

 

 

After 5 minutes with the dremel & a bit of sandpaper there was enough clearance to fit everything in.  I put some door seal foam tape in as a bit of a cushion. I was thinking about double side tape or something, however I did start to over think it and I had some tape sitting on the bench that I'd used around the house prior. I figured that as long as it protected any blunt edges or anything that could squash the batteries it would be fine.

 

 

I also lined the board with the same tape and everything seated back home nice.   I thought I'd taken a photo of the new pack but I forgot so this is also the best view of it I have.  The packs are joined in series and the original connector soldered on.  The wires are protected with heat shrink the wire gauge does make it a bit tricky though. If I had my time again I would leave more length on the wire when I do the joins just to make life easier for myself.

 

Now a few things to note.  I was worried that the alarm would go off the moment it received charge but not the case.  I was worried it would have to go through some sort of pairing or would freak out if it wasn't connected before but it's impossible to do anyway. Once the unit is live and back together I would disconnect the vehicle battery and plug it in, I had hearing protection on for this too however again not required.  The final step was connecting the vehicle battery, unit gave an enthusiastic beep beep as when the doors lock and that was it.  The ute has probably never started so good since I've had it. 

This is probably not an ideal solution for a lot of reasons and if it shuts down for any reason or causes any faulty alarms the very first thing I'll be doing is diagnosing the alarm. 

Its also opened my eyes that in theory it's probably quite easy to steal one of these cars, not that in the short time I had everything apart I had found ways to bypass the security, but I did expect the unit to be a lot more sensitive to being plugged in & out.

And finally probably just the realization that cars of this age now require this kind of care.  I used to laugh at old jap imports with molested wiring and wonder were it all went wrong to need that crap wiring put in. Now I'm in a world where I can't get parts for this and I need to fix it as best I can too.

[arronm]

Good job. I should really  fix both My F6 as well. Being an electrician I will solder up 4 of these.

 

https://au.rs-online.com/web/p/coin-button-rechargeable-batteries/3252872/

[FiftyOne]

Yes after going through this I would probably recommend the coin cells you've got there.  The tabs on them would be best for soldering.  I large piece of heat shrink over the lot would work fine as a case.  I would think that there would be a fair chance the case would still need modification to fit it back in.  Just not as much as what I have required.

 

Interestingly looking at the data sheet there they recommend a maximum temp of 65c.  

Edited 28/10/18 12:35 AM by FiftyOne