Hi all, hope you can clear something up for me.

I have a 2017 SC60 (Australian model) that I've had since new. I've been very happy with the car with the exception of the stop / start system which seems to be a bit hit and miss. Secondary battery was replaced in 2020 by Volvo dealer who explained the need to ensure the secondary battery is well charged for the system to work properly, which I can understand. I don't use the car very often so purchased a CTEK 5amp smart charger to ensure the battery/ies are maintained.

I was told to connect the positive lead of the charger directly to the positive terminal on the main battery and the negative lead to a substantial earth point on the vehicle chassis, which I've done.

This arrangement seems to be very effective for keeping the main battery charged but it's unclear to me if it is doing much, if anything, for the secondary battery as I continue to have the problem of the stop / start system being unavailable. The car is serviced in accordance with the schedule and I'm assured that software upgrades are up to date.

Can anyone advise if this is the best way to connect the charger so as to maintain both batteries, or if there another method I should employ.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

Mick

 

It looks like putting your main battery on a trickle charger will not charge the auxiliary battery. I tested both of mine. Main was 12.6v and Aux was 12.52v (both are old and I'm about to replace them). I put the main on the charger. Checked a few hours later and the main was 13.14v (and dropping since it still had a surface charge) and the aux battery was still 12.52v. So it looks like you'll need to put the aux battery directly on the charger, which is not easy given how it is hard to get too (or at least it is for my 2015.5 XC60).