Lexus SC430 :: Making Car Battery Charger Friendly
Oct 28, 2014
I bought a BatteryMinder Model 2012 charger. This is a low-amperage temperature-compensating multi-stage charger/maintainer/desulfator that is supposed to avoid the wear and tear that lesser chargers inflict on batteries in long-term storage.
The charger comes with a 2-foot cable section with a terminal connection on one end and a capped plug on the other. I like the idea of an easy disconnect so I don't have to get under the hood each time I want to take the car out for a jaunt. My first thought was to run the cable and plug to the grill area of the car, except there's no easy way to do this without the plug showing. Also, the permanently-attached cable is only 2-feet long.
So I'm wondering about the windshield wiper tray, passing from the battery over the hood's rubber seal:
I attached a photo, showing where the charger cable might run. I can't see any conflict with the wiper or other functions. Am I missing anything?
The charger itself would be screwed to the garage wall.
Also, how about using a charger/maintainer with a cover over the car? This charger should not be pushing the battery and causing any water loss. So, I'm thinking that destructive gases should not be a problem. Again, am I missing something?
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Just picked up a Ctek 3300 battery charger for my 2008 LS460L since we only drive it a few days a week. Is it safe to connect directly to the battery under the hood?
Where is the ideal spot to jump start on an LS? Reason I ask is that my BMW 6series have the battery at the back trunk but for any charging or jump starts it must be done under the hood where there is a terminal that goes to the battery.
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I have a 2005 sc430 and the starter went out so i changed it but after i had change it its making a loud noise. So I don't know if its the starter or the intake manifold that is making that loud noise it sounds like i have a big supercharger on it or something every time i rev the motor u can hear it spool like a turbo...
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Having a problem when going over speed bump or drain at the end of your driveway?My roof makes a popping noise?
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We have had a problem with our SC430 battery going dead if it sits more than a week. We have had this car for a number of years and I am tired of putting a trickle charger on it all the time to keep it from going dead!
I can not believe that Lexus does not know what the big drain is on this vehicle when it sits even for a small period of time....I went to a Lexus dealer several years ago to have a new timing belt/water pump put in it and asked how to keep my battery from going dead. They pointed over the parts counter to a motorcycle type battery charger as they answer!
A friend has a late model Mercedes hardtop convertible, they (Mercedes) solved the problem by putting two batteries in it. One is isolated for just cranking! So, before I start with a fully charged battery and pulling every fuse and disconnecting everything until I find it. What is the big battery eater?
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2008 SC 430.....battery went dead, to zero. Got jumped. Went to dealer who sold me new battery. Drove 90 highway miles. Got home & put trickle charger on to "just see" what battery recorded. It was at 75%. Removed trickle charger. Checked again following morning & battery at 65%.
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I have a megaphone that I installed a while ago but I connected it straight to the battery. I noticed that it was draining my battery so I had to disconnect it. Now I am trying to figure out how i should connect this megaphone to my car without it draining the battery, when I am not using it.
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i was trying to align my headlights last night and forgot to switch them off. now the battery is dead and i need to shift it to neutral to roll it out of the garage and jump it. but it won't shift. the dealer said to turn it to on and step on the brake. doesn't work. i just get a buzzing sound coming from the engine compartment. is there any way to shift it? or do i just need to take the battery out and get it charged?
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By hooking it directly to the battery, putting the solar panel in the sun to keep it fully charged? It's 1.5 watts. 12 volts. It has a built in over charge protection.
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I found a decent deal on a 2nd gen prius. But I am going to need to repair the battery. I have already known that I can test and only repair the needed cells (since I looked into the situation when I was buying mine a year ago). Looking at the forums and saw there were a couple of chargers being recommended by the users; such as the supermate DC6 or the Hitec 44151 Quad X4.
I will likely want to charge 8 cells at time at least, as I would ideally like to get the car fixed in a couple of weeks.
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About month ago, the CHECK ENGINE, VSC, and VSC OFF lights came on in the dash of my '03 SC430 (~175k miles). Took it to the dealer and they read the codes; indicating a bad O2 sensor. They replaced it, and the lights went off. A few days later, the lights came back on. The lights remained ON until this past weekend.
On Sunday, i went to start the car in the morning and the thing wouldn't turn over. Turns out the battery was dead. The label indicated it was 5yrs old. So i bought a new battery. After installation, i noticed the error lights were no longer illuminated on the dash, but just figured it was due to the fact that the battery was disconnected during installation. But after driving it extensively since then, the lights have remained off.
Something else i've noticed since installing the new battery is the lack of the "rotten egg" smell from the exhaust. Before the change, i noticed a significant decrease in acceleration and the emissions smelled very bad. But for the past few days, i've noticed a dramatic increase in power and cleaner smelling emissions. Not sure if they're related...
Could the check engine lights have been the result of my battery dying? I'm not sure why they haven't come back on since the battery replacement. Nor a reason why i'm noticing improved performance and better smelling emissions.
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My SC430 has been acting weird for a couple months now. I let it set for a month or so and the battery died. I charged it up and it was fine. Now its not starting again. It cranks just fine and all of the electronics seem to be working. I've tried all 3 of my keys. The first time It did this I unhooked the battery and charged it, put it back in and it started and ran fine for a couple weeks. Last week it did it again, took the battery out charged it and it ran for one day. Now its just cranking again. The battery is only a year old, but I think I am going to go ahead and get a new one and see if that works.
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Parked my 2002 sc430 with 6 month old battery at airport for 10 days while I was out of the country. When I got back the battery was dead. It was easy to jump and the clock was still on. I could see nothing that was left on. I have seen some other cars that have had the problem, something about theft lights, gps etc. I drove it home about 30 miles and have had no problem since.
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Is it possible to do a long charge of the hybrid battery with a regular battery charger? If so how?
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Just bought a CTEK for the SC430 along with the 8ft extension cord. Car doesn't get much use during the snow/ice season.
How you did your install and routed the wiring? I would rather not keep the hood up during charging.
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I need to know if it is safe to use an "Automatic battery float charger" I usually go away 30 to 60 days at a time, and inevitably when I came back the battery in my car is exhausted. Last year, to the advice of my mechanic I disconnected the negative cable from the battery. When I returned from my trip to Italy, I reconnected the cable, and the engine started with no problem, but the next day.....dead! The technician from AAA recommended an electric (to be plugged in) automatic battery float charger. (Car is always garaged) I'm getting ready to go away again, but I'm afraid to use the charger. Is this device safe or it can cause an electrical fire?
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Reviving my car after long months of long winter storage and I cannot get the door unlocked. I know the battery is dead so the remote won't work, but I cannot even unlock the door with the key, twisting it back and forth and nothing happens. I am just trying to get under the hood so i can jump the car, but no way to unlock the door. It is a 2002 SC430 , is the key supposed to work ? Or does the car need battery for the key to twist and unlock the door?
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I always keep the charger in the socket during charges and even when I'm not charging the phone.
Is this necessarily a bad thing, is it running down my battery?
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I've been wanting to get a wireless Qi charger for my Samsung Galaxy S5 and have thought of a few options:
1. Have somebody custom wire a Micro USB into my glove box.
2. Put it into my center console (no custom install needed).
What about the phone moving around when the car is in motion? Other pros and cons?
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I wish my 09 had Bluetooth for music. I know there was a TSB for it but I was wondering if I can do an easy fix myself to remedy the whining noise you get through the speakers when you use both the aux cord and a charger at the same time while driving.
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I have a 2000 VW Passat V6. Last night when I got home I noticed that the fan wouldn't stop and it was making a different noise than usually (ocasionally when I get home the fan keeps running for several minutes which seems to be normal, but yesterday the noise that was coming from the fan was different). Today the battery was completely dead.
I've been reading different forums, and it looks like it can be either a problem with one of the fans, or fan relay. How can I diagnose the problem?
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