Hi!
Any "intelligent" charger which senses the state of the battery and are designed for multi type of battery, should be capable of doing the job. I use a CTek charger that handles all kinds of batteries and within the range of 14 - 120 Ah. Haven't had any problems with it. Use a different charger of the same brand for my small engine equipment. Other manufacturers have similar types of chargers.

When it comes to voltage/current of charging;
When you charge a drained battery the voltage will not normally be as high as 14,4 volts, but the current will be high. Then, when the battery gets more and more charged, the voltage will go up, and the current will drop. So when the battery is fully charged the voltage will be high and the current will be low.
If you have an "old fashion" battery where you can measure the acid and refill distilled water, the value of the acid (1,26-1,28 when fully charged) is temperature dependant. So if the temperature is high, the measured value will be lower than if it's a cold day ie. winter/summer, when the battery is fully charged.
Sealed batteries don't have the option of measuring the acid, so you will have to measure the voltage of the battery, when disconnected and settled for a little while. Read the information of voltage for your specific battery as different manufacturers may have different specifications for their different types of batteries.

I've never had to charge any battery for 3 days, sounds like a "fast way out" for the dealer to say it. Using a proper charger, I've never had to charge any battery more than 24 - 30 hours depending of the battery type and environment. Have been working with high capacity battery banks as well. Just make sure you use a charger of good quality and that your battery is not at the high end of the charger capacity, but rather at the middle point or slightly above it. That way the charger don't have to work at "full speed" when charging and it has the capacity of boosting if needed due to the state of the battery.

I normally charge my battery 2 or 3 times during the year to keep it peaked (this was advised from my local dealership). I've got an aftermarket sealed gel battery of about the same capacity of the original one that is supplied here and never had any problems with it going flat. Had the battery for a while now. Even during holidays when towing a caravan. I charge the caravan battery through the car system when driving using a DC-DC amplifier for the caravan battery charging.

Hope this can be of some useful information and that you get your problem solved.

 

Hello
fellow chrysler mini van owners of 2.8crd models please see links.

https://www.chryslerforum.com/forum/...ead.php?t=6473

https://www.chryslerforum.com/forum/...4359#post24359

 

Thanks Pippip,

I've gone for the CTEK MULTI XS3600. Should do the job!

 

Hi

Just to update everyone 2 years on, Car still going strong no more battery problems after fitting VARTA Silver Dynamic type E44 which is 12Volt 77ah 780 amp as previously posted and attached to a CTEK MULTI XS3600 once a year to maintained in the winter.

Regards
Peter

 

I have just joined this forum, and would like to add my experinces to this thread

My wife has a Voyager (2006 model) CRD 2.8 as well, and the battery continually dies after a few days, even if the vehicle has been driven for hundreds of miles previously. With everything switched off, (and alarm inactive) there is still a drain of over 0.2 amps (approximately - difficult to measure accurately) The local Chrysler garage has only managed to relieve us of our money, so I guess its up to me to try and sort out.

If I disconnect then reconnect the battery, you can hear many relays clicking, so something is drawing current. Surely Chrysler should be able to determine this?

I do not believe there is anything wrong with the charging circuit, or battery capacity, as there is plenty of juice to turn the engine, even during the snows of last winter, as long as the vehicle is used every day.

If it wasn't for the fact that my wife adores her GV, I'd have moved it on ages ago. It seems the VARTA battery swap is a popular solution, so we'll try this as a last resort. Failing that, the beast will be sold.

I'll post my experiences in due course.

 

Hi
Yes the battery upgrade is good if the vehicle does short trips and have no drain but yours has a drain so you will need to get this fixed.

 

With everything off, the battery drain should be on the order of about .05 amps for the clock and keyless entry receiver. Pop fuses one at a time to find the guilty circuit, the you'll have to track down the leak from there.

 

HI,
I had been experiencing the same problems with drained battery, turned out to be the DVD player.
Regards
Les.

 

Good Morning All, thanks to everybody for all the comments posted. Latest news is that I've changed the battery for a lead acid type, as the gel battery, fitted previously, was u/s. I've now measured the current drain accurately, and this was 1.2 amps!!!

By removing the IOD fuse, the current drain falls to negligible levels (why couldnt the Chrysler garage conduct this test when they charged us £150 for a days' examination of the vehicle?) and the battery is (understandably) holding its charge, but removing the IOD fuse every time the vehicle is going to be parked up for a few days is a PITA.

I don't have a wiring diagram for the vehicle, so I am going to assume that the only circuits that are energised with the IOD fuse are CD/radio, interior lighting and entry/exit alarm (maybe parking lights?).

This isn't a dig at Chrysler per se, as I've had similar issues with Jaguar and Alfa Romeo service centers in the past, that were ultimately solved (cheaply) following consultation with fellow users on forums such as this one. Keep up the good work.

 

Start with the alarm siren under the headlamp then radio then the amp.