Thread: C-Tek Bluetooth battery monitor.

Lol after thinking about it all day today and talking to some guys at work with what to do, I was going to go pretty much the system that Scott (LRD414) uses!! NOW, I may go back to the C-Tek lol
Baintech are a supplier to us at work so I can get the units I think for a little under $70.
Thanks everyone for your responses and pics, appreciated.
Dave

Originally Posted by drivesafe

I found, through R&D of my own wireless breakaway battery monitors, that you need at least a MINIMUM ( not maximum ) range of 15m and I test mine to a MINIMUM range of 20m, to make sure batteries located at the rear of a van or trailer can be properly monitored from the driver's seat in the tow vehicle.

Tim,

Are you coming out with a BT battery monitor as well?

Hi Phl, and no, not at this time.

My wireless Breakaway Battery monitors have a specific function, to report if the battery is in a specific condition but not the actual SoC of the battery.

So is SoC different from voltage?
I have a voltmeter at the back of mine, which after 3 days of a fridge running and then a short drive said 12.5v across my 3 batteries (I have one of Tim's triple battery setups in the D4). About 12 hours later, it had completely cut power as it had reached the low power threshold (i think 11.8v - cant remember).
At other times, a reading of 12.5v would mean i have a few days of running the fridge before power is cut, hence the question...

Originally Posted by TuffRR

So is SoC different from voltage?
I have a voltmeter at the back of mine, which after 3 days of a fridge running and then a short drive said 12.5v across my 3 batteries (I have one of Tim's triple battery setups in the D4). About 12 hours later, it had completely cut power as it had reached the low power threshold (i think 11.8v - cant remember).
At other times, a reading of 12.5v would mean i have a few days of running the fridge before power is cut, hence the question...

If the 12.5V reading was taken soon after stopping the vehicle then that reading will be the surface charge and not the actual resting voltage.

My guess is the short drive did not bring the charge up sufficiently after the 3 days of fridge draining. Potentially wasn't even enough to top up after the engine starting, which uses charge in itself.

This is why I have my voltmeter setup to be readable with the vehicle locked and asleep so that it's displaying the true voltage, which is analogous with SoC.

Cheers,
Scott

Originally Posted by TuffRR

So is SoC different from voltage?

Hi Tuff, one relates to the other and this chart should help you.

Thanks, so this C-Tek device is not really telling me anything different than what my voltmeter is, other than some logging and other minor functions?

Correct