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Winston 12V Starter Battery WB-LP12V experiences and known issues / load dump ?

MatMat

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Joined
Jun 14, 2020
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Hi there,

I'm looking for your experiences using the Winston Thundersky starter battery , Typ WB-LP12V, inside your VAN / RV.

How long are you using this type ? What kind of vehicle ? Did you experience any technical issues ? ...

Are you, in particular, aware of issues regarding a sudden cut off of these types of 12V bank or the Winston cells ?

Background: There is a report of a failing WB-LP12V (indefinite electrical resistance, 0.0V voltage) causing a load dump / failing Zener diodes and alternator killing most of the vehicle ECUs.

Thank you!
 
i just got one of the 90a ones for use as an engine start battery on our boat. it does turn the engine over ok (3.6L straight 6 Diesel) but definitely doesn't turn over as fast as the 2 old 110ah lead acids in parallel.

would probably be fine on a smaller engine
 
i just posted an unboxing on the channel here
will be doing some load tests at the weekend so more videos on it to follow on the channel for those interested in these Winston batteries
 
I have now a Winston 12V 40Ah as starter battery installed, cranking a 2.0l 4 cylinder diesel engine. The specs are in comparision to the originally installed 95Ah Pb battery a little bit at the bottom end, but space wise the 40Ah is the only 12V option from Winston fitting in the stock battery compartment. The Van is now 15kg lighter, a little contribution to keep it in the 3.5t limit. I have made 4000+km in southern Europe the last days - so far so good. Hope we get another cold winter with around -20°C / -4°F for a real test :)
 

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Last edited:
There is a report of a failing WB-LP12V (indefinite electrical resistance, 0.0V voltage) causing a load dump / failing Zener diodes and alternator killing most of the vehicle ECUs.
I am not surprised by this. The SEVEL van range, Citroen/Peugeot/Fiat (Promaster has same body in US),
has very fragile electrics. Even changing the engine battery without following the correct procedure can cause damage.
The alternator and installation is designed for a 50A max take off by auxiliary systems.

I would not recommend using this type of battery as an engine starting battery in a RV and most decidedly not in a boat. Lithium batteries are great for many applications but as 'drop in' replacements for existing engine start set ups you are decreasing reliability and vastly increasing the risk of damage.

Mike
 
Thank you Mike. The damaged car was a VW Golf. They suspected the LFP starter battery causing a load dump and high voltage as problem, but unfortunately did not investigate the root cause.

Loads of >50A I did not see as a problem yet, I have a 60A DCDC converter for some time.

Do you have more information regarding the problem you described ?

Thank you!
 
I have a 60A DCDC converter for some time
A 60 amp DC to DC converter can pull up to 80 amps from the alternator. Your alternator , if stock, is 180 amps. ( may be different with build date, build options). A test I carried out recently showed with everything on, lights, heater fan, air con, pre heat, the van was consuming over 50 amps. A further test showed at engine idle speed the alternator could deliver 110 amps (at the alternator), before becoming unstable with a rapidly falling output voltage.

The module failure may occur if the engine battery is disconnected whilst modules are in power down or power up mode or the battery voltage is outside safe working parameters. Thus, along with battery replacement, 'jump starting' as a giver or receiver, and attempting to start with a low battery, are known causes.

The starter battery replacement procedure must ( this is factory specific) be followed as follows:
Disconnection, close all doors and windows, key out, wait 2 minutes, ( wait 10 minutes in the ignition has been active), disconnect any 'camper circuit', disconnect the negative terminal on the battery. You can now open doors and work on the electrical system.
Reconnection, close all doors and windows, reconnect the battery positive, reconnect the battery negative. Wait 1 minute, open drivers door, wait one minute. Reconnect any camper circuit, ( take care there are no camper loads that could significantly pulldown the van system voltage). Continue .

Note this is specific the the European vans, Citroen Relay( UK), (Jumper in the rest of Europe), Peugeot Boxer, Fiat Ducato.
I don't know if the Promaster uses the same modules but its possible.

Mike
 
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