While battery maintenance may not be overlooked when it comes to regular maintenance intervals in the bay, there are steps fleets can take to optimize battery life with the right equipment.
We talked with Jim O’Hara at Clore to discuss what fleets can do to optimize battery performance and address discharged batteries.
Transcription of interview:
Having the right shop equipment is crucial to efficiently maintain your vehicle assets. When it comes to the vehicle battery, there are steps you can take to optimize battery performance. One key aspect of this involves properly servicing discharged batteries as part of your preventative maintenance program, as Jim O’Hara, Vice President of Marketing with Clore, explains.
Jim O'Hara, Clore: Fleets face the issue of discharged batteries and the fact that the discharged batteries shorten their life.
The average fleet vehicle has a less than 95 percent state of charge on its 4-battery or 8-battery pack at any given time.
In some cases, the discharged state could be as much as 20 percent. Or only 80 percent state of charge on that battery pack. This is terrible for the battery’s longevity and results in the batteries not lasting as long as fleets expect them to last.
Erica Schueller, Fleet Maintenance: When it comes to servicing vehicle batteries, the service window can be considerably shorter than the time typically needed to fully charge the battery pack.
O'Hara, Clore: The best way to solve this problem is to charge the battery pack every time the vehicle comes in for service. But, that service window is fairly short – two to four hours – so in order to charge that pack sufficiently to get it above 95 percent state of charge in that short window, we really need power.
Power equals speed, and will get the battery pack above 95 percent state of charge in the service window.
In the case of our unit, the PL5100, we have a maximum charge rate of 100 amps, so that’s going to get most discharged battery packs – whether it’s a four or an eight-battery pack, charged within the two or three hour service window, and allow the vehicle to go on its way with a fully charged battery pack, which is best for its longevity.
Schueller, Fleet Maintenance: What are some other specs to consider when looking into the features of a battery charging unit for your fleet? Consider the following:
- The battery capacity in the typical vehicle being charged
The more battery capacity per vehicle, the greater the need for high-current (fast) charging.
- What types of batteries do I need to charge?
Is my fleet comprised of vehicles with flooded acid batteries, AGM batteries or something else altogether?
- What’s the length of the typical service window?
A typical fleet vehicle has a maintenance window of 2-4 hours. The smaller the window, the greater the need for a high rate of charging. The maximum charge rate of a battery charging unit determines the length of charge.
- The type of battery charging unit
For commercial vehicle service, the wheel charger format still makes a lot of sense for many commercial vehicle service operations to allow easy mobility to get the charger to the vehicle needing service. For other types of fleets, a handheld portable charger on an extension cord will work.
- Vehicle reprogramming and reflashing.
Will you need clean, stable and continual power for diagnosis and reflashing now or in the near future?
As the technology of vehicles, and requirements put on the vehicle battery, continue to advance, fleets will have to consider the future use of this charging equipment as well.
O'Hara, Clore: In terms of future developments in this category, I think the biggest issue fleets are going to face is the continued need for stable power on the vehicle during diagnosis, service as well as reprogramming.
More and more, every mechanical repair involves an electronic repair as well. Oftentimes, a reflash is part of the fundamental mechanical repair. So, all chargers will need to be able to supply steady, clean and stable power to the vehicle for that reflash event.
Schueller, Fleet Maintenance: Thank you for tuning in to VSP News Uptime Update, I’m your host Erica Schueller.
Until our next broadcast, keep up with this, and other industry topics, by visiting us online at VehicleServicePros.com.
