What Battery For The Is-F

SiM22 · May 6, 2015

Back here again because i have an issue or what i think is an issue, and will start with a back story.

So I have my Blackvue Dash Cam hard wired to the car, it connects to a Lukas 290 Battery discharge prevention device. I have it set so that when the Battery drops to 12.4v it cuts power to the dash cam when the car is turned off. Now i have had this installed since September and never never had an issue.

On Monday went to go buy some food and thought I would take the car. Get in and hit the start button, and car just goes tick tick tick, look at the Battery meter (in the middle of the speedo and it is on the penultimate bar. Anyway i thought ill give it another go. This time Battery just died and nothing would happen. Got my mate to give me a jump start and got the car going. Went for a drive on the M4 at silly times of the night just to make sure it would give it a good run in (the Battery display showed it one line above middle for the first 10 mins of driving).

Get home and it looks ok, so went to bed. Next morning being how I am I went to check the car and turned the ignition on. Car is again on penultimate line but this time the car starts and the line goes 1 above middle. Leave it running for 10 mins and then off i went to work.

Got home and thought, maybe the Battery discharge prevention device is faulty so i disconnected it, left the car over night and when i got home from work today I went to check (thinking process was, maybe the device is not working, so disconnect and see if the Battery still dies with nothing connected).

Get in and this is what i see:

As you can see, it start at 1 line below middle, then after being turned on stays at 1 above middle. I have heard when this happens it may be due to Battery giving off a reading that it has charge but the charge does not really exists. Has anyone ever seen this kind of behaviour before?

Also does anyone know what Battery fits in our cars? which is the best?

Stuno1 · May 7, 2015

I called Toyota as my Lexus dealer is a lot further away and they sorted me with the same Battery Lexus would have used.

Stu

ColinBarber · May 7, 2015

5 years life for an OEM Battery seems a little short, so you do wonder if prevention device is really working as it should. Do you leave your vehicle for long periods of time?

You can either get one from Toyota/Lexus or go with a Bosch or Duracell Battery from Euro Car Parts for about £70 with a 4 to 5 year guarantee.

JonP · May 7, 2015

I have a Blackvue but no discharge preventer. No issues so far...

steve2006 · May 7, 2015

It does sound like the Battery, my LS failed to start a few weeks ago so took the Battery off and put it on charge. Ten minutes later the charger showed "Fully Charged",put it back on car and started fine but left for 2 days it was the same no start situation.

No excessive parasitic current draw (measured 30mA) Replaced the Battery and no problems since.

Nick W858 · May 8, 2015

Went to go for a blast in my new ISF yesterday to find the Battery completely flat - had been stood for about 10 days but was still surprised to see nothing in it. I guess at almost 6 years and 109k miles it could just be worn out. My plan is to approach my local Toyota dealer who have previously supplied batteries for my other lexus.

SiM22 · May 8, 2015

So yesterday got home from work and nothing has been using the Battery for the last 2 days. Ignition on shows one bar above minimum and it just about started. Then all of a sudden it shows one bar above the middle. The Battery level seems very sporadic which makes me think Battery life is coming to an end.

Question is. The more I google for a replacement Battery, the more I find that there is no actual official details from Lexus of dimensions and what specs the Battery needs to have.

Any idea guys?

I will ring Lexus today and see what they say, will also post any information I get here for who may need it in the future.

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

Grey One · May 8, 2015

Hi SiM22

My Battery went flat last year (09 model) - TBH all modern cars put a lot if drain on the Battery when standing (alarm, auto systems etc) and a week or so not being used takes it's toll, as does a run of short journeys. Surprised by comments on here because to my mind five years is about right for a Battery to last. I ended up ordering a Bosch one online from my local EuroSpares outlet, it wasn't (in the end grrrrr) a precise fit so had to jossle a bit to make it fit the bolt-on holding bracket, but nothing too damaging, it's been fine and dandy since, but a big block engine and heavy electrics will wear a Battery down.

I should add that the AA couldn't supply one, nor my local Halfords and local stealer wanted a huge amount to supply and fit a new one (added to which the car was dead on my drive with a Battery completely gone)

One of the problems because our cars are so rare is getting proper off the shelf replacements for some parts.

Cheers

Nick W858 · May 8, 2015

I called my local Toyota dealer today - gave them the reg number and they identified the car, said they had a Battery in stock and could fit it today for £130 inc vat - I couldn't get there today due to work but have booked it in for next Tues

Keith_W · May 8, 2015

I called my local Toyota dealer today - gave them the reg number and they identified the car, said they had a battery in stock and could fit it today for £130 inc vat - I couldn't get there today due to work but have booked it in for next Tues

Would love to know why the dealers differ so much. Had mine replaced by Lexus Oxford (they are a service centre only) earlier this year for £80-odd quid fitted.

Nick W858 · May 9, 2015

I agree Keith - I guess it's the laws of supply and demand, dealers can charge more for you affluent guys in the south compared to us paupers in the north!

stevet · May 9, 2015

My original one was changed at 70k miles for £80 from Lexus main dealer. Just make sure they really tighten up the earth lead.

fjcfarrar · May 9, 2015

The clue is in what you found. If a flat Battery charges very quickly it has a low capacity - and is effectively U/S. All batteries gradually lose their capacity to store charge - usually failing after 5 - 8 years. A good Battery will take quite a long time to charge i.e. if totally flat 100 Ampere-hour Battery is charged at 4 Amps it will take 25 hours to reach maximum charge.

The Battery indicator only tells you what the Battery voltage is. This does correspond to the amount of charge for a good Battery but does not in itself give any clue to whether the Battery is actually good. The same applies with Hygrometers built into batteries and using Hygrometers to measure the Battery acid - this can only tell you that the Battery is as charged as it could be given its remaining capacity - which could be minimal and still give good Hygrometer readings. Only a proper charge/discharge tester can evaluate if a Battery is good or not. Realistically, most Garages do not have proper charge/discharge testers or do not understand how to use them; so the best clue if you suspect the Battery is dying is to check the Battery voltage by using the Battery indicator to check the voltage without the engine running an hour after parking up for the night, and again the following morning. The indication should scarcely drop with a good Battery.

Also if you do not want a dash-cam to operate when the car is switched off, wire it to a fuse/circuit which is only "live" when the car 's systems are switched on (the feed to the sound system is an example). In these circumstances devices like a Lukas 290 is completely un-necessary and just adds expense and an unreliability factor to the equation.

Nick W858 · May 12, 2015

Well got it fitted for £117 inc vat from Ron Brooks Toyota in Mansfield. The service in there is always fantastic - so much so it makes me want to buy a Toyota! I was looked after by a young chap called Liam who's father is also an ISF owner and is on this site. As I say very good service and I think it was the first time a lot of the technicians had got the chance to see the ISF in the flesh. Next step is the 110k service which will be done at Lexus Hull.