Warning - Battery Charge Point
Discussion
I have a Tuscan in at the moment for insurance accident repair, and am mindful of the battery and plug issue having witnessed it a few years ago. At my then employer, I was first in in the morning,and unlocked the gate to find a Tuscan just inside, burned out, with signs of fire brigade presence, in fact they had hosed it out from over the fence. it was clearly evident that the issue was the battery/lead/plug thing, following work in the workshop. The client was made to pay the bill for work carried out, and claim on his own insurance. Absolutely shameful on every level.
I offered, as senior engineer from another department, to do a conversion using a more powerful but much smaller aero battery, and fit the plug in a safe, dry location. This was met by lots of enthusiasm initially, but no action. I was very happy to be out of there.
I would say that anyone running a tuscan should do the conversion, and make the car much more safe, with a proper battery installation, and much more reliable, as a wet anderson plug drains power.
Happy to do this for anyone.
I offered, as senior engineer from another department, to do a conversion using a more powerful but much smaller aero battery, and fit the plug in a safe, dry location. This was met by lots of enthusiasm initially, but no action. I was very happy to be out of there.
I would say that anyone running a tuscan should do the conversion, and make the car much more safe, with a proper battery installation, and much more reliable, as a wet anderson plug drains power.
Happy to do this for anyone.
S6PNJ said:
Flatinfourth said:
...a more powerful but much smaller aero battery, and fit the plug in a safe, dry location.
Sad news for the owner who lost their Tuscan! What was the aero battery and which location had you chosen?The battery is Powervamp's square one, which from memory is a PRV35 i think, in the same location, but installed nicely, fixed well out of harm's way. With the Anderson fly lead and plug tucked away in the dry. These batteries have a huge lifespan,are designed to be left for months out on a frozen airfield, and are so much smaller and safer than a bucket of acid. One of my own cars has covered maybe 2000 miles in the seven, in fact nearly eight years the battery has been fitted.
I opened up this thread last night for the first time and had a read
First thing this morning got the car up on the ramp and took the wheel off, removed the battery and although the wires looked all pretty good I thought i'd take the plug off just for a look and this is what I found !!!
I think im lucky like the previous poster whose plug was so badly corroded it just couldn't get a good connection to cause a fire.
I opened up the plug and found the + lead is thick with corrosion / oxidation
Im probably quite lucky to still have my car !!
New plug ordered.
First thing this morning got the car up on the ramp and took the wheel off, removed the battery and although the wires looked all pretty good I thought i'd take the plug off just for a look and this is what I found !!!
I think im lucky like the previous poster whose plug was so badly corroded it just couldn't get a good connection to cause a fire.
I opened up the plug and found the + lead is thick with corrosion / oxidation
Im probably quite lucky to still have my car !!
New plug ordered.
Edited by Delboy1974del on Friday 24th October 23:11
Mine was worse than that. Luckily I took it to mat smith for a service and the first things he checks before it goes in his workshop is the Anderson. Mine was ready to short out. Think powers place burnt down because of a dodge Anderson. In my eyes it the most important thing to check on a regular basis and if doubt replace as they are so cheap.
Glad you found yours before it told you!!!!!
Glad you found yours before it told you!!!!!
Hey guys. Ive have thr battery out of the tuscan recently for a winter chassis scrub up and wax and took at look at my Anderson connector.
Didnt look too bad but was cracked from being over tightened and corrosion. I cleaned it up and put it back but have been thinking that I want to replace it, but had no idea this problem exists!
Where do people move them too? Its a stupid place its mounted and mine has no cover over it (are they meant to??)
Want to do this before something nasty happens.
Didnt look too bad but was cracked from being over tightened and corrosion. I cleaned it up and put it back but have been thinking that I want to replace it, but had no idea this problem exists!
Where do people move them too? Its a stupid place its mounted and mine has no cover over it (are they meant to??)
Want to do this before something nasty happens.
Just to revive this old post. What is the real value of actually having the anderson plug in view of the huge fire risk ? Surely the advantage of it is very limited and not worthwhile ? When I got my Tuscan about 2 years ago there was no cover whatsoever over the terminals so the previous owner can never have appreciated the risk. I think I am going to delete the anderson plug completely which I think is the only safe thing to do. I have always been concerned about flood water - even only a few inches deep - shorting out the terminals. Has anyone else taken the plug off ? In view of the known fire risk I wonder whether insurance companies could be difficult (in the event of fire) unless you could show that the plug was regularly checked - a bit like brakes, tyres etc....
No Anderson plug for about 8 years after mine went the same way with corrosion and cracking, never used it before that anyway.
Just keep it plugged in to a condtioner if not using for more than 3 weeks and she's only failed to start once...when I forgot to turn the charger on at the wall
Same battery too after all this time so convinced the Accumate was a good buy.
Just keep it plugged in to a condtioner if not using for more than 3 weeks and she's only failed to start once...when I forgot to turn the charger on at the wall
Same battery too after all this time so convinced the Accumate was a good buy.
Now got the battery out to have a good look at the anderson plug. Probably just in time - even though my car has only done 24000 miles. However the car is still 17 years old so the plug has had a lot of time to corrode - even though the chassis is in fantastic condition ! I have now taken the anderson plug off and dont intend to replace it. I really dont think the risk is justified and I would be quite concerned about a possible insurance problem - after all insurance companies can read these forums ! The problem has happened to so many Tuscans I presume it is a major check point at every service by a competent TVR specialist ??
Gassing Station | Tuscan | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff