Honda Battery Sensor Explained

Joe's Car Smarts-NY2018-12-01

Honda#CR-V#Battery Sensor#Sensor#Battery#DIY#Upgrade#Modify#Mod#Honda Accord

110K views|5 years ago

💫 Short Summary

The video discusses the battery sensor on a 2013 Honda CRV, which monitors the current being pulled from the battery and adjusts the alternator's voltage output accordingly for improved fuel efficiency. The presenter demonstrates how to replace the factory battery terminal with the sensor and explains the wiring involved in the process. Ultimately, the sensor wire needs to be extended to complete the installation.

✨ Highlights

📊 Transcript

✦

The battery sensor in a 2013 Honda CRV monitors the amount of current being pulled from the battery and is used by the alternator to determine the charging voltage.

00:00

Swapped out the battery for a bigger one as part of a car audio system upgrade.

The battery sensor helps the alternator provide the right amount of charge, improving fuel efficiency.

The sensor is connected between the negative battery terminal and the body ground to measure the current flow.

✦

The battery sensor is a separate component that is not electrically connected to the negative battery terminal.

02:28

The sensor has a plastic insulator, so even though it looks connected, it is not.

It measures the current coming out of the battery in the factory scenario.

The video creator plans to use ring terminals and a length of wire to put the sensor back in circuit between the negative battery terminal and the body ground.

✦

The video creator demonstrates how to relocate and connect the battery sensor in the car.

04:00

Uses ring terminals and a length of wire to reattach the sensor in circuit.

Shows the original setup under the hood with the negative terminal and body ground.

The video creator bolts the sensor directly to the terminal and uses a ring terminal for the body ground.

Believes the sensor is not critical in car design, but acknowledges its use in modern cars.

✦

The video creator finalizes the connection of the battery sensor by extending its wire to reach the plug.

06:09

Bolts the sensor directly to the terminal and uses a ring terminal for the body ground.

Mentions that the sensor wire needs to be extended to reach the plug.

00:00 okay so I'll talk to you today about the

00:02 battery sensor on my 2013 Honda CRV this

00:07 project started because I'm putting a

00:08 pretty big audio system in the car so I

00:10 swapped out the battery for a bigger

00:12 battery a nicer battery so as part of

00:14 that project I had to replace the

00:15 battery terminal the factory battery

00:17 terminal because I'll show you what it

00:18 looks like but I learned that there is a

00:20 battery sensor on this car and I guess

00:23 what the battery sensor does is it

00:25 monitors how much curt is actually being

00:27 pulled from the battery in any given

00:28 time and that's going to be different

00:30 based on whether the ACS running whether

00:33 the radiator fans running all different

00:35 you know scenarios and based on

00:40 different factors like that it'll use

00:42 the battery sensor to decide what

00:44 voltage the alternator is going to

00:46 charge at okay so if you're driving less

00:47 current it's gonna charge a slightly

00:48 lower voltage a lot more currents can

00:51 charge the higher voltage to make sure

00:52 that it can recharge the battery as it's

00:53 being depleted and I guess from what I

00:57 read it improves efficiency fuel

01:00 efficiency because if the author is only

01:03 providing exactly what it needs to

01:04 provide at any given time then that

01:07 creates less strain on the engine which

01:10 means less fuel used so okay so this is

01:14 the negative terminal from the battery

01:16 I've already gotten this far so I've

01:18 actually taken this all apart so if

01:21 you're looking at this on your vehicle

01:23 this is a two-pin plug here it's got two

01:26 little pins in there I can't seem very

01:28 good right now but they're in there and

01:30 before taking this apart this would

01:33 actually be attached right there and

01:34 there's a nut that goes on there tighten

01:36 that down this strap here ends up going

01:40 to dispute this is a ground wire that

01:42 cut off okay that wire ends up going to

01:44 the body ground this is just the bolt

01:46 that will tighten the battery terminal

01:48 and then as you look at it before you've

01:50 changed anything this is actually

01:52 riveted right here okay so the way this

01:56 is set up is this when this is riveted

01:59 here this is actually the power input

02:01 from battery into the sensor okay and

02:05 then this here bolts on to the other

02:09 side of the sensor there is no

02:11 electrical connection in between this

02:13 stud

02:13 and this negative battery terminal all

02:16 over the current that gets drawn from

02:18 this negative battery terminal has to go

02:20 through this sensor and then out this

02:24 stud okay so I'll take this apart now

02:26 and show you what's going on so that's a

02:28 regular nut that would come off you can

02:30 pull this off and that cable you just

02:32 set that out of the way I've already

02:35 drilled this rivet out because I'm gonna

02:37 relocate this I'm gonna have to put it

02:38 back in because it caused the battery

02:40 light to come on and I think it also

02:41 caused the EBS light to come on at the

02:43 same time so so mine is actually been

02:46 disassembled so once you draw that rivet

02:49 you can then lift this off okay and now

02:52 you can see how that really works and

02:56 although it looks like this is connected

02:59 this stuff is connected this it really

03:01 is not there's actually a plastic filler

03:03 here okay they're actually not

03:05 electrically connected I tried turning

03:07 this and it just broke this plastic so

03:12 this doesn't really help to turn that

03:13 doesn't really get you anywhere so

03:16 that's what the actual battery one looks

03:17 like itself and even though like I said

03:20 it looks like that's connected looks

03:22 like that stud would be electrical

03:23 connected to this it's really not

03:25 because of that plastic insulator so

03:28 side by side you've got the battery the

03:31 negative battery post feeding into this

03:34 side of the sensor and in this side of

03:36 the sensor feeds what gets attached to

03:39 this what is attached to this post which

03:42 is your your body ground okay and that

03:44 way this sensor can measure all the

03:47 current coming out of the battery in the

03:49 factory scenario so essentially what I'm

03:52 going to do I'll show you the setup that

03:55 I've done under the hood but it's not

03:57 sure what I'm going to do is I'm going

03:58 to use a couple of extra ring terminals

04:00 and another just length of wire and I'm

04:03 going to attach a ring terminal to that

04:04 side and a ring terminal to that side

04:08 and I'll be able to put this sensor back

04:11 in circuit in between the negative

04:14 battery terminal that I have now and the

04:15 body ground again so here's the negative

04:17 terminal this was the body ground that

04:20 ends up down below it's a little hard to

04:22 see in the dark here but that does go

04:25 down there down there looking at

04:27 that's the body ground that actually

04:30 ends up with a Shinto so basically what

04:33 I'm going to do is I'm going to find a

04:35 spot where I'm happy with the location

04:39 of this and I may have to extend the

04:41 wires a little bit because this is the

04:46 this is the tooth pin plug and normally

04:50 this reached over here to where the

04:52 original negative terminal was but this

04:54 bear is a little different so I really

04:55 okay to the wire somewhat so I'll have

04:58 to put this someplace I'm happy with it

05:00 I'll use a ring terminal from the

05:04 battery turn itself to this here because

05:06 that connected the battery terminal and

05:07 then this wire will have to get extended

05:10 and use a ring terminal to attach to

05:12 that so that way on this lead everything

05:15 that comes off everything comes out of

05:17 the battery through this direction will

05:19 then have to go through this sensor

05:20 again and then that should make the ECM

05:22 happy you're gonna hope and will you

05:24 read that light for me okay so I took

05:27 another look at my plan here and the way

05:29 these battery terminals are set up is

05:31 these actually have bolts to hold down

05:34 some type of ring terminal so what I

05:38 went ahead to do is knowing that this

05:40 was the bolt on the sensor that has to

05:43 go right to the terminal I was able to

05:44 just bolt that right to the terminal

05:46 this way similar to the original

05:49 configuration and then I use a ring

05:51 terminal on this side for the two where

05:54 the body ground actually goes so they

05:57 actually turned out kind of nice I still

06:00 don't like the sensor I think you know I

06:02 don't think it's it's really critical in

06:04 car design but I guess that's what

06:06 they're doing nowadays so the last thing

06:08 I have to do now is I have to extend

06:09 this sensor wire because I won't reach

06:11 to plug in

06:20 you

💫 FAQs about This YouTube Video

1. What is the battery sensor in a car and what does it do?

The battery sensor in a car monitors how much current is being pulled from the battery at any given time, allowing the car to adjust the voltage the alternator charges at based on the electrical load. This helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces strain on the engine.

2. How is the battery sensor replaced in a 2013 Honda CRV?

The battery sensor on a 2013 Honda CRV is shown to be located in the negative battery terminal. The process of replacing the battery sensor involves removing the original terminal, understanding its connection to the sensor, and reassembling with the new sensor to ensure proper functioning.

3. What are the benefits of the battery sensor in a car?

The benefits of the battery sensor in a car include improved fuel efficiency and reduced strain on the engine. By monitoring the battery's current usage and adjusting the alternator's voltage accordingly, the battery sensor helps optimize the electrical system's performance.

4. How does the battery sensor contribute to fuel efficiency and engine strain?

The battery sensor contributes to fuel efficiency and reduces engine strain by ensuring the electrical system only draws as much current as needed from the battery. This, in turn, allows the car to adjust the charging voltage of the alternator based on the electrical load, leading to fuel savings and less engine strain.

5. Can the battery sensor replacement affect the car's electrical system?

Replacing the battery sensor in a car, such as the 2013 Honda CRV, is a careful process to ensure the proper functioning of the electrical system. Understanding the connection of the original sensor in the negative battery terminal and correctly installing the new sensor is crucial to avoid any potential issues with the car's electrical system.

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