Technical Carado T135 motorhome passenger seat removal

[Alwaysared]

My mate has a Carado T135 motorhome, 2018 2.3 diesel model and he asked me to help him upgrade his leisure battery from the current AGM to a Lithium which in it's self isn't a problem the only thing is it's under the passenger seat and the dealer told him that the seat needs to removed to get to do it and in doing this he would have to unplug the electric plug for the seat belt tensioner and this could or would cause problems So has anyone taken out the passenger seat or any seat with a seatbelt tensioner on it and is it really a main dealer only job? Thanks again for any help that is offered

Regards,
Del

 

[bugsymike]

Others may give more specific advice, but generally if ignition keys out for 20 minutes or so for Airbag capacitors to die it should be safe to disconnect seat plugs and reconnect when finished with seat.
Regarding changing batteries it may be a good idea to get a "code protector" usually something with a small battery that plugs into the cigarette lighter hole and provides a small voltage to save radio and ECU information.
As an extra precaution I would do it with the window down and keys out as above time wise, only then when battery job done and everything safely reconnected reach in and put keys in ignition and when switched on check everything functions correctly.
The only other thing is if the vehicle has "stop/start technology" there may be instructions in the handbook that need to be followed also.
Please note these are only general suggestions.
Another point I am unsure about is not every vehicle is compatible with the voltage requirements of certain types of battery, but I think lithium batteries are OK.
Yet another point with Motor Homes is are there any other battery or power sources that may affect what you are doing?

 

[HughJampton]

First of all, the seat is very heavy. Any movement is best undertaken as a two-man job. You just might, depending on what's in the way, be able to lie it down without unplugging the seat wiring, but I'd definitely detach the vehicle battery first anyway.

Unless you have an aftermarket radio which requires a security code, the radio shouldn't be a problem as the factory units exchange security info with the BCM. (Though I believe a code should be supplied for ultimate backup, so it just might be worth finding that).

I doubt your habitation door is connected to the central locking, so you shouldn't have to worry about ingress/egress if the central locking isn't working.

I took the precaution of removing any "secondary" power sources first (leisure battery, solar panel, etc.) and you'd probably need to do all that for leisure battery replacement anyway

So, the method I've used (acknowledgement to others on here):

Detach/Isolate solar panel.​

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Isolate leisure battery (switch at EBL or remove earth connection - the latter might not be an easy option at this point for the underseat battery).​

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Clear flooring and access to battery.​

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Quiesce systems and leave for 5 minutes (see below for detail) then remove vehicle battery earth​

Remove the battery cover , close all doors and windows, activate the central locking with one press, key out of ignition, wait two minutes, ( wait seven minutes if the ignition has recently been on). All modules are now in standby mode, disconnect the battery negative quick release, exit via drivers door, lock with key.​

Do your leisure battery work. When finished, re-attach the vehicle battery as follows:

Enter the van using the key , close drivers door, connect negative cable, wait one minute, carry on as normal. It's possible the alarm will sound, cancel with the fob.​

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Test ignition on​

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Replace floor and carpet​

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Re-connect leisure battery (EBL switch)​

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Reattach solar panel​

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The following might be teaching my grandmother.....

Lithium batteries are not a drop-in replacement for AGM in all circumstances. With a decent battery management system the Gel setting on the EBL might work acceptably for a charging regime, but there are issues with wire and fuse sizing, particularly for larger capacity Lithium batteries which can accept high charging currents. Hymer group vehicles (such as the Carado) may have wiring capable of the lower-capacity Lithium replacements, but if it's a big Lithium battery, I would counsel checking the wiring and fusing arrangements, and the possibility of a B-to-B charger to protect the alternator.

 

[Alwaysared]

Thank you for the advice, he's got a trip to Spain booked in early November so he (we) have decided that it's best to leave it until he gets back home
I'll probably revisit this thread then

Regards,
Del