Volume 5, Issue 3, March – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology

ISSN No:-2456-2165

Design of Vehicle Cranking Counter System

Redefining Automotive SLI Battery Warranty
Parag Wandale, Sushrut Mali, Tanmay Totala, Abhishek Chavan
Saee Shahane Assistant professor,
BE Student, Mechanical Engineering Department Mechanical Engineering Department
Sinhgad College of Engineering Sinhgad College of Engineering

Abstract:- In this paper, we present the design details of producing the DC voltage of 12V or 6V which in turn
a vehicle cranking counter system device. In the current powers up your vehicle’s SLI system.
scenario battery companies give the warranty for
automotive SLI battery on monthly basis. The main Currently the warranty of batteries used in the
fatigue loading of the battery occurs during the application of industry, solar and defense sectors is claimed
cranking of the vehicle. The number of on the basis number of charging and discharging cycles.
cranking/ignition cycles in commercial vehicles (taxis, They use a high-cost counter system that measures the
mini trucks, buses, trucks, etc.) is significantly greater charging and discharging cycles completed by a battery.
as compared with private vehicles. As a result, battery But batteries used in the application of the automobile
fatigue is much greater in the vehicles used for sector still define the warranty terms in the number of
commercial applications. Thus commercial vehicle months. Commercial utilization by some customers in this
owners constitute a majority portion who claims for sector de-grade the overall performance within the warranty
replacement of the batteries which are well within the period and thus affecting the economy of the company. The
warranty period. This leads to a total financial loss for study of 300 vehicles revealed that the average cranking for
the company to replace the batteries which are used vehicles that were not used commercially was between 6
heavily by this group of customers. Our project and 7 per day. Taxis had a considerably higher number of
proposes the companies to give the warranty period in cranking, with an average and median of 24 to 26 cranking
terms of the number of cranking completed by a per day. This data signifies the need of using a counter
vehicle, which is the major fatigue electrical load on an system in vehicles for measuring the number of cranking
SLI battery during its lifetime. This would be achieved completed. New warranty terms and conditions could be
by integrating a low-cost cranking counter circuit inside introduced based on the number of cranking(s) completed
the battery. By doing this the companies will incur with the normal monthly warranty terms.
fewer losses. The companies would be able to recognize
the root cause of battery failure by analyzing the II. LITERATURE REVIEW
cranking data through the device.
A. Battery warranty status
Keywords:- Vehicle Cranking, SLI battery (start light Currently, the warranty of the SLI batteries is given in
ignition), battery fatigue, commercial vehicles, private terms of the number of months and the pro-rata period.
vehicles, warranty period, cranking data, DAQ: Data When a customer comes to reclaim warranty of the battery,
acquisition system. firstly the dealer checks for the physical damages and any
external modifications. The voltage and Specific gravity of
I. INTRODUCTION each cell are checked using multimeter and hydrometer.
From multimeter data, cell voltages, undercharged/dead
The lead-acid battery has been in existence for more cells are identified. Then from the specific gravity data we
than 150 years, but the ubiquitous technology is still come to know if the cells are dead due to overcharging. If
displaying remarkable traction. With a proven arrangement overcharging is found as a reason, then the vehicle
for reliable and low-cost energy storage, lead-acid battery alternator is checked by the dealer. If the alternator is found
plays an important role in our day-to-day life. An SLI to be defective, the warranty is rejected, otherwise, the
battery is a lead-acid and rechargeable type of battery that is claim is settled by giving warranty according to the pro-rata
mainly used in automobiles. SLI means starting, lighting, period.
and ignition; these processes are all consuming energy that
is supplied by the vehicle’s battery. A lead-acid battery is In the existing warranty procedure and terms and
made up of a container, copper terminal, safety valve, and conditions, there is no method to identify the customer
vent plugs on the external while positive and negative usage pattern. This project aims at identifying the usage
plates, sulfuric acid, and water on the internal. Batteries pattern of the customer based on the maximum fatigue
from different manufacturers may look different physically electrical load on the battery, which is vehicle cranking.
but these external parts are always the standard. What’s The warranty terms would be modified to the data from the
more interesting to know are the internal parts. As it is a customer usage pattern.
lead-acid battery, the plates are made up of lead and lead
dioxide. A chemical reaction occurs when these plates are
immersed into the sulfuric acid and water solution, thus

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Volume 5, Issue 3, March – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
B. Starter motor and its effect on battery the first three of these, the minimum starting speed must be
An internal combustion engine requires the following achieved. This is where the electric starter comes in. The
criteria to start and continue running-The combustible ability to reach this minimum speed is again dependent on
mixture, compression stroke, a form of ignition, the several factors.
minimum starting speed (about 100 rev/min). To produce

Fig 1:- Starter motor and battery characteristics( Automobile Electronics by Tom Delton)

Information on particular starters is provided in the form of characteristic curves. Figure 1 shows the details for a typical
light vehicle starter motor. The graph tells that the current consumption of the starter motor can reach between 200 to 400 Amps.
This can be classified as a fatigue electrical load on the battery. There is a voltage drop associated with such a high load which
again increases the current drained through the battery.

Circuit (12V) Load Cable drop (V) Maximum drop (V)

Lighting Circuit <15W 0.1 0.6

Lighting circuit >15W 0.3 0.6
Charging circuit Nominal 0.5 0.5
Starter circuit Max.at 20 °C 0.5 0.5
Starter solenoid Pull-in 1.5 1.9
Other circuits Nominal 0.5 1.5
Table 1:- Maximum Voltage Drop Data

The above table from the book “Automotive Electrical the engine that spins with the pistons and drives them to
and Electronics Systems” by Tom Denton show typical start and then is driven by them once the engine starts. To
maximum voltage drops of the vehicle battery due to start the engine, a minimum starting speed must be
various loads. The data shows that the voltage drop during achieved. The power to achieve this speed is supplied from
cranking (starting) of a vehicle can reach up-to 1.9Volts. the battery. The starter motor consumes power from the
battery and rotates the engine crankshaft. As stated in the
C. Battery failure due to cranking earlier section, the graph from fig 1.tells that the current
Engine cranking is a term used for the turning over or consumption of the starter motor can reach between 200 to
energizing the engine by some exterior force, normally a 400 Amps. This can be classified as a fatigue electrical load
starter, but in the old days it was a "crank" that was turned on the battery. Currently most of the SLI battery
by hand. It comes from the "crankshaft" which is the part of manufacturers are that claiming most battery failure is due

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Volume 5, Issue 3, March – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
to high cranking loads. This project will introduce a IV. EXPERIMENTS
cranking counter device to identify the customer usage
pattern. A. Obtaining voltage variation data during vehicle
cranking
III. METHODOLOGY This experiment for data acquisition (DAQ) is
performed on two vehicles (two-wheelers moped type)
The cranking of the vehicle by starter motor is a major Activa2g and Activa5g which use the starter motor for
electrical load on the battery. The instantaneous voltage of cranking. A DAQ consisting of a voltage sensor, recorder,
the battery varies as the power requirements of the loads graph generator and a microcontroller is used to record the
across it changes. The voltage drop for a particular load instantaneous voltage data during cranking. The obtained
shows similar nature. The starter motor of a vehicle graphs for voltage variation are shown in fig. 3 and 4.
consumes maximum power than any other electrical
component inside the vehicle. This results in a sudden
voltage drop across the battery. This drop-in voltage is
recovered as soon as the starting load is turned off. So, when
the vehicles’ engine starts the battery voltage is recovered
and the battery starts to charge. Figure 2 shows this drop in
voltage measured by a data acquisition system. Clearly this
drop in voltage can be identified and measured with the help
of a microcontroller by continuously monitoring the battery
voltage. Fig 2 shows graphs of instantaneous voltage
variation vs. sample number during cranking of the vehicle.

Fig 3:- Voltage variation during starting for Activa (2G

model)

Fig 2:- The graph obtained by DAQ system showing

voltage drop during vehicle cranking.

The voltage drop curve shows similar nature at

various state of charge of the battery. Using a data Fig 4:- Voltage variation during starting for Activa (5G
acquisition system, the maximum and minimum limits of model)
this voltage drop during vehicle cranking is measured at
various state of charge of the battery. The acquired data is Such graphs and of voltage variation vs. samples
cultivated into an algorithm and program which could taken are obtained at various SOC (state of charge) of the
detect the cranking. A cranking counter device is battery. Along with the graphs, accurate numerical data of
manufactured which runs the cultivated program to detect instantaneous voltage variation is also obtained by the
the number of vehicle cranking (starts). The device is a DAQ. Table 2 and 3 shows this selective and important
small microcontroller that is securely fitted into the battery data obtained during various phases of vehicle status and
and connected in parallel. The cranking data acquired by battery SOC for both vehicles. The data is obtained until
the device can be retrieved at a later stage during battery 30% SOC after which the battery couldn’t supply enough
warranty reclamation. power for the vehicle to crank (start).

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Volume 5, Issue 3, March – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
VOLTAGE (VOLTS) 2G

SOC (%) KEY OFF KEY ON DURING CRANKING AFTER CRANKING

100% 13.25 13.19 11.38 13.75

90% 13.1 12.92 11.12 13.22
80% 12.96 12.93 10.83 12.95
70% 12.81 12.52 10.91 12.77
60% 12.55 12.39 10.82 12.52
50% 12.39 12.24 10.3 12.42
40% 12.31 12.29 10.3 12.3
30% 12.15 12 9.1 11.94
Table 2:- Voltage and SOC for Activa2g

VOLTAGE (VOLTS) 5G

SOC (%) KEY OFF KEY ON DURING CRANKING AFTER CRANKING

100% 12.96 12.73 11.21 12.8

90% 12.84 12.71 11.19 12.7
80% 12.74 12.62 10.74 12.6
70% 12.56 12.47 10.48 12.54
60% 12.42 12.31 10.34 12.16
50% 12.24 12.18 9.88 12.16
40% 12.06 11.93 9.42 12
30% 11.87 11.73 8.44 12
Table 3:- Voltage and SOC for Activa 5g

This graphical data obtained are compared to verify

the agreement between the data of the two similar vehicles.
The graphs of voltage during various vehicle statuses
(vehicle off, key on before ignition, during ignition, after
ignition) vs. sample number are plotted for both the
vehicles for comparison purposes. Below figures 5, 6, 7
show the voltage drop graph (due to cranking) comparison
to verify the similar nature of drop which could be
identified by programming a microcontroller.

Fig 6:- Voltage drop at various SOC during cranking for

Activa2G model

Fig 5:- Figure showing the location of the comparison

window

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Volume 5, Issue 3, March – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
 The SLI battery itself.
The counter device is connected in parallel to the
vehicle's battery and packed inside the battery while battery
manufacture. The power for the microcontroller is extracted
from the battery itself so there is no need for external power
supply. The power consumption of the microcontroller
remains negligible.

Fig 7:- Voltage drop at various SOC during cranking for

Activa5G model

V. RESULTS

A. The conclusion from data acquired

From the graphs of cranking voltage drop plotted, it is
concluded that- Fig 8:- Cranking counter device circuit schematic
 The pattern of the voltage variation during cranking at
any state of charge of the battery remains similar The device uses an IC Atmega8A series low-cost
irrespective of the vehicle model. This indicates that a microcontroller working on 5V logic. A 5V voltage
common device (counter) can be designed to detect and regulator (LM7805) helps power the microcontroller
count the number of cranking of the vehicle through the vehicle’s battery. The in-built ADC converter
 This data can be cultivated into an algorithm and from the IC Atmega8A is used to sense the vehicle
program which could be used to detect the vehicle battery’s instantaneous voltage through a voltage divider.
cranking The program logic which is into the microcontroller scans
 A microcontroller could be programmed to accurately the voltage variation data to detect the cranking. There is
and precisely count the vehicle cranking and retrieve the also a provision of EEPROM memory (Electrically
data while warranty reclamation Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) into the
 Battery warranty could be given in terms of number of microcontroller IC for data retention purposes in case the
cranking cycles battery becomes dead and could not power up the device.
The data can be retrieved at the company or dealership
B. Device Design when the battery comes for warranty reclaim.
A cranking counter device is designed, manufactured
and tested on these two vehicles. Fig 8 shows the counter The technical details of the device components are
circuit diagram. The circuit consists of three parts- shown in Table 4. Device components of the data retrieval
 The counter device resides in the battery. device are listed in table 5.
 The data retrieval device which the company uses to
extract counting data from the batteries which come for
warranty reclamation.

Component Specifications
Voltage Divider 50ohm×3
Atmel IC Atmega8A 8A (28pin)
Capacitors (1nF*1,22pF*2,100nF*1)
Disc Capacitor 0.5uF
Circuit Board Small
Regulator 5V 5V
Crystal 16MHz
Pins (Connector) 8 Qty.
Table 4:- Components of Counter Device

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Volume 5, Issue 3, March – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
Component Quantity
16*2 Digital Display 1
Reset Button 2
External 9V supply 1
I2C Communication Device 1
Circuit Board 1(small)
7805 Regulator 5V 1
Pins (Connector) 8 Qty.
Table 5:- Data Retrieval Components of Device

C. Programming Language data retrieval device. Based on the counted data by the
Arduino IDE is chosen for programming the Atmel IC counter device, the warranty claim will be settled.
Atmega8A series microcontroller. Arduino is an open-
source language that eliminates the licensing issues and its VII. CONCLUSION
platform provides abundant support. This is also the
recommended language for coding the microprocessor. The  Frequent cranking deteriorates the performance and life
algorithm and program prepared are suitable for counting of the battery. The maximum number of cranking in the
ignitions of any vehicle using a starter motor. The program commercial sector of the vehicle has a high frequency
monitors the voltage variations of the battery and detects of warranty claims.
the ignition cycle through the algorithm. The program has  DAQ setup which consists of a voltage sensor and
the provision to send the counting data to the data retrieval microcontroller is used to determine the instantaneous
device through I2C communication lines. I2C voltage variation data of the battery and know the limits
communication is selected due to its simple two-wire of voltage drop while cranking. This data is used to
interface for data transfers. The acquired data is saved into cultivate an algorithm and program for the
the microcontroller memory. The program remains active microcontroller.
through the life of the battery. It only detects, counts  Atmega IC 8A microcontroller is programmed to count
vehicle cranking and the use of battery for other power the total number of cranking of a vehicle.
sources does not have any effect on the counts.  The low cost and universal usability of the device make
it profitable for the company.
D. Device Compatibility
The cranking counter device can be used with any ACKNOWLEDGMENT
vehicle using a starter motor for starting purposes. This also
means that it can be used with four-wheeler as well as two- We would like to show our gratitude to Professor
wheeler vehicles (petrol and diesel) as long as they use Abhishek Chavan, our project supervisor for valuable and
starter motor. The programming remains the same for a constructive suggestions during the planning and
particular vehicle model class. Only programming development of the project. We would like to thank Mr.
parameters need to be changed for different vehicle models Yogesh Wagh of Exide Industries Limited for the
while the logic and program remain the same for each assistance provided with the collection of data, useful
vehicle. The device is equipped with the power conversion recommendations for the construction of the device. His
circuits so that it could be installed in batteries if any willingness to give his time so generously has been very
capacity. These features make this device suitable for much appreciated.
universal usability.
REFERENCES
VI. SUMMARY
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ISSN No:-2456-2165
[5]. M. Brandl et al., “Batteries and battery management
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