Do I have a smart alternator?

[Hightop]

Hi. I wondered if anyone could help me answer this question. I'm wanting to add a leisure battery and need to know if I need a split relay or battery to battery. I don't have a voltmeter to test it right now. I've looked at the battery terminal and the alternator but I'm struggling to tell. I've looked at the VIN codes but I'm still struggling. I think E33 should read 'intelligent power management' if it's a smart alternator.

I have a 2011 Vito 113 with the following codes from the VIN reading
280K AIR-COOLED ALTERNATOR, 180A
E33 BATTERY MANAGEMENT
MJ7 ECO START/STOP FUNCTION
MZ0 BLUEEFFICIENCY
M013 ENGINE REDUCED PERFORMANCE
M49 ALTERNATOR 14 V / 180 A
MA5 EMISSION CLASS EURO 5 N1 GR.III/N2

Can anyone advise please?

 

[RChiv]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
You would indeed require a split charge relay controlled by the ignition so that you can use the leisure battery without fear of flattening the vehicle battery.

Roger

 

[190]

I don't have anything that says intelligent power management in my data card and yet it definitely has a smart alternator. More correctly it should be called an ECU controlled alternator as the device itself isn't smart it just has the voltage regulation controlled by the ECU.

The easy way to tell is if you can hook up a voltmeter inside the car and just observe it as you drive. With a smart alternator you should see significant variations in the charging voltage. What I saw was the full charging voltage of something like 14.5 volts on the overrun which then dropped right down to 12.8 volts at times under power. A non smart alternator would give a constant voltage albeit with some drop off at lower revs.

 

[Deleted member 55947]

I’d check with your local MB dealer but I’ve two 2014 vans (non MB) and run them with standard split charge relays. Our 2017 Transit has a smart alternator so we use a different system. I may be wrong but I think the smart alts may be a requirement/part of the Euro 6 requirements

 

[Hightop]

I’d check with your local MB dealer but I’ve two 2014 vans (non MB) and run them with standard split charge relays. Our 2017 Transit has a smart alternator so we use a different system. I may be wrong but I think the smart alts may be a requirement/part of the Euro 6 requirements

Thanks for your advice everyone. I need to pick up a new voltmeter tomorrow and see what it reads when running. I think my 2011 Vito is euro 5 but I'm not 100% sure it's a regular alternator as it is a blue/eco version with stop start.

A split charge won't charge properly on a smart alternator. I'm tempted just to fit a battery to battery charger anyway as I think it might help later if I want to add solar panels.