Trickle Chargers

[Dunwa]

With the weather changing the car is spending more time in the garage and as a result I’m keeping the battery topped up with a trickle charger.

To connect it up I’ve got to pop the bonnet and leave it open. Just wondering if anyone has come up with any innovative solutions or placements that make it quick to connect/disconnect?

[mick the hat]

Assuming you have a cigarette lighter / power socket which is “live” with the ignition off, get a plug and wire it straight onto the output lead of the charger. (It’s easy enough to install one if not?) Just make sure that the rate of charge is below 10 amps- which should be the size of fuse protecting your lighter socket. Much easier than popping the bonnet and playing around with croc clips.

Alternatively, get a blank OBD plug, find out which pins are your positive and negative and wire that up,instead. Then just plug it into your OBD socket, job done.

Caveat! Just make sure you disconnect it BEFORE you try to start the car! You will regret that.

[ALLAN R]

That's a good idea to use the cigarette lighter. Alternatively you could just run some leads off the battery with a small coaxial connector. You could bring this down to the radiator grill and mount the socket where you can just poke in the plug without touching anything on the car. A trickle charger should only be giving about 1/2 amp max. Get an auto one they are only about 15 quid.

[G19]

With most new chargers you can buy an extension cable which can be fixed to the grill or somewhere else securely, which is OK when being charged in the garage but not much good outside as the charger will be exposed to the weather.

[rider]

I switch my ctek charger on once a month for one, two days max which helps to cycle the battery which is better for a battery than constantly feeding it to the max. That leaves it with plenty of power to start up. I wouldn't expect to see more than 5 years out of a battery that was left most of its time on constant charge.

I wouldn't out of choice leave a trickle charger running all the time for two more fairly good reasons.

Firstly its going to cost you and the planet more in electricity and the infrastructure to generate the electricity. I've read that its like having a 25W bulb on 24hrs a day so it'll use 1kw of energy every day doing not a lot on standby.

Secondly, trickle chargers have been known to malfunction and that can cause them to boil the battery, I have experienced this with one of my ctek units. This is unfortunate as it kills the plates in a perfectly good battery and releases a lot of oxygen and hydrogen gas that can, and have gone boom. Although that's unlikely to affect you with the car being ventilated outside.

If you just go for selective, around the weather forecast, charging days then the weather shouldn't be a problem with a cracked open bonnet.

[Kitchenfitter]

Or you could just use the car occasionally better than hiding it away lol

[Anaconda]

Or you could just use the car occasionally better than hiding it away lol

Yes that would be better.
On our classic I disconnect the battery when its parked in the garage, more for safety reasons really. Take it for a decent drive on a nice day and all is fine, replaced the battery twice in 25 years, both times with used ones of one of our other cars.
My most recent S197 was kept on trickle charge by the previous owner, it was completely dead within two weeks of me owning it, the battery was less than 5 years old.
Just drive it and enjoy it on a nice day, it will do it and you some good.

[saleen 192]

Firstly its going to cost you and the planet more in electricity and the infrastructure to generate the electricity. I've read that its like having a 25W bulb on 24hrs a day so it'll use 1kw of energy every day doing not a lot on standby.

LOL you got a smart meter fitted to tell you how much electricity you are using remember this is plugged into a mains socket and using power 24 /7 to tell you this and it's about 3quid a year to run these little devices,
ok back on thread lol, start my cars once a month if i forget i put trickle charger on the day before , only problem i have had with my 3 is the audi hasnt moved since march lockdown and the brakes had started to lock on

[john2502]

Or you could just use the car occasionally better than hiding it away lol

I'd second (or third) this if at all possible. There are a few reasons to try and avoid leaving a car for any long period of time if you can, not just limited to the battery, these things were designed/engineered to be used really.

I assume we're talking about a modern car from your picture, the odd occasional drive in the wet surely won't be an issue, plus some of the best days for driving come on a clear, crisp winters day.