Car battery charging

anewman

hewhoisnotintheknow wrote: »

SOLAR CHARGER on the dash or parcel shelf

I think most of them don't "charge" as such. They more sort of offset the effects of battery drain from electrical components in the car. But a nice long journey will give the battery a good full charge, and one of those should help prevent any battery drain problems due to low use

hewhoisnotintheknow

it keeps my motorbike topped up nicely

steveo3002

shown73 wrote: »

If most of your motoring consists of relatively short journeys, you are quite sensible in wanting to top up the charge, especially now in winter. With lights, heater, etc all going, your system will struggle a bit. Battery chargers are very cheap, and you don't need anything sophisticated just for the occasional top-up. All the pundits will explain at great legnth why you should always disconnect the battery when charging, and they are probably right, but I've been topping mine up in-situ for years with no ill effects. With modern cars, disconnecting the battery can result in quite a few problems, with ECU settings, radio codes etc.
Perhaps drop into an independant car accessory shop for some advice, and a cheapish charger. Not sure about Halfords. Some of their blokes are very good, but its a lottery. Good luck anyway, and keep up the sensible approach.
Had to smile a bit about the suggestion that you should drive more, to keep the battery charged! Hardly money-saving, is it?

agreed

i always leave my battety connected and charge it with a low powered cheapie charger on the low setting...arogs should have some or ebay

the solar ones arent no good for top ups..theyre just for keeping parked up cars from going dead due to the alarm drain etc

something like this will be fine...just run an extension lead to the car and conect it for an all day charge ..just be double sure to conect the clamps to the correct terminals

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12v-CAR-BATTERY-CHARGER-MOTORCYCLE-MOTOR-BIKE-4-AMP_W0QQitemZ130258141074QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item130258141074&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

or this one is higher powered if you can afford it

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BATTERY-CHARGER-FREE-DELIVERY-MAINLAND-UK-ONLY_W0QQitemZ190262807237QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item190262807237&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

mardycow wrote: »

I use the car every day but for short journeys, it does start first timeand the battery is under 2 years old, I had the battery checked and it is fully topped but the guy said it could do with charging up. I just want to be pro active so don't get caught out with the cold weather, does that cover most of the points in the replies.

If you're worried about the battery charge, either drive the car another few miles every so often, or don't use the rear screen demister in the morning (wipe it with a towel instead).