Battery charger recommendations please.

Wig

Just to report I had mine (which wasn't flat) on charge over night as a top up, as it had been sitting in this cold weather unused for 2 days and 2 nights. The verdict was a green light from the optimate charger and out of interest I put it on a power meter aswell. It used 0.1 Kwh in those 13 - 15 hours that's about 1.5pence of electricity.

Taking the car for a spin, which, granted, you might be going to do anyway for half an hour will cost you about £4 in fuel. There's no need to remove the battery for charging.

VanMan2007

Just checked the manual. The ignition does need to be on for the cigarette lighter to work, so probably won't charge via that!

Not a big deal. Maybe I should upgrade the car, so my £8 adaptor will work?!

Ranger8

Get a Ctek type charger/conditioner from Lidels about £15, perfectly adequate.
I`ve had one over 4yrs no problems

Inactive

Ranger8 wrote: »

Get a Ctek type charger/conditioner from Lidels about £15, perfectly adequate.
I`ve had one over 4yrs no problems

So have I, mine was £12.99, it is very similar to the CTEK one, however they are only available at certain times.

forgotmyname

Inactive wrote: »

So have I, mine was £12.99, it is very similar to the CTEK one, however they are only available at certain times.

Considered one of those after reading good reviews, Not quite the same as the CTEK but for the price good value.

Problem is they only stock them when i dont need one. When i decided to buy one they did not have any in for ages. Bought the CTEK one instead and 3 weeks later look what they have in stock.

:mad:

cyclonebri1

Fact, if your battery is serviceable it will NEVER need charging unless you do something stupid like leave the side lights on, (which is becoming evermore less likely on modern car control systems):T

But when things get tight/dodgey/unexpected what you actually need is not a battery charger, but a start and charge unit. :T

Check out the ones Machinemart do, I've had one for over 10 years, useless in my case, but I now have a whole lot of gratefull family and neighbours;):rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

oldtoolie

How laboured is the starting? It is normal for a car to take a 'little bit' longer to start in cold weather. But if the battery is so low that you are crossing your fingers hoping it will start, you do have a problem.

Before spending money, clean the battery terminals and the ground connection. Then test the charging system to make sure it is fully charging the battery. This is quick if you have a multimeter and know how to use it. Cleaning the terminals --looking clean doesn't count -- they must be removed and cleaned with a wire brush or steel wool.

It will take a garage about 15 minutes (but depends on where the battery is) to clean the terminals and test the charging system so shouldn't cost much. If that all checks out and you still have starting problems, you need a new battery.

cyclonebri1

oldtoolie wrote: »

How laboured is the starting? It is normal for a car to take a 'little bit' longer to start in cold weather. But if the battery is so low that you are crossing your fingers hoping it will start, you do have a problem.

Before spending money, clean the battery terminals and the ground connection. Then test the charging system to make sure it is fully charging the battery. This is quick if you have a multimeter and know how to use it. Cleaning the terminals --looking clean doesn't count -- they must be removed and cleaned with a wire brush or steel wool.

.

And then buy a new battery;)

SailorSam

If you have a garage a cheap charger may be good enough, you can leave it on trickle all night (don't forget to take one of the leads off the battery).
I paid about £100 from Machinemart for my charger, it's excellent. I thought it was expensive at the time but 'cos i had the cab if it failed to start of a morning it was going to be a loss of income so decided it was worth splashing out.