Car battery during lockdown

chrisw

AdrianC said:

ripplyuk said:

twhitehousescat said:

get a small car battery charger , inteligent sort (in lidl last week for £11) , and on a sunny day connect it , if your car is garaged you can leave comnnected indefinatly 

That’s far too technical for me. I posted before about battery issues and that was recommended but I’d be too scared to even try it.

Literally the only thing you need to know is that red = +ve, black = -ve. That's it.

You don't even need to know that. Red clip to red wire, black clip to an unpainted bolt or bit of metal.

AdrianC

chrisw said:

AdrianC said:

Literally the only thing you need to know is that red = +ve, black = -ve. That's it.

You don't even need to know that. Red clip to red wire, black clip to an unpainted bolt or bit of metal.

Not all cars have red +ve leads.

facade

AdrianC said:

chrisw said:

AdrianC said:

Literally the only thing you need to know is that red = +ve, black = -ve. That's it.

You don't even need to know that. Red clip to red wire, black clip to an unpainted bolt or bit of metal.

Not all cars have red +ve leads.

Vauxhall use BLACK for POSITIVE, and brown for negative. Probably a German thing. Causes a lot of damage when jumpstarting, as even the stupidest person in the world knows black is negative.

EdGasketTheSecond

The wrong type of charger or wrong technique can damage electronic modules on cars. Mostly it is recommended to disconnect the battery when charging but then you might lose your radio code or find other systems need a reset. It is not always as simple as people are making out.

If you do charge the battery while it is still connected to the car, make sure the charger you have purchased states it is safe to do so; usually these are the more expensive type. Also make sure you switch the charger off before disconnecting; a spark can blow up any hydrogen hanging around the battery.

ripplyuk

I won’t be attempting to use a charger on it. 

I think I’ll end up just taking it out for a drive once a week or so. Though I’m not sure if that’s against the rules in this lockdown. 

I’m a bit confused because I posted before when I was having battery problems and lots of people commented saying it was because I wasn’t driving anywhere near enough to keep the battery charged (roughly 50 miles/week). But other people here are saying it should be fine without being driven for ages. 

AdrianC

facade said:

AdrianC said:

chrisw said:

AdrianC said:

Literally the only thing you need to know is that red = +ve, black = -ve. That's it.

You don't even need to know that. Red clip to red wire, black clip to an unpainted bolt or bit of metal.

Not all cars have red +ve leads.

Vauxhall use BLACK for POSITIVE, and brown for negative. Probably a German thing. Causes a lot of damage when jumpstarting, as even the stupidest person in the world knows black is negative.  

ITYM Opel...

But, yes, I should have clarified the red lead/clip on the charger. But on anything but the dumbest charger, the electronics will prevent damage from wrong-way connection.

neilmcl

You could try something like this which will connect to your phone via bluetooth to check your battery from inside the house.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CTEK-40-149-Vehicle-Battery-Monitor/dp/B0188TGF6W/ref=sr_1_13

Andy_L

ripplyuk said:

I won’t be attempting to use a charger on it. 

I think I’ll end up just taking it out for a drive once a week or so. Though I’m not sure if that’s against the rules in this lockdown. 

I’m a bit confused because I posted before when I was having battery problems and lots of people commented saying it was because I wasn’t driving anywhere near enough to keep the battery charged (roughly 50 miles/week). But other people here are saying it should be fine without being driven for ages. 

If you do lots of short journeys each journey doesn't recharge the energy used to start the car so the battery gets shagged.

If it just sits there doing nothing the battery lasts for ages as it's just providing power to low current stuff like the alarm and clock which is negligible compared to starting the car

Scrapit

No mention of bore washing yet....

twhitehousescat

ripplyuk said:

I won’t be attempting to use a charger on it. 

I think I’ll end up just taking it out for a drive once a week or so. Though I’m not sure if that’s against the rules in this lockdown. 

I’m a bit confused because I posted before when I was having battery problems and lots of people commented saying it was because I wasn’t driving anywhere near enough to keep the battery charged (roughly 50 miles/week). But other people here are saying it should be fine without being driven for ages. 

its not the total weeks driving , 50 miles divided by 7 = about 7 miles per day , probably with multiple stop and starts ,