Hi Guys n girls!
Simple question... I have a panda Twinair and a basic 6amp 12v battery charger, is it safe to charge the battery whilst it's still in the car?
Many thanks!

I would think you should be ok to charge the battery in situ, but check your owners manual on how to connect to the battery, as I recall from our handover they indicated you should connect to an under-bonnet post, rather than direct to the battery terminal, for jump-starting - possibly for charging too?

If in doubt - check with your dealer!

I removed it in the end.... Turns out the battery is pretty pooped anyway, 3 years old and sat on the forecourt for several months.
I've ordered a new one. However the current battery has 3 separate tabs going to positive terminal.... How would I go about connecting to the new battery which I think will just have 1 + rod and 1- rod?

The three 'tabs' are all attached to one clamp and it is that that goes onto the battery post. A good modern car battery should last at least six and really as long as 10 years - why's yours so bad after just three?

Herts Hillhopper said:

A good modern car battery should last at least six and really as long as 10 years - why's yours so bad after just three?

Click to expand...

S/S batteries are subject to a more demanding duty cycle and replacement at three years is by no means unusual. The days when batteries lasted 6-10 yrs are sadly over.

If it's under the three years is there any chance of a warranty claim?

Most unlikely, unless there's clear evidence of a manufacturing fault. I'd have thought batteries would be regarded as a service item - and who's to say the owner doesn't have a habit of leaving the lights on...

gar074 said:

Most unlikely, unless there's clear evidence of a manufacturing fault. I'd have thought batteries would be regarded as a service item - and who's to say the owner doesn't have a habit of leaving the lights on...

Click to expand...

Worth a try though, surely? And you haven't been able to leave the lights on on a Fiat for at east fifty years.

babbo_umbro said:

Worth a try though, surely? And you haven't been able to leave the lights on on a Fiat for at east fifty years.

Click to expand...

Lol!! I reckon there's no car yet invented that doesn't provide at least some opportunity for a hapless owner to accidentally flatten the battery.

The Panda (and other Fists too) automatically turns off anything you leave on -- even the interior light will go off with the switch in the manually 'on' position after a few minutes, the radio turns off after 20, and pretty well everything else goes off when the key's taken out...

As they say in Parliament, "I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave a few moments ago"!

I reckon I'm hapless enough to flatten the battery on any car, even my supposedly idiot-proof Panda. Time will tell.