Technical Car battery low after been away on holiday for 2 weeks.

[just wondering]

Thankfully i am not a brand snob , but i do like a well priced item / bargain

I am more informed and my 10mm spanner has been dispatched by the eBay seller , i have set up full cover with RAC using Quidco , so it worked out at 68.00 for the year , which is fine , i shall call them and ask them not to automatically renew it , as they always try and sting you for a higher price , robbers !

 

[Ziggy122]

Starting the car up and running at idle for 30mins will put some charge into the battery

But tbh its a waste of fuel....

If you wish to stop the battery drain that badly when its left

Release bonnet - lock car (ensure there outside vehicle)
Release negative terminal and tuck it away
Check again keys are outside the vehicle
Drop the hood

When your ready to drive the vehicle again
open door manually with key
Pop the bonnet - attach the Negative terminal securly
Shut bonnet - get in car and drive

You will loose clock - radio stations - and any other things like that, but it'd stop it going flat while idle

Ziggy

 

[just wondering]

I have put my test meter across the battery today , it is showing as 12.5 volts , i did take it out for a 10 minute drive yesterday to the postoffice and i let it idle for 30 minutes in the morning , based on a past reply in this thread i assuming that means it is around 80 % charged.

I am still awaiting my 10mm spanner and my deionizied water to arrive.

Currently i am thinking , top up the battery with deionized water and check the battery each day , in particular on days that i do not go out , to see if the battery power drops a lot..

One other thing i have noticed , my battery terminals looks pretty mucky , so i have watched a youtube on how to clean battery terminals , i have ordered a steel toothbrush from ebay (set of 6 sorts £1.89 delivered) , the youtube video said to remove the negative first , then the positive , clean the terminals with baking soda mixed with water , use a wire brush to clean them up , do the same with the terminal connections , then connect the positive first then the neg .

So fingers crossed , a bit of topping up of the water in the battery a good clean of the terminals and hopefully it will be as good as new

 

[MikeSalt]

Pop into Lidl or Aldi. It might take some finding amongst all the Christmas stock, but both retailers sell switch-mode, microprocessor-controlled chargers for less than £15. We use one of the Lidl ones at the railway, and it seems to do the trick. They can be left on constantly too if you have somewhere convenient to plug the car in.

 

[oldhammer]

cheap option.. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-Volt-...pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts_13&hash=item2c867ddd17

 

[Ziggy122]

cheap option.. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-Volt-Trickle-Battery-Charger-Car-Van-Caravan-Motorcycle-Motorbike-Quad-Bike-/191234956567?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts_13&hash=item2c867ddd17

only 1.6meters of cable... so you need a main feed out to the car then

Better option might be one of those solar pannel chargers
But tbh best option to help keep car secure and no battery issues is a quick release negative terminal

ziggy