hi guys

friends recently bought a classic impreza as a weekend toy, he's been driving it everyday but is now going abroad for 6 -8 weeks with work.

he was just wondering what you guys do with your tracktoys when there not being used? jump start the dead battery? heard this is not good practice?

or disconnect the battery from the car, so it holds charge , then reconnect when you need it?

any advice would be appreciated

cheers

 

Something like a CTEK XS3600 battery conditioner, so long as there is power where it is stored.

 

as above if it goes too dead you will end up having to remove battery anyway as alarm will be going off.

 

3 options:

1) If power available (prob not if on the road), get the CTEK charger. (That's what I've got.)

2) If no power source, get a solar charger.

3) Remove battery. You will lose the alarm, but will be unlikely to be nicked unless towed away.

 

Park it at a friends house lock up and then disconnect battery.

 

Trickle charge it with a solar panel, diconnecting the battery = no alarm...

No the car won't go anywhere with the battery disconnected but how stupid do you think car thieves are?

They are just gonna pop the bonnet chop all the alarm cables and reconnected the battery and then bugger off with it with no squeaking alarm to worry about

 

ok sounds like the best way for him, is a trickle charger? it will be aprked outside my house while he's away.

do these solar chargers work even though we dont have much sun lol

 

imho find some way of driving it, even if its just once a week. just starting it isnt enough. it needs to be driven.

 

Maplins do solar panels that will do the job, I bought one for mine as I don't drive it very often, come complete with everything to keep the car happy.

You don't need sunlight, you need daylight

 

ok cool, i'll have a look. where is the panel normally placed? dash?

 

Solar-Powered 12V 1.5W Battery Trickle Charger : Tools & Appliances : Maplin

so this will do the job mate?

use crocodile clips and trap the wire in closed window and bonnet, place the panel on the dash?

 

So do you have to disconnect it all if you are going on a short trip? Can it be switched off on dashboard?

dl

 

I had mine parked in a secure car park for 3 months solid with the alarm on , and all I did was once every week start the car up for 20 mins and release the handbrake and the car was fine.

 

Had my car parked on the drive for 2 months, no probs at all left in gear hand brake off.

 

i believe it is disconnected, and only connected when parked for long periods mate

 

i glued mine in front of the headlights and leave the lights on.

 

so do you use this same one i linked on the maplins website?

 

Might be worth going up a bit in power output Solar-Powered 12V / 2.4W Battery Trickle Charger : Solar Battery Chargers : Maplin I've got the one you first put up mounted on my garage door to try and keep my MY00 charged and it is not enough, though I have got a tracker fitted so may draw more than normal.

I also hard wired the ciggy lighter direct to the battery (fused) so i could plug the charger direct rather than popping the bonnet to use the croc clips.

 

cheers mate, i'll order the one you linked to.

how do you hardwire the ciggy lightter to the battery btw?

 

bttt,,, cause I dont know the answer to the last question and i wouldn`t mind knowing.

 

cheers bump

 

anyone know?

 

I've Just found this thread from ages ago.

Has anyone used a solar trickle charger recently as I'm sick of the battery being flat after a couple of weeks on none use.
I've been looking online at these two from Maplins

http://www.maplin.co.uk/solar-powere...charger-223251

Or

http://www.maplin.co.uk/solar-powere...-charger-98358

Or can anyone recommend another one, It's for use in the garage where there's no power supply
Ta Warren

 

Tried solar panels on mine but they didnt work. I got a c-tek battery conditioner fitted.....problem solved.

 

Will this one do the trick?
Ta

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/C-TEK-MXS-...item3a7002fdc2

 

Thats the same one I use

 

Nice one, and they don't require a power supply either?

 

They do require mains power.

 

Oh well, thanks anyway but like I say there's no power in the garage. I think I'll just have to carry on disconnecting the battery for now until I can find a garage with power.
Ta Warren

 

I'd suggest the 4.8W version as a minimum, two would be better...

IMHO

dunx