Battery charging idiots guide

sofasurfer

sofasurfer

Junior Member
Messages
398
Ryandoc said:
Ive just ordered the charger, cigarette lighter adapter and a 2.5m extension from the charger to the lighter becuase it was cheap and I thought why not lol

Also picked up this little gem

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0092KVYGI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

£1.50 free delivery, sounds pants but 700 reviews and lots pf people saying they've compared it against a Fluke multimeter and its accurate to within 0.1V, handy to have.
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Good spot..ordered one to check on my battery. Had the random 'alarm unavailable' message this morning and I'm guessing that my battery might need replacing soon. 4 years is about the right length a GT's one last isn't it?
 
D Walker

D Walker

Member
Messages
9,827
Ryandoc said:
Ive just ordered the charger, cigarette lighter adapter and a 2.5m extension from the charger to the lighter becuase it was cheap and I thought why not lol

Also picked up this little gem

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0092KVYGI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

£1.50 free delivery, sounds pants but 700 reviews and lots pf people saying they've compared it against a Fluke multimeter and its accurate to within 0.1V, handy to have.
Click to expand...

Not sure how that works, but a car battery will little current (i.e. not charged) will produce a voltage of normal range "12.5v" when measured with a fluke as it does not pull (much)current. I used to have a heavy duty discharge tester which gave you a deflection of voltage against current pulled in the battery.
 
Ryandoc

Ryandoc

Member
Messages
1,846
Still tell a batteries health though from its voltage, the 12V socket is same as checking across the battery terminals. Just a quick indication really. No reason it couldn't be used to check the alternator charging voltage also.

No different from the old school battery V dash gauges essentially
 
StuartW

StuartW

Member
Messages
9,320
murph7355 said:
Yup (assuming it comes with the 12V accessory plug connector). I use Accumates and use them this way.

Nothing wrong with wiring a connector to the battery, but it's more of a faff. And the thought of drilling things on the car makes me shiver :)
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Cheers, a very simple solution - if I had power in my garage of course - a job for the springtime
 
Ryandoc

Ryandoc

Member
Messages
1,846
I swear if I knew how complicated this was all going to be, I mean I've just been out to the car, had to open the boot, plug in the CTek, turn it on and then I even had to press a button about 4 times and the stupid things charging the battery .... I'm sweating buckets here haha

That couldn't be simpler ! She's now charging away!
 
murph7355

murph7355

New Member
Messages
245
Ryandoc said:
I swear if I knew how complicated this was all going to be, I mean I've just been out to the car, had to open the boot, plug in the CTek, turn it on and then I even had to press a button about 4 times and the stupid things charging the battery .... I'm sweating buckets here haha

That couldn't be simpler ! She's now charging away!
Click to expand...
If you'd bought an Accumate you wouldn't have had to press any buttons :)

Let us know how long it takes for it to go into maintenance mode (ie fully charged).
 
Ryandoc

Ryandoc

Member
Messages
1,846
Battery fully charged this morning !

Dave PM me what they say. I'm still struggling with this whole front end thing.
 
Jkulin

Jkulin

Junior Member
Messages
983
Yep exactly when you can get exactly the same from Cteq for under £80, I have Cteq on all my stuff and it is amazing just how good it fixes your batteries.
 
murph7355

murph7355

New Member
Messages
245
Jkulin said:
Yep exactly when you can get exactly the same from Cteq for under £80, I have Cteq on all my stuff and it is amazing just how good it fixes your batteries.
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Or...get the exact same thing technically but not from CTek....

http://www.mdsbattery.co.uk/shop/pr...KppfcYC3Z0t6HAoq65X4X_pGURoK_9Ahc1xoCMKrw_wcB

http://www.mdsbattery.co.uk/shop/productprofile.asp?ProductGroupID=2301

60 quid incl. the 12V accessory plug.

It's possible to get these cheaper still if you shop around. I have 4 and don't think I paid over 50 quid for any of them (incl. 12V plug). Though I have had them a fair while.

For many, battery charging is something highly technical and they feel much safe with the factory branded items...c'est la vie.
 
D Walker

D Walker

Member
Messages
9,827
mjheathcote said:
or lidl's for less than £14!
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Mines on charge now with the Lidl charger - has never needed it before - only been sat for 2 weeks so no idea why the battery has discharged. Showing 2/5 charged at the moment (12.9v) Any idea how long it should take. Isolated it before connection. Its the Bosch battery and has previously sat for 4 weeks and fired up first time. Its not been particulary cold either.
I was of the opinion that you could not leave anything on that would drain it - apart from the alarm. And tracker I guess - which I think is still active..
 
safrane

safrane

Member
Messages
16,893
I understand that the charger may discharge the battery then cycle a full charge to maximise the battery...so it could be a while dependant on the setting you have it on.
 
murph7355

murph7355

New Member
Messages
245
Not the same model car but mine took 3 days to go "green" on the charger...and the battery was good enough to start the car when I decided to hook it up (as it threw a few dash warnings).

If the Lidl one is like mine, it puts more current into it at first and then moves to a lighter load to finish it off/maintain it.

(Dash warnings all now gone with a fully charged battery - ESC and suspension warnings etc. Modern cars eh :)).
 
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