car battery problem, any advice please?

[devonwoody]

I do not have my garage available to park my car owing to woodwork hobby space.
How do other members here charge up their car battery at home in this bad weather, I dont fancy running an extension lead out to the battery in the car on th drive during this weather with all the bad weather around at the present time likely to hit the electrics.
How do people up north cope?

 

[clogs]

best not to take the battery off the car......
supposidley on the newer cars it doesnt matter but ?????
I have always lived in the wilds and never had a problem with ext leads...
batt chargers are quite small and it's easy to tuck it in somewhere with the socket.....
I use a lead with a loose socket not a reel.....then just lower the bonnet to the first click..
if ur worried about the lead place an old towel over it......
driving rain wont get in.....
worked for me over the years....
oh, if ever u have to change the battery I always fit the biggest one that will fit.....

 

[Rorschach]

Buy a second battery and rotate?

Personally on the rare occasions I have needed to charge the battery I have removed it and done it inside or run an extension in fine weather and sheltered it under the vehicle itself.

I don't generally have battery problems though because rather than trying to eek out the life of an expensive battery I instead buy a cheap ones and change them more often. The 2nd battery then becomes my "jumpstarter" battery for emergencies and is used in the workshop to power 12v tools and lights. This system has worked very well for me.

 

[TheUnicorn]

Last time I had to charge I ran a lead out of the house, with a waterproof clamshell socket, then put the charger on a table (raised slightly so it couldn't get wet) with a tub trug over it, weighed down with a brick or two.

I've got this lead, bought for pressure washing, it is constructed with the reel at the house end so the reverse of normal, very useful for manuervering around, also nice and easy to see https://www.amazon.co.uk/Masterplug-OMU2513FL3IP-PX-Reverse-Waterproof-Socket/dp/B01N9X5I9T

 

[Jameshow]

You could buy a small solar charger to the battery.

You could put a plug on the grill of our car and plug in a 12v lead from your battery charger? As the RAC do on thier vehicles.

You could buy a lipo car starter and use that.

Cheers James

 

[Jacob]

Sounds like you need a new battery. I haven't had to charge one in years. Used to be a regular thing. Modern batteries are much better - can last 5 years or more and don't even need topping up. Needing a charge is a sign that they are past it.

 

[Duncan A]

If the cigar lighter remains energised when the ignition is off, you can often just plug your charger into that so the mains connection is in your garage or house and the charger is inside the car. Use a good charger, with a smoothed and regulated output
Duncan

 

[artie]

What are you doing to run down your battery.
For normal driving a good battery should not need charging.
When a battery lets me down twice, and the rest of the system is good, I buy a new battery.
It's not that expensive to avoid a lot of hassle

 

[Spectric]

As mentioned your battery if in good condition should not need charging even if you have left the vehicle for some time. If it was ok whilst the vehicle was in regular use but now is giving problems due to lack of usage then buy a new battery, Banner batteries are good general brand, Hawker Odysey or Optima are really good.

 

[Noel]

I do not have my garage available to park my car owing to woodwork hobby space.
How do other members here charge up their car battery at home in this bad weather, I dont fancy running an extension lead out to the battery in the car on th drive during this weather with all the bad weather around at the present time likely to hit the electrics.
How do people up north cope?

Hi John, you'll be safe enough running an extension out to the drive. Connect charger to battery and leave in a space by the engine. Run your extension lead to it and plug in the charger. Stick this somewhere by the engine too. Finally plug the extension lead into an indoor socket, go and check all is ok with charger and pull the bonnet down so it rests on the extension cable. If you want to be super safe stick a plastic bag or two around the charger and extension reel/trailing socket.

 

[Rorschach]

What are you doing to run down your battery.
For normal driving a good battery should not need charging.
When a battery lets me down twice, and the rest of the system is good, I buy a new battery.
It's not that expensive to avoid a lot of hassle

That's my sign as well, it gets once chance to do a dodgy startup but the second time it does it (with no good reason) I get a new battery and move it down through the chain of spares. Haven't called a breakdown for a flat battery in over 10 years.

 

[Jameshow]

My dad used to nightly run an extension lead to the car coupled with an old metal fan heater which he plugged in 10mins before leaving for work = clear screen and warm car - result!

Did it for 20+ years in winter obviously!

Cheers James

 

[Sandyn]

I used a maintenance charger on a car which was hardly ever used. I just ran a long extension to the car and tucked everything under the bonnet to keep dry. I disconnected the battery earth. It was a pain to have to reset codes, but not a great hassle.

If the battery needs continual charging, I had a very similar problem with my son's car. He was driving short distances. I checked the charge voltage and it was low. It turned out to be the alternator, probably a faulty diode. It would be fine on longer journeys, but couldn't supply enough charge on the short journys.

As soon as my car battery gives problems, it's replaced and the old one used for something else.
If it's an old car giving starting problems, it's worth checking the main ground strap to the chassis. If it's corroded the resistance increases slightly, you get a large volt drop as the starter motor turns.

 

[Inspector]

I just set my weather app to show me the temperatures you are dealing with. You might hit 0C in a week Monday. We will be hitting -30C around then. Your battery should never have a problem starting your car. Our cars come with block heaters to keep the oil warm enough to allow the engine to turn over but they aren't supposed to be turned on unless the air is -7C or lower (depends on the manufacturer). Aftermarket battery heaters can be bought and installed which helps them cope with the cold but again they are meant for very cold weather. You can buy battery chargers that are permanently mounted under the hood and wired into the car so you only need to plug it in but that would normally be used in in situations where the car isn't used much. They are optional on higher end cars. I'm with the people suggesting a check of the car's charging system and/or a new battery. As for the extension cord it is exposed to the weather and often the outlets are exposed outside, usually GFCI. Good employers have them at every parking stall. If it is raining your car shouldn't have any problem starting.

Pete

 

[Nigel Burden]

Buy a second battery and rotate?

Not always possible.

My daughter has an R53 Mini Cooper S, 56 plate. Needed a new battery a couple of years ago. Phoned the local supplier who asked for details. Oh that's ok but if it was an R56 Coopers S, 2006 on, not possible as it would have to go to the dealer to have certain items re-programmed.

Nigel.

 

[Rorschach]

That would be annoying, I disconnect my battery on a fairly regular basis.

 

[Nigel Burden]

That would be annoying, I disconnect my battery on a fairly regular basis.

I had no problems on my 09 plate Fiesta. I don't know about our Octavia or my sons 16 plate Ibiza though. It seems that BMW do everything possible to make you take the car to the dealer.

Nigel.

 

[Rorschach]

I've got a Ford as well, my mechanic friend calls Fords "A working mans car, cos you're always workin' on em".

 

[devonwoody]

Thanks guys, there was some good tips, most probably go for the cheap second battery and then not have any worries about my electrics cutting out in the night and not knowing.

What are you doing to run down your battery.
For normal driving a good battery should not need charging.
When a battery lets me down twice, and the rest of the system is good, I buy a new battery.
It's not that expensive to avoid a lot of hassle

I did in May last year 2020. I demanded a replacement last week and it was replaced with grumbles.

 

[Just4Fun]

Thanks guys, there was some good tips, most probably go for the cheap second battery and then not have any worries about my electrics cutting out in the night and not knowing.

How are you going to use the second battery? Regularly swapping batteries would be a bit of a chore. Easier to just connect the charged second battery to the car with jump leads to give the car battery a bit of a boost occasionally. I do that with an unused car and the battery from my ride-one mower, which I keep and charge inside during the winter.