I'm looking to get something like this: http://www.halfords.com/workshop-too...ntainer-12v-6w to keep the battery level topped up as I rarely am able to drive my car and often fails to start.

I would like to leave it on my dash and connect it via the cigarette charger but it says that it must be live at all times to be able to supply charge to the battery.

How do I check/enable this functionality?

I know something is wrong as it's a new battery I got about 6 months ago, it was dead this morning when I tried it and the last time I drove it was a month ago. I assume it's some sort of tracker system but I've never had it enabled or paid any for any services since I've had the car so a bit puzzled there.

So back to the main question, can I leave the crocodile clips permanently attached and just plug in the solar panel when needed? Which brings me onto my other question about water pooling in the battery tray..

I notice that the grill above it has a hole in it (see https://i.imgur.com/TXkT2HJ.jpg it's in the top left corner) and everytime I've taken the battery out, there is water pooling at the bottom of the plastic tray.

Is this normal, do you get water pooling there?

Thanks.

 

ctek mains connected conditioner would be a much better option. leave it perm connected when car not being used.

drill a couple of holes in the edge/side of the plastic try so water drains away

 

I did look at the CTEK chargers/conditioners, however the car is parked on the street so I'm unable to easily get power to the CTEK. Else I would have gone down that route.

I didn't even think of drilling holes in that, I was thinking of how to stop by blocking that hole up.. good call!

 

First things first has that "new" battery ever been "properly" fully charged? And by that I don't mean drive it around a bit or bung it on a dumb charger and boil it. What I mean is it having it connected for at least 24hours to a proper 5 stage charger that can fully equalize the cells.

Most chargers bulk charge, many do not equalize. I've learnt that the expensive way with many bike and car batteries. Since then since I've not had to buy a new battery for over ten years now, because now I have the right charger and understand that sulphation - leaving a battery to rest below 12.5volts for more than a week will reduce its capacity and end up killing it.

re: Trackers.

Regardless of subscription. Its always active (as in sapping power to keep its electronics working) as its a connected load. Paying a subscription does not change this. However if its an old model with a separate "backup" battery, if this fails, it will put even more drain on vehicle battery as the tracker tries to charge its backup battery (and drawing more current in the process).

If you do not use the tracker. Find it (under rear seat area usually, or behind glove box), find supply wires (or earth) cut, and insulate.

How long your battery can last for when parked up is pretty easy to work out. Battery is probably rated at around 60amp hours....that's 60 amps in an hour....if your car's electric draws 0.1amps all the time when parked (measure with multimetre, all doors locked, bonnet pin switch press down, alarm set etc.), that works out at 25 days of its total capacity....BUT you need at least 25% to start the engine. So, in reality, that's 19 days real world capacity with a 0.1 amp load with a FULLY charged battery. Then you need to fully recharge the battery again in order to be able to do the same 19 days later.

If you can reduce the parasitic loss (current draw) to 0.05amps (50milliamps), then you'll get 38days out of it. But in reality it'll be about 0.08amps (which works out as one month).

Also note that just driving the car often does not fully charge the battery (common misconception). It will only bulk charge, it will not equalize cells in the battery unless you drive at least a few hours every few days. If the cells aren't equalized the battery's capacity is reduced, and overtime the battery is damaged to the point it loses its capacity more and more until its totally useless. Only yesterday I've had to return a failed Bosch S5 battery (5yr warranty) after only 1 year on a Bentley because its only driven few miles a month and the owner is reluctant to use a charger/maintainer. The battery is not faulty, its just failed from sulphation.

A solar charger may help address parasitic loss - so long as it: a) delivers enough current to replace what's being drawn by vehicle electrics, b) it doesn't consume current during hours of darkness (common with cheap panels), and c) the battery is fully charged before parking up.

Bear in mind a solar panel doesn't work as well behind a cars windscreen, as the glass contains UV filters.

The only people who can give you advice on the panel you linked to are those who have purchased it and tested its current output against the current draw of the vehicle with a few multimeters: 6watts is at best is 0.4amps in direct sunlight. You can easily halve that behind glass.

 

Unfortunately not, the new battery was purchased then installed as I was in a bit of a hurry. A proper 5 stage charger, like the CTEK models?

Since I've had the car, the paperwork indicated there was a tracker subscription at one point but I've never gotten to the bottom of it. Maybe this will be more fruitful than trying to offset the parasitic drain.

I will speak to the indie garage I use when it comes to service in December about cutting the supply off from the tracker.

 

I use an AA solar charger on mine. It plugs into the diagnostic port so no messing under the bonnet. I used to hook my ctech conditioner about once a month but since getting the solar charger it's been fine. My car has a 13 year old tracker on it too. Not used it through winter yet. Best of all you can get them for around £20 delivered off Amazon.

 

Do you have an Amazon link to the one you have? I have a RB5, do I have a diagnostics port?