My RB5's battery (Halfords!) has brought the farm, well it's drained itself after 2 weeks of being away and not being able to use it.

Is there anything I should be doing to keep the battery being charged whilst using it (heater/sidelights?), or not?

I looked at solar charger panels as a way of keeping the battery topped up rather than charge which is fine by me, however my cigarette lighter doesn't charge when there is car isn't on --is this easy to modify/change?

Looking at Bosch batteries, Eurocarparts.com and carbatteriesonline.com give me different S4 001 and S4 022 respectively, which is right??

Edit: looking through my paperwork, I notice the car at some point had a tracker, if I take it to a garage, will they be able to disconnect the tracker incase that is what is causing the drain?

 

It shouldn't drain itself that quick...is the boot light stuck on?

 

Silly question, how do I check if the boot light is on, without climbing in myself? Although as the battery is more or less dead, this isn't something I'm able to check until I replace the battery, yes?

(Just checked my receipts and I've had the battery since end of Jan 2012)

 

Trackers can cause drain.. especially older ones and if the backup battery they use fails (as it tries to charge it from the vehicle battery). A good garage should be able to locate it and disconnect it, they are usually hidden under the rear seat or behind a trim panel somewhere (this is why I advise people to move them after they've been fitted as its pretty common knowledge to theives ).

You probably can take permenent a live feed off the back of the radio and use that for the solar panel. Usually red or yellow (they vary, one will be switched live the other will be permanent).

Just bear in mind that solar chargers are pretty useless unless its a large sized one, especially if its inside the car...as the windcsreen has a UV filter so reduces their effectiveness!! (I have a folding 2metre panel for camping, even on a sunny day it pumps out just 6 amps peak...just enough to stop my beer fridge from flattening my leisure battery ).

The smallish cheapy ones should counteract any parasitic loss from a already charged battery, but they won't charge a discharged battery. So regularly make sure the battery is above 12.5volts after standing overnight.

Final note, make sure the battery is fully charged on a regular basis...if teh car isn't used much or used for shortish jorneys. Then the engine NEVER fully charges a battery, doesn't matter if its a 'intelligent' alternator or not. It'll bulk charge the battery to about 80%, but that last 20% will need to run the engine for five to ten hours!

If the battery is allowed to get below 80% charge (12.45volts) on a regular basis, then it will get damaged and gradually lose its maximum capacity over time to the point it won't hold enough charge to start the engine. This is why I say regulaly check teh voltage with a good digital multimeter after the car has been standing (everything off, interior lights etc). A fully charged battery should be 12.6 to 12.65 volts, a 80% charged battery is about 12.45 volts

 

The car is due for it's service, I will ask them if they can disconnect the tracker. Although oddly, my old Audi had a battery issue too, I'm just cursed I guess!

My thinking for a solar charger (and it would've been inside the car) was to keep the battery maintained between use but not to actively charge but the point about the UV filter is duly noted.

I have a really basic looking turbo timer which was installed by the previous owner, would that cause battery drain anywhere/anyhow?

Edit: can you recommend a good digital multimeter?

 

surely there is something being left on as sure as hell wouldnt drain dead that quick lights stereo amp?? tracker not sure about never had issue with one turbo timer should just be plugged in under steering coloumn disconnect it and put standard plug back in that should be hanging there unless its been badly fitted but they normally dont cause drainage unless its bin wired with permanent live rather than ignition live