Battery Discharge

[puremalt]

As the weather is so pants, my driving is restricted to (mostly) weekends. If I leave the car over seven days it won't start as the battery has sufficiently discharged, despite the weekend drive being several hours to charge up. The battery is newish, so is there anything that is using charge? The battery change on a crossflow is a pig, so I really don't want to do it unless necessary.

 

Dave Robertson

[F355GTS]

Buy a battery conditioner, Plug it in during the week and it provides a trickle charge two ro three times every 24 hours. Porsche do one (about £50) there is also a product by an organisation called airflow.

 

look here http://www.racecar.co.uk/airflow/

 

Mark

[Phil]

A battery low on charge will not hold the charge left in it when demanded by your cold engine but a fully charged battery will cope well and do its job, simple, charge the battery fully on a trickle charger for about 8 hours, but first disconnect the terminals and sand the battery post so as they shine, this gives a very good contact and the battery will except the charge easily, after charging leave the battery to settle for 1 hour to let all the gases escape and then

reconnect and start up. The battery conditioner suggested is a good idea once the battery is in a fit state and this helps it to stay this way, driving your car for a hundred miles will put in enough charge to start it again the next morning but is no way near enough to charge it completely. Copper grease is ideal for covering the terminals stopping future corrosion.

 

 

[Peter]

If I am a while between starts I use a booster pack clipped to the terminals for the initial start. Always works and saves the infrequent heavy load on the battery

 

Peter

C7 PRG

 

 

[budgie]

Halfords do a battery master by draper, about 18 quid .I always use it .