jace1969 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Ok getting colder morning so battery problems tend to pop up. I don't do a lot of miles a week being a carer at home so car can sit in a garage/car port on the back yard a few days and its only a 12 months old battery. Would leaving it running every so often the warm it up help like 20 or 30 minutes,did notice leaving it for 3 complete days last week it started to turn over a bit slower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stef123 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 You would be better just taking it for a short drive than leaving it sitting. This would also keep the brakes clear of rust build up. I’d be more concerned about why it’s slow to turn over after just 3 days. I can leave my mondeo parked for weeks at a time and it’ll fire up just fine. If left 3-4 weeks granted it is a bit slow. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zain611 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Yeah I'd say a good drive mainly helps charge the battery more than leaving the car running at idle. @stef123 I think it depends on the battery condition. When I bought my fiesta I got it 2 months before the insurance renewal of my previous car so it was left sitting in my driveway. After about 3 weeks I tried starting it to move it in the garage but it wasn't able to start so had to charge the battery. It had the original 11 year old one. Saying that what about a battery charger? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dezwez Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 This cold weather will always show up defect batterys my local auto parts store love this weather.😞 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stef123 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 33 minutes ago, zain611 said: Yeah I'd say a good drive mainly helps charge the battery more than leaving the car running at idle. @stef123 I think it depends on the battery condition. When I bought my fiesta I got it 2 months before the insurance renewal of my previous car so it was left sitting in my driveway. After about 3 weeks I tried starting it to move it in the garage but it wasn't able to start so had to charge the battery. It had the original 11 year old one. Saying that what about a battery charger? I’d say an 11 year old battery has more than had its day lol. The battery in my mondeo is 5-6 years old. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dezwez Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 1 minute ago, stef123 said: I’d say an 11 year old battery has more than had its day lol. The battery in my mondeo is 5-6 years old. Some do last but most don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stef123 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 39 minutes ago, dezwez said: Some do last but most don't. You can’t expect an 11 year old battery performance to be that of a new or only a couple of year old one though. Especially the case with those crap Lion batteries from euro car parts, you are lucky if they can make it through the night! Had to replace so many of those batteries. Terrible quality. I only recently swapped the battery out of the father in laws 2002 polo, to best of my knowledge it was the original. I’ve maintained the car for 12 years and he had it for a while before that with no knowledge of the battery being changed. 17 years from a battery is good going but left for a week in the cold I wouldn’t expect much from it. Part of what helps keep a battery in good shape is using the car daily and allowing the alternator to fully charge it, which in this case is probably what kept it going for so long. My preference on any battery left for a long duration without use is to connect it to a Ctek charger. This is what I do with my bike for 6 months of the year and i’ve never had any issues. I’ve run these chargers for years. If I had somewhere to park the car and keep it plugged in I would certainly do so. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jace1969 Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 The battery is only say 8 months old but seeing i only do local trips with lights on/heater on/radio for phone mainly it never puts in what it takes out. As for taking it a run its not a option,i cant leave my dad for a long period of time like 1 hour or more so this will never be an option as very frail and elderly with problems. This is for the last say 18months where i have had to look at a lot of things different. I try to give it a run at least every 3 days max but that's again local,just over a mile to our local supermarket then back so don't even get 100%hot so say 3 mile and that's once a week,other times with have a walking distance Tesco express which i can walk to in 10mins so if use car its all stuff on like heater/lights etc and very very short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Could you take your Dad for a nice drive out in the countryside somewhere once a week or is he not a fan of being a passenger? Idling the car from a cold start won't help, it'll take so long to recharge just from that start, let alone any previous low voltage, ad the volt drop from just being parked, alarm systems etc. Really it either needs to be driven more or just accept that batteries won't last long in your current situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonro2009 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 1 hour ago, stef123 said: My preference on any battery left for a long duration without use is to connect it to a Ctek charger. This is what I do with my bike for 6 months of the year and i’ve never had any issues. I’ve run these chargers for years. If I had somewhere to park the car and keep it plugged in I would certainly do so. I bought THIS yesterday, how do you rate these ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stef123 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 1 hour ago, Jonro2009 said: I bought THIS yesterday, how do you rate these ones? Link appears to be broken mate 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dezwez Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 5 minutes ago, stef123 said: Link appears to be broken mate yes broken link 🙁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonro2009 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 NOCO Genius G3500UK 6V/12V 3,5A UltraSafe Smart battery Charger https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E907PWS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_xvUuCbTF4YQVC hopefully this will work now, it’s a NOCO Genius G3500UK on amazon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stef123 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Never had any personal experience with NOCO. I know of a guy who uses their battery booster pack without issue. Depending on what size battery you intend on charging, 3.5A isn’t a great output. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dezwez Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 42 minutes ago, Jonro2009 said: NOCO Genius G3500UK 6V/12V 3,5A UltraSafe Smart Battery Charger https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E907PWS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_xvUuCbTF4YQVC hopefully this will work now, it’s a NOCO Genius G3500UK on Amazon don't look to bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jace1969 Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 9 hours ago, TomsFocus said: Could you take your Dad for a nice drive out in the countryside somewhere once a week or is he not a fan of being a passenger? Idling the car from a cold start won't help, it'll take so long to recharge just from that start, let alone any previous low voltage, ad the volt drop from just being parked, alarm systems etc. Really it either needs to be driven more or just accept that batteries won't last long in your current situation. Mate i wish i could,in the summer i try but being 91 and can just walk with help and frame its very hard,we live upstairs so getting downstairs is rare. As you said i will have to deal with these battery problems and i have 2 jump starters,one is a compact one off amazon a good one and keep them both charged. It does get a drive so it will get warm but not hot and enough to put the charge in to what i use with all the stuff on like lights/heater and stuff,i do stupid low miles a year and if i knew just over 4 years ago i don't think i would of had my car just a old cheap banger but i just fell for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zain611 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 I do think you should get a battery charger. Its like those portable phone chargers where you charge the box up and transfer that electricity into the battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iantt Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 6 hours ago, stef123 said: Never had any personal experience with NOCO. I know of a guy who uses their battery booster pack without issue. Depending on what size battery you intend on charging, 3.5A isn’t a great output. I bought and use a NOCO battery booster pack. Starts anything and even with a completely dead flat battery. Use it up to 5 times a day , most days. Not had experience with there chargers though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stef123 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 24 minutes ago, iantt said: I bought and use a NOCO battery booster pack. Starts anything and even with a completely dead flat battery. Use it up to 5 times a day , most days. Not had experience with there chargers though. Once my booster dies I'll probably buy one of the NOCO boosters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iantt Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 1 hour ago, stef123 said: Once my booster dies I'll probably buy one of the NOCO boosters I use it at work, got a compound with used cars and 1 in every 3 is flat . It's quite a walk to fetch one only to find a flat battery then walk back for a heavy boost pack. So bought it for that. Fairly light weight, can be charged via USB or cigar lighter socket. I keep mine plugged into my works laptop 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonro2009 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 10 hours ago, stef123 said: Never had any personal experience with NOCO. I know of a guy who uses their battery booster pack without issue. Depending on what size battery you intend on charging, 3.5A isn’t a great output. It’s the battery on my Focus, it’s a 110 and the product details said it would work on batteries up to 120 and it also has CANbus and stop/start compatibility Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jace1969 Posted February 3, 2019 Author Share Posted February 3, 2019 I have the battery booster just as a fall back,its one of those compact ones and cost £75 and start from a complete dead battery I though oh yes ok if its going to do that until my 1.6 was dead i mean no even a turn over and it got it started so that told be. Just though leaving it running just a bit would not solve just help a bit as there will be no lights on or heater etc just getting it warm. Its like this but had it from amazon a good 10 months ago in a deal with all the kit that attaches to it. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DBPOWER-600A-18000Mah-Portable-Car-Jump-Starter-Emergency-Battery-Booster-Pack/233045672033?hash=item36429ac061:g:rRoAAOSwGPNcEsqD:rk:5:pf:0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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