Hey peeps,

I'm aiming to get a used focus mveh 155 in a few months, test drove it and really loved it! 

The only concern I have is how best to maintain the battery. I have a "basic" 2008 car and despite driving mostly short journeys, the battery has never given me any issues. I've read how modern cars have a lot of modern gear that can cause batteries to drain quicker overall.

As I live in a flat, I don't have access to a plug to trickle charge it every now and then. 

So my question is, for anyone without access to a plug socket - are there any products out there you use to work around that? If you go away or don't drive for, let's say, 2 weeks, what do you do? I saw solar chargers, but not sure how good they'd be in winter here in the UK.

Thanks

18 minutes ago, crumpet said:

I saw solar chargers, but not sure how good they'd be in winter here in the UK.

Solar chargers are generally pants! They won't generate enough current to be of any use unless you can get one the size of the car's roof! @TomsFocus may have a solution for on street parking charging issues. Hopefully he'll be along soon...

There isn't a solution.

I have a 'large' 400Wh Powerbank with mains output that I have used to power a trickle charger a few times.  But it's very expensive, very heavy, only lasts a few hours (not enough for an overnight charge) and isn't very efficient due to AC>DC>AC>DC conversion.

I've also used a solar panel which sort of worked on an older car and would probably do the job for your 2 week holiday - assuming the car is parked in strong sunlight.  But is a pain to keep unplugging and moving every time you use the car so not feasible long term.

My Mk4 was in deep sleep mode from the moment it was delivered to the moment it was sold.*  I just had to accept that some of the features wouldn't work.  It only completely died once, probably due to a module fault.  The trickle charger wouldn't do anything as the voltage was too low.  But it jump started with a GB40 jump pack immediately and then the battery recharged at idle within half an hour.  If you're going to spend money on anything living in a flat, it'd be the jump starter for me every time.

(*As mentioned on previous thread, I didn't use the car much, so not necessarily a true representation of deep sleep mode)

48 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

There isn't a solution.

Makes you wonder on the government strategy of mandating EVs when they themselves admit that 34% of car owners will have no access to 'home charging'...

3 hours ago, StephenFord said:

Makes you wonder on the government strategy of mandating EVs when they themselves admit that 34% of car owners will have no access to 'home charging'...

At least with a full EV, or PHEV, you can at least get the traction battery charged at a public charger, though it may be costly compared to home charging.

Snag is, they also have a 12v battery for ancillaries which can suffer the same issues as a modern ICE car, so you're still snookered!

12 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

At least with a full EV, or PHEV, you can at least get the traction battery charged at a public charger, though it may be costly compared to home charging.

Snag is, they also have a 12v battery for ancillaries which can suffer the same issues as a modern ICE car, so you're still snookered!

Not quite snookered as generally the traction battery will intermitantly charge the 12v battery when parked up. Well, it does on some EVs, not sure on all of them. 

1 hour ago, iantt said:

Not quite snookered as generally the traction battery will intermitantly charge the 12v battery when parked up. Well, it does on some EVs, not sure on all of them. 

It certainly didn't in James Mays Tesla, great YouTube of it!

That video was a while ago now.  Hopefully Tesla have fixed that specific issue with a simple software update since... 🤔

I get the impression that any issue with hybrid or EV 12v batteries is pretty much the same as we see with pure ICE vehicles - if usage doesn't suit the charging system parameters (e.g. you are a low mileage/irregular user), you may have problems.

Interesting article here, which is mainly about vans but mentions cars:

https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/warning-over-12-volt-battery-on-electric-vans-suddenly-draining

I have seen figures from the AA which say, despite widespread fears about range, charging, etc, only 2.3% of EV breakdowns are actually due to traction batteries running out of charge.

On the other hand, they say 16.8% of EV breakdowns are due to the 12v battery, which is a similar percentage as on ICE vehicles apparently.

So, if I do go EV at some point, I'll be hanging onto my 12v chargers.

17 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

a GB40 jump pack 

Out of interest, do the instructions for that indicate if it is suitable for use on hybrids/EVs, Tom?

7 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Out of interest, do the instructions for that indicate if it is suitable for use on hybrids/EVs, Tom?

No mention of EV in the instructions at all.  Just says to check that the battery being jumped is a 12v lead acid type.  I assume that it'd work on EV 12v batteries just as well as ICE 12v batteries. 

Though the question is then whether the traction battery would immediately start charging the 12v battery or not.  Obviously the jump pack only provides power for a short time, which may not be long enough to keep the 12v systems powered unless the traction battery starts charging it straight away.

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

No mention of EV in the instructions at all. 

Since posting the question I've had a quick look through a couple of EV forums. Lots of threads about 12v battery problems, but not surprisingly most people on them seem to have access to home EV chargers and thus somewhere to plug in a 12v battery charger also (the usual suspects are favoured for this). 

Quite a lot of people also seem to have a Noco jump starter, mostly acquired in ICE days. Few have needed to use it for reasons above, but a couple have reported using them successfully on EVs with no apparent ill effects (other than setting the alarm off!)

Unlike the ice car and mild hybrid variant   with flat battery that requires reasonable amount of current to turn engine over to start. EV and hybrids only require enough power to get ign on. Then the traction battery takes over the 12v 

2 minutes ago, iantt said:

EV and hybrids only require enough power to get ign on.

.....and then you can 'bump start' them ??? 🤣

4 minutes ago, unofix said:

.....and then you can 'bump start' them ??? 🤣

Yeah, if you had one of those old fashioned things called a clutch and gearbox🤣🤣. Think we all going off topic again. 

Hi Chris. So you've fallen for the Focus MHEV. No bad thing considering where you live.

Having had 3 proper Hybrid cars I can make a suggestion that is very popular. That suggestion is Ctek. 

You mentioned a 2 week 'break'? OK. So what is your driving habit? What kind of daily mileage do you do? What mileage do you do at weekends? Your driving habit will play a massive part in how the 12v battery will behave.

If you only potter about only doing g a handful of miles a day then you'll definitely need the Ctek. If however you say commute around 10 miles daily and go for a say 30 mile run at the weekend then you need not worry. 

I never had issues with the 12v battery in either of the 3 Lexus hybrids I had.

However those who have MHEV and do short journeys suffer more than those who do 'proper' mileage. Same can be said for Hybrid users.

13 hours ago, tazzman600 said:

I can make a suggestion that is very popular. That suggestion is Ctek.

For heaven's sake don't let @StephenFord see that.

13 hours ago, tazzman600 said:

I can make a suggestion that is very popular. That suggestion is Ctek. 

Very good charger. But back to the OP:

On 2/22/2024 at 7:13 PM, crumpet said:

As I live in a flat, I don't have access to a plug to trickle charge it every now and then. 

 

Back to the OP? God I love OP Old Peculiar hic!

Here's an EV charger for those who live in a flat. You get to sit waiting to charge the charger, and then sit waiting to charge the car. All for a 20 mile trip. Isn't progress and modern technology just astounding 🤣

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/technology-news/uk-firm-launches-portable-ev-charger-urban-drivers

2 minutes ago, unofix said:

Here's an EV charger for those who live in a flat.

and at a cost of just under £600/year - bargain LOL

(that = 100 gallons of unleaded, about 4000 mile range in old money)

9 hours ago, unofix said:

Here's an EV charger for those who live in a flat.

That's quite an old article. I just did a quick search to see where you could buy one and for how much but it looks as if they're not on sale in the UK yet. This was the latest I found:

https://www.drivingelectric.com/news/41011/zipcharge-portable-ev-charger-and-flexible-hubs-planned-for-2023

When I stopped laughing and thought about it for a while, If the estimated cost is on a par with home charging points, I could see it being useful for flat dwellers and others whose properties are not suitable for a wall box.

You'd just need to remember to charge your charger before charging your car!😀

I guess it's no dafter overall than designing cars that don't charge their 12v battery properly, thus necessitating purchase of battery chargers/boosters and probably using more energy in total.

Thanks for all the info peeps!

I did just find the Ctek Free product too: https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-chargers-12v-24v/vehicle-type/car-battery-chargers/solar/cs-free

Which looks like a nifty way to ensure you can always start the car, although it's an adaptive booster so isn't instant (takes 15 mins apparently). Not always ideal, but it keeps the charge up to a year, so could just stay in the boot for whenever it's needed.

Very expensive too, but at least it could also be used a a 5A smart charger if I ever have access to a power socket in the future 🤔

Still can't believe I have to look into stuff like this when upgrading from an old car!

3 minutes ago, crumpet said:

Which looks like a nifty way to ensure you can always start the car,

many here own and use the Noco Boost plus GB40 which will do the same job, but for only £98.50

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NOCO-GB40-UltraSafe-Lithium-Starter/dp/B015TKUPIC/ref=asc_df_B015TKUPIC/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309775958298&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8887677575640278379&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006688&hvtargid=pla-449394730282&psc=1

5 minutes ago, crumpet said:

Still can't believe I have to look into stuff like this when upgrading from an old car!

It shouldn't surprise you at all, the government got involved...

The GB40 is regularly on offer.  Mine cost about £55 a couple of years ago.