Hi there.

I only do around 5-6K pa these days. Car is on the drive. Mileage mix is the odd short run locally <10 miles, otherwise a weekend of 400miles plus which of course does the battery well in the charging stakes.

I use a Maplin solar panel to keep the battery topped up & combat the normal drain while it's parked. During last weeks cold spell the battery went almost totally flat.

I was thinking of one these power booster type devices. Presumably they are just a small battery you keep charged so that you can get a vehicle going so you drive to charge the in car battery. If this thinking is correct has anyone had any experience of these?

TIA

My mum does way less miles than that, doesn't have a solar panel...

She also doesn't have any issues with the battery losing charge (not even on her old car, which was 8 years old). I'd say you either have a drain somewhere, or need a new battery!

The alarm system does get the battery down eventually, and how old is the battery?

I wasn't aware that Fabias had a standard alarm system. Immobiliser yes, but alarm?

Yeah think the fabia has an alarm.

I'd say the solar tricle charger isn't getting enough sun on it.

It's probably worth checking the water levels on the battery (you can even on the "sealed" ones) and if it all looks ok putting the thing on a proper batter charger over night then connecting it all back up.

If the car is stared, then only does very short journeys, the power used by the starter and ignition system alone would not be regained by the end of a journey.

I was thinking of one these power booster type devices. Presumably they are just a small battery you keep charged so that you can get a vehicle going so you drive to charge the in car battery. If this thinking is correct has anyone had any experience of these?

TIA

I have a cheap-ish one that I have had for about 18 months. The problem with them is keeping them charged up You can't charge them constantly using the standard power adapter, but I've put two theories together and come up with a solution that works.

I have a CTEK3600 battery/maintenance charger. These can be plugged in 365 days a year without causing the battery any harm as it is intelligent, it doesn't just feed the battery with current if you know what I mean. I use that plugged into the battery booster to keep that topped up and then if I need to use one of the cars with no charge (having two old Audis it happens regularly!!!!) I can use the booster to start it up.

It's not really practical to use the CTEK outside so if you don't have a garage I've found this to be the best workaround and cost me less than £80 for both bits of equipment

Highly recomend the little RING unit - see Maplin page here

SmartCharge 4 Sealed Lead-Acid Battery Charger > Maplin

You may find it cheaper eslewhere though.

It can be permenantly connected if required or just used overnight or longer.

The main benifit of this unit is its suitability for ALL types of battery including the Calcium batteries fittted to most new cars (inc Skodas) so it is future proof. You can damage Calcium batteries by using older battery chargers that are not suitable so choose carefully if you have a Calcium battery - I have one in my Octy2.

Alternately buy a much larger Solar Panel which will still provide a charge in the current cloudy weather

Just got back from Maplins, with the Ring charger mentioned above.

About to unpack it & it says it's only suitable for up to 1.2l cars.

I'm guessing I can safely ignore this aye? Just checking before I go unpack it all...

Cheers,

Mike

Bump

Any comments about this charger before I take it back?

Cheers,

Mike

I can't see why the engine capacity should matter; the battery capacity aye, but I don't suppose they've said anything useful like "only for batteries up to Ah"!

I agree, battery capacity does not matter. A larger capacity will just take longer to charge. As the charger is automatic ,it will put a charge into the battery until full. I have a 'Halfords' badged one,which is indentical to the' Ring' one mentioned,and use it to charge my 1.9 sdi battery which is about 75 ampere hour capacity. If I have not used the car for a week , I just pop it on charge. I have a non Fabia Alarm,and a CD Changer fitted. The whole car takes about 0.15 amps,(150 milliamps) ,from the battery whilst not being used. I have found that the 'cheap' solar panels sold by most outlets ,do not give enough output in the months without sun. A suitable one which would give enough power is far to large to keep in the car ,if the car is being used.

I would not keep a battery on charge even on an 'automatic' charger all the time ,to keep it 'topped up',as suggested by many Charger Manufacturers ,just because its possible does not mean it will not shorten the battery life. These chargers still put a very small current (about 0.1 amp) in when charging is complete.

Edited 16 March, 200917 yr by AndyPandy