Looking at the Skoda Fabia manual it states that the cables and battery only need to be removed for quick charging.

I am planning to trickle charge my battery over tonight and it says in the Skoda manual that I don't need to remove the battery or any cables. I just wanted to check with others who have (or have not) trickle charged their battery in situ successfully, as I don't want to ruin any electronics and at the same time I don't just want to go removing the cables just in case the electronics don't like it and surge when reconnected or just in case it loses any of the settings I have stored such as automatic locking etc.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I am probably worrying over nothing, but I just want to make sure that trickle charging in situ with the cables connected is perfectly safe.

Cheers...

Looking at the Skoda Fabia manual it states that the cables and battery only need to be removed for quick charging.

I am planning to trickle charge my battery over tonight and it says in the Skoda manual that I don't need to remove the battery or any cables. I just wanted to check with others who have (or have not) trickle charged their battery in situ successfully, as I don't want to ruin any electronics and at the same time I don't just want to go removing the cables just in case the electronics don't like it and surge when reconnected or just in case it loses any of the settings I have stored such as automatic locking etc.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I am probably worrying over nothing, but I just want to make sure that trickle charging in situ with the cables connected is perfectly safe.

Cheers...

Hi

When you say trickle charge, what type of charger are you using ?

If it a what I call a old fashioned charger (old on in other words) then I would not leave it on for more that a few hours, but if you have a Smart type (Ctek) then that will be fine.

the reason being, the old type is voltage regulated, and so could get to about 20 Volts, and could do damage.

If you had a regulated PSU rated at pr below 14.4 Volts that would be fine

Radiotwo

I am planning to get the following charger today:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/7402096/Trail/searchtext%3ECAR+CHARGER.htm

And the battery I have is just the standard Skoda maintenance free one. The car starts first time and the battery holds it's charge and seems to charge under normal driving (no warning lights or breakdowns), but the magic eye should be green and it's just colourless indicating that it has a low charge and as I have just brought the car it's probably just been left standing for a while so I would like to top it up before autumn/winter.

So do you think it would it be OK to charge this battery in place?

Edited 19 August, 201015 yr by SkodaFabiaOwner

You still have a couple of months before it get's cold and dark.

If you don't do too much night driving (LIghts on) it'll probably

charge via the alternator in plenty of time for the winter if used regularly with

a couple of good runs.

Whether of not that charger will work depends on what type of battery you have.

If you are running a diesel Fabia I would have thought a slightly heavier duty one

would be better as the diesels have pretty meaty batteries.

.

The advert on Argos states the following.

Suitable for both diesel and petrol engines up to 1800cc.

For use with 12 volt lead acid car batteries between 20-120Ah.

Standard battery charge time from flat 120Ah - 20 hours.

Short circuit protection, reverse polarity protection and built-in auto reset breaker for overload protection.

(This feature should allow you to do what you're after doing...)

Full charge automatic switching to maintenance mode.

LED showing status and reverse polarity warning.

Conforms to CE safety regulations.

Charging rates 8 amps RMS.

Battery charge up time for car a battery, based on a 1800cc engine, 12 - 14 hours for full charge.

My Fabia is a 1.2 petrol and I plan to trickle charge it overnight so I'm not worried about how quick it charges, just whether or not I can charge it in place and not fry any electronics...

My Fabia is a 1.2 petrol and I plan to trickle charge it overnight so I'm not worried about how quick it charges, just whether or not I can charge it in place and not fry any electronics...

In that case I really can't see why not provided you use a charger like

the one you linked with auto switching to maintenance mode.

I've charged the battery on the other halfs car without disconnecting anything

before now with no ill effects.

Great - many thanks for your advice!

Don't worry I'm not looking to hold anyone responsible for anything going wrong, I've just never charged a car battery in situ before and sometimes what manuals say and what happens in reality can be two very different things...

Cheers...

Edited 19 August, 201015 yr by SkodaFabiaOwner

Yeh, trickle charging is ok with everything connected.

If you get stuck with a flat battery and have to use full charge, you can connect the positive lead to the +on the battery and the negative -lead to bare metal on the engine or bodywork. Works ok with a donor battery as well and you don't have to disconnect any wiring.

Edited 19 August, 201015 yr by Soot1e

Sorry for bringing this up again but I've just brought the charger mentioned above and in the instructions under precautions it mentions recommending undoing both cables to prevent damage to the alternator and bodywork...

...I really don't want to remove the battery or cables and the Skoda book says there is no need to disconnect the cables for trickle charging, which this charger can do.

Does the Skoda have some kind of inbuilt protection to prevent damage to the alternator/electronics then? Has anyone on here charged their Skoda without removing the battery or cables and been (or not been) OK?

Cheers!

You'll be allright as long as you connect up the charger before you switch it on at the mains socket. The car electronics don't like short bursts of charging current and sparks flying.

Edited 19 August, 201015 yr by Soot1e

You'll be allright as long as you connect up the charger before you switch it on at the mains socket.

I will do it that way then - thanks for your advice! I will let you know how I get on tomorrow - hopefully I don't fry it tonight!!

Edited 19 August, 201015 yr by SkodaFabiaOwner

I will do it that way then - thanks for your advice! I will let you know how I get on tomorrow - hopefully I don't fry it tonight!!

One other point, top up the battery with distilled water, unless it is the gel non fillable type.

If you can afford it, then this is the best charger you can buy at the moment.

CTEK Multi XS 7000 Battery Charger and Conditioner - Halfords.com

Or this one for half the price. CTEK Multi XS3600 Battery Charger and Conditioner But it takes Twice as long to charge. This model was the best when AutoExpress tested Chargers. As your car is a 1.2 petrol with a small battery, then it should be adequate.

Edited 19 August, 201015 yr by Jim H

I have the "poor man's CTEK" - an Aldi Medion Auto-XS MD 11951 Car and Motorbike Battery Charger. It's very similar to the CTEK Multi XS3600. It too switches to maintenance mode once the battery's fully charged. Works fine on the other vehicles on which I alternate it through the winter. Haven't needed to use it on the vRS but I can't see it would be a problem. And it only cost £12.59!

One other point, top up the battery with distilled water, unless it is the gel non fillable type.

Yep the amount of virtually dry batteries I have seen is staggering. I wonder if even most Skoda dealers check and top up if required. Unfortunately once it's been run dry the cells are probably knackered anyway and in a short time the only answer will be a new battery.

Edited 19 August, 201015 yr by anewman

The battery I've got (Akuma or something like that) it is "maintenance free" with a "Magic Eye". I can't see how you top it up. Can it be Done?

I changed my OE battery for a Varta Silver jobbie and was surprised to

see that it too was made by Varta. The new one has loads more poke though.

750cca

The battery I've got (Akuma or something like that) it is "maintenance free" with a "Magic Eye". I can't see how you top it up. Can it be Done?

Sometimes instead of 6 screw-off caps, you get 2 long rectangle things you can pull off with a screwdriver.

... but if it says "maintenance Free" then it won't be able to be topped up.