488 Battery - how long does yours last?

[R11ysf]

Typical story, car parked in a London underground car park with no access to power. Battery dead in 16 days to the point it won't start the car. I know I should keep it on a trickle charger but that isn't an option.

So for those in a similar position how long does your battery last before dying? Is 16 days very short? Car has alarm and tracker fitted.

Secondly, has anyone found a good solution to this, running a trickle charger off a portable battery pack or using a CS FREE?

Thanks

[R11ysf]

Interesting, thank you both. I have a brand new Ferrari battery fitted when I bought it 2 months or so ago. I have read the auto lights run on sensors so set those to off before parking to reduce the drain. I wonder what else there is that can be turned off prior to parking to help, maybe the stereo or auto wipers?

IF 16 days is normal then not ideal but I will need to find a solution somehow as I can go on holiday for a month 1 or 2 times per year.

[R11ysf]

I've just seen the Ctek CS Free had dropped £50 overnight. I've ordered that and some battery clamps to run it as a trickle charger off a spare battery I have.

I'll let you know how I get on, I'm away for 2 weeks soon so I'll charge it all up and see what happens.

[R11ysf]

Unfortunately in central London I'm not close enough to get a panel in to direct sunlight. I did buy a 50W panel and put it directly under a fluorescent strip but it didn't work!

[R11ysf]

I thought I'd give an update on this.

I bought a Ctek XS Free. It is similar to a booster, but doesn't do it in 1 big jolt which could upset some of the electrics, it doers a 15 minute slower charge so the battery has the power to start on its own. It doesn't work as a trickle charger without being connected to the mains or to a slave battey.

I've just come back from 12 days in South America and I made sure the XS Free was full and an old spare TVR battery I had was fully charged. The TVR battery was actually the same spec as the 488 by coincidence but they battery is used and a good 5 years old. I linked it up so it was using the spare as the source for the trickle charge and while I was away for 10 days the battery was reading 13.3v/13.2v so the trickle charge was working as expected. Day 11 it jumped to 13.5v so I'm guessing that the spare battery was out of juice to work as a trickle charge source. I'm presuming then the XS free used its internal battery to boost charge the car battery until empty. Now a full 12 days after leaving the car is reading 13v and the XS free is empty and they spare battery is drained showing 11.1v with a meter.

So there you have it, an old car battery and an XS free will keep everything going fo 12 days and then your car will drain as normal, so with a bit of luck you could leave the car 3-4 weeks and still be ok.

[R11ysf]

Hahahahaha! Well interpret it how you like but it you need to go away for 3-4 weeks and still want your car to start i think this has it covered!