Keeping my battery topped up

[TVR653X]

My car is currently sat in my mum's garage, as I can't insure it until I'm 21. I'm pretty worried about the battery going dead, so today I started the car up and let it run for a couple of minutes and gave it a littl bit of a rev up to about 3000rpm. The battery meter went up to the 13.5 volts it should be at. Will this keep it from going dead if i do this every couple of weeks? It gets set free in December..... ooo, if anyone fancies a hoon and your int north, gimme a PM or email!

[Wiz]

I'd charge it up every couple of months with a good charger that works on low amps over night. Or buy a trickle charger and leave it for longer.
Starting it up and reving it above 2000rpm within minutes of turnin the key wont do it any favours.

Where are you in the north?

[Dave_M]

If it's in a garage you may be as well to buy a trickle charger, you'd still be advised to turn her over regularly and don't forget to pump the brakes a bit too or you can have problems.

Good luck in December and without wishing to patronise, be careful if you're not used to this type of car as they can catch you out very easily on wet roads etc.

[TVR653X]

What exactly does a trickle charger do? I'm based near York by the way. Also, I intend to take it very carefully with this car, unless I'm in a straight line, at which point the pedal meets le metal!

[Wiz]

Leave the handbrake off as well if its garaged for a while. couple of chocks of wood will save on seized rear brakes.

Your not far from me in York - pm me if you want any help with the car.

Edited by Wiz on Sunday 4th October 20:21

[GreenV8S]

I would advise against running the engine at all, unless you're going to run it for 20 minutes or more and let it get warmed right through. Lots of short runs will allow acids to build up in the crank case and won't do the engine any favours at all. I suggest fill the tank as far as possible (to prevent condensation), connect a battery conditioner, roll the car a few inches every few months to make sure the tyres don't get flat spots. If you're going to leave it literally for years it would be worth taking the plugs out, a CC or so of oil in each cylinder and turn the engine over a couple of times to oil the bores. And leave the handbrake off, wheels chocked.

[Ragtop]

Hello!
A trickle charger in this context is a charger that can be left on indefinitely without overcharging or otherwise damaging the battery. An example (not a recommendation) is:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1279438.htm

I suggest you avoid starting the car unless you are going to allow it to warm up thoroughly.

regards
Graham

[Barkychoc]

If the car is roadworthy it would be far more beneficial to get it insured for someone else to drive - your dad, or someone else you trust. It will be in the order of £150 on a classic policy if they have a decent driving record - I reckon you will be storing up well over that cost of problems if you just leave it standing.

Just a thought.

edited to add give these a call http://www.hagertyinsurance.co.uk

Edited by Barkychoc on Sunday 4th October 21:17

[TVR653X]

Barkychoc said:

If the car is roadworthy it would be far more beneficial to get it insured for someone else to drive - your dad, or someone else you trust. It will be in the order of £150 on a classic policy if they have a decent driving record - I reckon you will be storing up well over that cost of problems if you just leave it standing.

Just a thought.

edited to add give these a call http://www.hagertyinsurance.co.uk

Edited by Barkychoc on Sunday 4th October 21:17

This was an idea suggested but I'm pretty broke as I'm at uni. Also, what happens when it comes to me insuring it in December? Surely I have to take a year's policy for my dad, and then would have to cancel it and begin a new one with me as the main driver?

Also, my dad's chim has been SORNed and put away for the winter, but I don't think he realises all the things he must do before just leaving it stood for 5-6 months. What do you reckon he should do?

Edited by TVR653X on Sunday 4th October 21:26

[TVR653X]

Ragtop said:

Hello!
A trickle charger in this context is a charger that can be left on indefinitely without overcharging or otherwise damaging the battery. An example (not a recommendation) is:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1279438.htm

I suggest you avoid starting the car unless you are going to allow it to warm up thoroughly.

regards
Graham

Would that work for my S and my dad's Chim?

[GreenV8S]

There's no special precautions needed if you're only garaging the car for a few months, other than connect a battery conditioner (or isolate the battery), and ideally fill the tank. It would be better for the car to be driven every month or so rather than left standing, but if it's only a few months it's not something to fret over. Do make sure it stays dry though.

[TVR653X]

GreenV8S said:

There's no special precautions needed if you're only garaging the car for a few months, other than connect a battery conditioner (or isolate the battery), and ideally fill the tank. It would be better for the car to be driven every month or so rather than left standing, but if it's only a few months it's not something to fret over. Do make sure it stays dry though.

Ok, where do I obtain a battery conditioner and how do I set it up? My bonnet cable is snapped so I can't get under the bonnet for the moment....massive ball ache!

[clarenceboddiger]

TVR653X said:

I started the car up and let it run for a couple of minutes and gave it a littl bit of a rev up to about 3000rpm. The battery meter went up to the 13.5 volts it should be at. Will this keep it from going dead if i do this every couple of weeks?

No it won't, you are taking I guess 150A to turn the engine over albeit for a short period, then letting it charge for a few minutes either run it for a much longer period to get the charge back in the battery, or as others suggest get a trickle charger. Lead/ Acid batteries love being charged slowly and will hold the charge better if done this way.

[jimed]

I have a battery conditioner plugged into my S (a CTEK XS800). I've fixed a set of wires which came with it to the battery and just lift the bonnet and plug it in when I get home. It charges the battery until its fully charged then monitors it and only starts to charge again if the battery needs it - that way the battery is fully charged (or close to) all the time so no need to fire the engine up, etc.
As you have a problem opening the bonnet at the moment all is not lost as you can get a connection lead which plugs into the ciggy lighter socket. This is normally connected to the battery even when the ignition is off so you can use it to trickle charge the car without opening the bonnet.
There are other trickle chargers than mine (eg Accumate) which all do the same job so have a look around and see what you can get at the right money. The CTEK one has a 5yr warranty with it for info.
Hope you manage to sort the bonnet out though as you do need to be able to get under there and check everything.
Jim
PS Just a thought re insurance and Hagerty - a normal limited mileage policy (probably cheapest option for you) does not allow driving of other cars - however Hagerty's does allow driving of other cars which are also insured by them so could be worth thinking about for you and your dad.

[TVR653X]

jimed said:

I have a battery conditioner plugged into my S (a CTEK XS800). I've fixed a set of wires which came with it to the battery and just lift the bonnet and plug it in when I get home. It charges the battery until its fully charged then monitors it and only starts to charge again if the battery needs it - that way the battery is fully charged (or close to) all the time so no need to fire the engine up, etc.
As you have a problem opening the bonnet at the moment all is not lost as you can get a connection lead which plugs into the ciggy lighter socket. This is normally connected to the battery even when the ignition is off so you can use it to trickle charge the car without opening the bonnet.
There are other trickle chargers than mine (eg Accumate) which all do the same job so have a look around and see what you can get at the right money. The CTEK one has a 5yr warranty with it for info.
Hope you manage to sort the bonnet out though as you do need to be able to get under there and check everything.
Jim
PS Just a thought re insurance and Hagerty - a normal limited mileage policy (probably cheapest option for you) does not allow driving of other cars - however Hagerty's does allow driving of other cars which are also insured by them so could be worth thinking about for you and your dad.

I take it the trickle charger must be plugged into the mains? Here in lies the biggest problem! My mum's garage has no power! :-/ This is turning into a massive ball ache.

Also, Hagerty won't even look at me as I'm only 20. MSM were the best bet, but only when I'm 21.

Edited by TVR653X on Monday 5th October 11:58

[macL]

I have a Tronic Trickle charger I picked up in Aldi for
very little a couple of years ago
look at http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/2827_11443.ht...
or at Lidl http://www.lidl.co.uk/uk/home.nsf/pages/c.o.200910...
both are on special at the moment
I connected cable to the pos & neg of the battery & ran it into the glove box
I have a two pin cable connector one half on the charger cable and the other on the cable from the battery. When put the car in the garage I just plug it in -works a treat

[klimakool]

TVR653X said:

My car is currently sat in my mum's garage, as I can't insure it until I'm 21. I'm pretty worried about the battery going dead, so today I started the car up and let it run for a couple of minutes and gave it a littl bit of a rev up to about 3000rpm. The battery meter went up to the 13.5 volts it should be at. Will this keep it from going dead if i do this every couple of weeks? It gets set free in December..... ooo, if anyone fancies a hoon and your int north, gimme a PM or email!

i'd recomend removing the battery untill it goes on the road, even charging it slightly and often you will eventually kill a cell or have an acid reflux inside the battery centre cells

[TVR653X]

klimakool said:

TVR653X said:

My car is currently sat in my mum's garage, as I can't insure it until I'm 21. I'm pretty worried about the battery going dead, so today I started the car up and let it run for a couple of minutes and gave it a littl bit of a rev up to about 3000rpm. The battery meter went up to the 13.5 volts it should be at. Will this keep it from going dead if i do this every couple of weeks? It gets set free in December..... ooo, if anyone fancies a hoon and your int north, gimme a PM or email!

i'd recomend removing the battery untill it goes on the road, even charging it slightly and often you will eventually kill a cell or have an acid reflux inside the battery centre cells

So just disconnect the circuit? Will this damage anything in there? There is no immobiliser and the alarm is switched off anyway, so I take it I can just disconnect it, breaking the circuit...no circuit = no current = no battery drain, yes?

[Gerald-TVR]

TVR653X said:

I can just disconnect it, breaking the circuit...no circuit = no current = no battery drain, yes?

Yes but the ECU will reset itself to default if the battery is disconnected for a while, to re-set the ECU you need then to run the engine up to the fan cutting in a couple of times and then all will be well

[Longers]

Welcome to the forum Nicholas.

Thanks for the email, sorry for not having had time to reply over the last week. Can't add much to the above advice, apart from can you post some pictures up of OUR car please....?!

(For those of you that don't know, TVR 653X was the reg of my first ever TVR! http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/members/showcar.asp?c... I saw this user name on one of the threads in the General TVR pages so emailed Nicholas and it turns out he now owns the car).

I cannot add pic's of the car myself cos I didn't have a digi camera at the time.....

It'd be great to know about the current mileage, condition, recent history etc, etc. For info I sold it with just over 90,000 miles on the clock in (I think!) 2002.

If you haven't done it yet, make sure you add your name to the owners list at the top of the forum

Cheers,
Longers