Car Battery

[Poorsh]

My second (Yuasa) battery in 6 months has gone flat on me. I don't want to fit a cutoff switch and want to know what brand people use. I was recommended a Gell based battery, do they last longer?

[Demort]

If 2 batterys have gone flat in 6 monthes then you probably have a drain on your car or possibly a chargeing fault , it would be worth getting it checked before fitting another battery.

Even Porsche batterys last 2 years !

[Poorsh]

Probably more to do with not driving it I suspect.

Demort said:

If 2 batterys have gone flat in 6 monthes then you probably have a drain on your car or possibly a chargeing fault , it would be worth getting it checked before fitting another battery.

Even Porsche batterys last 2 years !

[Demort]

Lol fair enough

[gsewell]

If you don't drive often, then get a battery conditioner.

[Demort]

A bit of info on Gell batterys ..

http://www.batterystuff.com/kb/articles/battery-ar...


Gel Cell Batteries are typically a bit more costly and do not offer the same power capacity as do the same physical size AGM battery. The Gel Cell Battery excels in slow discharge rates and slightly higher ambient operating temperatures. One big issue with Gel Batteries that must be addressing is the GEL CHARGE PROFILE. Gel Cell Batteries must be recharged correctly or the battery will suffer premature failure. The battery charger being used to recharge the battery(s) must be designed or adjustable for Gel Cell Batteries. If you are using an alternator to recharge a true Gel Cell a special regulator must be installed. - See more at: http://www.batterystuff.com/kb/articles/battery-ar...


Sounds like in your situation a special regulator would need to be installed and i dont think it will be that benificial for you to fit one.

if you have no way of running a trickle charger then either a cutoff switch or a jump pack seem to be your only options im afraid.

[andyb]

I'd recommend one of these if you don't have access to mains for a trickle charge:

http://www.batterybrain.co.uk/productspage.php

[AW10]

The battery brain is an interesting idea but...

- they don't give a power consumption figure - it must draw *something*
- depending upon the car installation can be a bit of a faff if space around the battery is tight and how difficult it is to run the engine sense wire
- if your insurance requires the alarm to be used then you have to wire the alarm through the bb which is a bigger faff and defeats the purpose as well?

So more convenient than a manual battery disconnect but not without its own drawbacks

[andyb]

AW10 said:

The battery brain is an interesting idea but...

- they don't give a power consumption figure - it must draw *something*
- depending upon the car installation can be a bit of a faff if space around the battery is tight and how difficult it is to run the engine sense wire
- if your insurance requires the alarm to be used then you have to wire the alarm through the bb which is a bigger faff and defeats the purpose as well?

So more convenient than a manual battery disconnect but not without its own drawbacks

More a further question rather than an answer, but is your insurance impacted if the battery is flat (and hence the alarm won't work)?

[anonymous-user]

I have several cars I don't use a lot as I walk to work and it is not uncommon for cars to stand for 2 months, I don't use race type battery cut of switches, except on the cars that need it for race rules, the springs in these switches corrode and deteriorate, especially cheap ones. For road cars I use the cheap screw tupe off ebay, that go on the earth, with a large 10mm thread and a big plastic knob, they are under a fiver and great, have one on the 944 and the BMW, simple to use, the wife can do it and never had a problem.
If you are not using the car a lot then you will drain a battery even of all is perfect, clocks alarms and ecu's use power all the time, the only problem with a cut out is you loose the memory in the computer, and the clock needs resetting.