Battery isolator
Discussion
Has anyone tried fitting a battery isolator to their Chim?
I was thinking of one of the little self contained units that clamps onto the battery terminal rather than a permanent MSA-style unit.
Something like this: http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/148/...
The only thing is, I know from getting jump leads in there that space is quite tight in the footwell, so I'm hoping it will fit.
I was thinking of one of the little self contained units that clamps onto the battery terminal rather than a permanent MSA-style unit.
Something like this: http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/148/...
The only thing is, I know from getting jump leads in there that space is quite tight in the footwell, so I'm hoping it will fit.
I have a battery switch hidden in the upper footwell/dash area which uses the removable 'red key' type. This had already been fitted by a previous owner and to my horror I found it had been fitted on the positive side and with the wires just stripped back and wound around the terminals and about to short onto the dash frame! Another 'specialist' job, I wonder how much the tosser charged for that little liability!! All done properly now and no more flat batteries.
Chris71 said:
Has anyone tried fitting a battery isolator to their Chim?
I was thinking of one of the little self contained units that clamps onto the battery terminal rather than a permanent MSA-style unit.
Something like this: http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/148/...
The only thing is, I know from getting jump leads in there that space is quite tight in the footwell, so I'm hoping it will fit.
A number of the guys recommend something called Battery Brain - google it?I was thinking of one of the little self contained units that clamps onto the battery terminal rather than a permanent MSA-style unit.
Something like this: http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/148/...
The only thing is, I know from getting jump leads in there that space is quite tight in the footwell, so I'm hoping it will fit.
Do remember that with the battery isolated you won't be able to lock or alarm the car, nor open the boot, nor open the doors if yours is a later car - but you knew that....
QBee said:
Chris71 said:
Has anyone tried fitting a battery isolator to their Chim?
I was thinking of one of the little self contained units that clamps onto the battery terminal rather than a permanent MSA-style unit.
Something like this: http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/148/...
The only thing is, I know from getting jump leads in there that space is quite tight in the footwell, so I'm hoping it will fit.
A number of the guys recommend something called Battery Brain - google it?I was thinking of one of the little self contained units that clamps onto the battery terminal rather than a permanent MSA-style unit.
Something like this: http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/148/...
The only thing is, I know from getting jump leads in there that space is quite tight in the footwell, so I'm hoping it will fit.
Do remember that with the battery isolated you won't be able to lock or alarm the car, nor open the boot, nor open the doors if yours is a later car - but you knew that....
I'm fairly happy with that routine. The garage is pretty secure and if the car is out and about I'd hope it would have enough charge in the battery. Had a quick Google of the Battery Brain and not sure I need the remote control functionality etc. but interested to hear if there are any benefits I've overlooked.
I guess it wouldn't be too difficult to wire up a 'key' type one and hide it under the dash or somewhere, but the terminal-mounted one just struck me as a very simple solution.
On a related note, has anybody got any battery recommendations?
Edited by Chris71 on Wednesday 11th February 12:39
Battery recommendations? Yes. Change it!!
I had a knackered old battery for months, kept finding it flat when i wanted to use the car. In the end I changed it, never looked back. Car now always starts first time.
I went to my local battery place and got the old one tested, and an Exide Excell fitted for about £85. When it came to it, I was told by the chart that it needed a type 072 battery, but when we tried to fit it (I was helping the guy with the nuts under the car) we found that it was physically the wrong way round (positive terminal on the left with the terminals facing you), so he took it back and got an 073 out of the stores and that fitted fine.
I know you can get the same battery about £15 cheaper from my local car spares place, so if all you need is a change of battery to fit yourself, go find one cheaper, but make sure that you look at the position of the positive terminal on the old one before you go/order ( I think on mine it was on the near right hand corner with the battery terminals closest to me) so that you get the correct orientation.
Others also recommend Varta, amongst various makes. I would simply say buy quality and enough cranking power. The battery is not that expensive, and is essential for your enjoyment of the car. Look at how much misery it is already causing you?
You will now get 50 other recommendations....sit back and enjoy.
I had a knackered old battery for months, kept finding it flat when i wanted to use the car. In the end I changed it, never looked back. Car now always starts first time.
I went to my local battery place and got the old one tested, and an Exide Excell fitted for about £85. When it came to it, I was told by the chart that it needed a type 072 battery, but when we tried to fit it (I was helping the guy with the nuts under the car) we found that it was physically the wrong way round (positive terminal on the left with the terminals facing you), so he took it back and got an 073 out of the stores and that fitted fine.
I know you can get the same battery about £15 cheaper from my local car spares place, so if all you need is a change of battery to fit yourself, go find one cheaper, but make sure that you look at the position of the positive terminal on the old one before you go/order ( I think on mine it was on the near right hand corner with the battery terminals closest to me) so that you get the correct orientation.
Others also recommend Varta, amongst various makes. I would simply say buy quality and enough cranking power. The battery is not that expensive, and is essential for your enjoyment of the car. Look at how much misery it is already causing you?
You will now get 50 other recommendations....sit back and enjoy.
Chris71 said:
But mine has a rather tired battery currently and it's almost always flat by the time I get a chance to use it
How long does it last before it's flat?There seems to be a prevailing acceptance that a Chimaera's battery goes flat in 2 weeks - TADTS. Well, no they don't! A healthy battery, fitted in a car whose electrics are working as they should, will last for weeks on end, even with the alarm activated.
If yours has gone flat more than once or twice, then it really will be on its knees because car batteries hate being deeply discharged and never fully recover. It will let you down sooner or later - you'd be well advised to get a new one.
Dr Mike Oxgreen said:
Chris71 said:
But mine has a rather tired battery currently and it's almost always flat by the time I get a chance to use it
How long does it last before it's flat?There seems to be a prevailing acceptance that a Chimaera's battery goes flat in 2 weeks - TADTS. Well, no they don't! A healthy battery, fitted in a car whose electrics are working as they should, will last for weeks on end, even with the alarm activated.
If yours has gone flat more than once or twice, then it really will be on its knees because car batteries hate being deeply discharged and never fully recover. It will let you down sooner or later - you'd be well advised to get a new one.
The battery life has never struck me as brilliant and it's been run into deep discharge several times as a result.
The car has been a bit of a garage queen lately so it's hard to say exactly when it goes flat, but I'd say it was less than a fortnight. My S3 wasn't brilliant either, but I had a Porsche 924 in between that would stay charged for months on end.
If I was having something like this I would have the battery brain with the remote.
It allows you to set the battery brain the moment you have left the car, whereas its own sensor waits for the voltage to drop far enough to warrant isolating the battery.
Then switch back to battery when you come back to the car.
It also saves grovelling in the footwell to press the reset button
It doesn't have any form of backup battery, so you would still need to re-set the clock.
I don't know if the car will stay locked after you have locked it and then activated the battery brain.
Nor do i know if your alarm will work.
Know what i would do? Fit a new battery and "have" to drive it every week......big smiles time. And no problems with flat batteries. I have not had a flat battery since I left my headlights on for 12 hours back in 2013.
It allows you to set the battery brain the moment you have left the car, whereas its own sensor waits for the voltage to drop far enough to warrant isolating the battery.
Then switch back to battery when you come back to the car.
It also saves grovelling in the footwell to press the reset button
It doesn't have any form of backup battery, so you would still need to re-set the clock.
I don't know if the car will stay locked after you have locked it and then activated the battery brain.
Nor do i know if your alarm will work.
Know what i would do? Fit a new battery and "have" to drive it every week......big smiles time. And no problems with flat batteries. I have not had a flat battery since I left my headlights on for 12 hours back in 2013.
QBee said:
Know what i would do? Fit a new battery and "have" to drive it every week......big smiles time. And no problems with flat batteries. I have not had a flat battery since I left my headlights on for 12 hours back in 2013.
I've been making a concerted attempt to do that ever since I revived the car over Christmas. The thing is, I'm at my desk for upwards of 10 hours a day, I have a three-hour round trip commute and I often have to work weekends. The rest of the time I have a two-week old son to help look after... Even ignoring the salted roads and the occasional snow storms it's proved virtually impossible to take it out. In fact, I'm seriously looking at selling the car later in the spring, but I want to get a bit more use out of it first.
It's kept in a locked garage, so I don't even bother arming the alarm most of the time and I have no idea when the clock last told the correct time. Neither of those things really bother me at the moment, so the mechnical isolator just seems like a simpler solution, assuming it's okay with cranking current, space for installation etc.
I had my immobiliser bypassed as it was playing up and I couldn't be bothered to have it repaired. The doors wouldn't lock then as the fob had nothing to talk to, so I fitted a battery brain (which I ended up ordering from USA as they were out of stock on the website). Took 10 mins to fit, and I think no immobiliser and a remote battery isolator works well. Doors won't open once I click the button as the solenoids have no power. No more having to press the fob to prime the fuel pump if I get timed out by the immobiliser, nothing draining the battery. My clock has always gone backwards anyway so no loss there! Makes you feel like you're going really fast when you arrive at a destination before you set off 
rickprice said:
If you have a garage, why not have a trickle charger?
I've got one. Unfortunately since moving house I no longer have a power supply in the garage. An extra long extension lead trailed across the neighbours' drive and posted through the kitchen window does the tricky occasionally.I've had a Battery Brain on my car for over three years and its a brilliant bit of kit. Dead lock the car, press the Battery Brain fob, walk away.
I use my car very frequently and now have mains in my garage so the battery is always on charge, but I still use the Battery Brain more out of habit than anything and it is of course an additional level of security.
However, my mate who also has a Battery Brain regularly leaves his car without use for up to six months, he has no mains power in his lockup so no trickle charging for him. He just returns to his car after months of inactivity, presses the Battery Brain fob to reconnect his battery, unlocks his Chimaera and drives away.
If your battery is already on its last legs the Battery Brain won't help you, but fit a decent new battery at the same time you fit the Battery Brain and your batter will not only last for years, you can be 100% sure the car will always start even if you've left the car for six months or more.
And there's an additional feature that everyone can benefit from, if you just leave the Battery Brain to do its thing it'll monitor your battery and automatically disconnect it if the voltage falls below a certain level that ensures there's always enough left to start the car.
If you leave your lights on, your interior light stays stuck on or there is any other drain you'll always know the car will start.
Like I say, the Battery Brain is a brilliant bit of kit and I'm honestly surprised we don't all have one.
I use my car very frequently and now have mains in my garage so the battery is always on charge, but I still use the Battery Brain more out of habit than anything and it is of course an additional level of security.
However, my mate who also has a Battery Brain regularly leaves his car without use for up to six months, he has no mains power in his lockup so no trickle charging for him. He just returns to his car after months of inactivity, presses the Battery Brain fob to reconnect his battery, unlocks his Chimaera and drives away.
If your battery is already on its last legs the Battery Brain won't help you, but fit a decent new battery at the same time you fit the Battery Brain and your batter will not only last for years, you can be 100% sure the car will always start even if you've left the car for six months or more.
And there's an additional feature that everyone can benefit from, if you just leave the Battery Brain to do its thing it'll monitor your battery and automatically disconnect it if the voltage falls below a certain level that ensures there's always enough left to start the car.
If you leave your lights on, your interior light stays stuck on or there is any other drain you'll always know the car will start.
Like I say, the Battery Brain is a brilliant bit of kit and I'm honestly surprised we don't all have one.
OleVix said:
phazed said:
Battery isolator fitted more for working on the car but I occasionally switch the power off in winter when it's not being used, (I leave the boot open 
).
Just wondering... ins't weight high up considered bad for handling?).These batteries are about half the weight of a lead acid battery so I'm not worried at all.
I'm with Phazed on this and the small competition battery can be left for a long time without losing any charge if the isolator is on. Just make sure that you press the blupper on th alarm fob when turning on and all is well. Magic-- for those who have a secure store but no electictity an excellent solution.
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