Battery discharge prevention
Discussion
I've joined the TVRCC and have started looking for my first car - hopefully a Chimaera. Much advice has been offered about keeping the battery in good condition using an intelligent charger, otherwise no start or even door operation! However, my lockup garage has no power. Does anyone know of any alternatives such as: battery out (takes forever); battery isolator switch (alarm problems, presumably); trickle charge using a 12volt source ie a really big battery that I can take home and recharge weekly; anything else?
I have the same problem in that my garage is some distance from the house and has no power. Last year I left it in the garage over the winter and ran the engine for 20mins once a week and had no problems. This year has been a different matter as I have added the Mod Wise twin speed fan kit. This keeps the fans on until the under bonnet temp has dropped even after the ignition is switched off and my 20 mins a week running has not been enough to keep up with the drain the fans pull. Instead if the weathers nice I will run the car up the road to the house and plug it into the accumate for a few hours - this has worked a treat.
>> Edited by puffsorted2 on Wednesday 22 February 12:31
>> Edited by puffsorted2 on Wednesday 22 February 12:31
I use a Priority Start intelligent battery isolator, which automatically isolates the battery if the voltage drops below 12v with the engine off, and then magically reconnects it when you come back to restart it. This leaves enough life in the battery to start the engine, and protects you from light-left-on type problems as well as just leaving the car too long. You do need to be careful if you need the battery to get into the car though, you need to plan in advance how you're going to get back in. No problem for a Chimaera, but might be more of an issue e.g. for a Cerbera.
jmp0108 said:They aren't as good as a plug in devices. Faced with no other option it's better than nothing.
I know they get bad press but what about fitting a solar powered battery conditioner. It would be simple to extend the wiring so that the solar panel could be fitted to an external south facing wall.
jmp0108 said:
Good idea, but what's the bad press?
In this country there is so little sunlight most of the year that the teeny little solar panels normally used produce negligeable power, not enough to overcome the leakage current on a typical TVR. So you might delay the flat battery slightly, but probably won't prevent it.
I think there are various outputs on different solar units.
I have used one on my 4x4 which is sat in the garage of the road since sept 05 , keeps it topped up and i have been away for a month in that period.
I know the TVR drains quickly, but i am giving it a go with new solar panel on Sunday when i pic it up ( same as the one on the 4x4 ).
They are on offer at Maplins www.maplins.co.uk , £9.99 instead of £20.00.
Worth a go at that price.
I have used one on my 4x4 which is sat in the garage of the road since sept 05 , keeps it topped up and i have been away for a month in that period.
I know the TVR drains quickly, but i am giving it a go with new solar panel on Sunday when i pic it up ( same as the one on the 4x4 ).
They are on offer at Maplins www.maplins.co.uk , £9.99 instead of £20.00.
Worth a go at that price.
The easiest, cheapest and simplist method I have used is the battery isolator switch.
The fancy isolators that sense the battery condition cost quite a lot of money and mine eventually malfunctioned. Who can be bothered with battery chargers and trails of wires.
With a simple battery off switch when the power is turned on the alarm will activate anyway same as if is was being stolen. You could always hide the isolator as extra security.
The fancy isolators that sense the battery condition cost quite a lot of money and mine eventually malfunctioned. Who can be bothered with battery chargers and trails of wires.
With a simple battery off switch when the power is turned on the alarm will activate anyway same as if is was being stolen. You could always hide the isolator as extra security.
A few years back I looked at the prospect of Chimaera ownership with the same sense of anticipation - huge excitement about performance and the driving experience, yet some anxieties about the lack of engineering sophistication that prompted anticipation of living with failures.
The large majority of these have failed to materialize. A discharging battery is one of these. It amazes me that owners are so reluctant to invest in regularly replacing the battery when it costs less than the price of a tankful of Optimax. Struggling to keep a past-its-sell-by-date battery alive with all manner of recharging devices - each with its own significant cost in comparison with a new battery at around GBP40 - seems nonsensical to me. I change the Chimaera's battery every two years - even though I only drive it an average of 3500 miles per year. Without any electrical umbilical it starts first time every time even if I leave it for 4 or more weeks between drives (I'd love to drive it more but business travel just doesn't allow it)
So I would not go into this thinking your Chimaera is going to be sitting there discharging the moment you lock the door and walk away (unless there's a fault that could be found and rectified). If the battery is more than 2 years old replace it (actually at least ensure the battery is the correct one, one of the TVRs I looked at had a sub-spec battery fitted).
The large majority of these have failed to materialize. A discharging battery is one of these. It amazes me that owners are so reluctant to invest in regularly replacing the battery when it costs less than the price of a tankful of Optimax. Struggling to keep a past-its-sell-by-date battery alive with all manner of recharging devices - each with its own significant cost in comparison with a new battery at around GBP40 - seems nonsensical to me. I change the Chimaera's battery every two years - even though I only drive it an average of 3500 miles per year. Without any electrical umbilical it starts first time every time even if I leave it for 4 or more weeks between drives (I'd love to drive it more but business travel just doesn't allow it)
So I would not go into this thinking your Chimaera is going to be sitting there discharging the moment you lock the door and walk away (unless there's a fault that could be found and rectified). If the battery is more than 2 years old replace it (actually at least ensure the battery is the correct one, one of the TVRs I looked at had a sub-spec battery fitted).
Top Chimp said:
I think there are various outputs on different solar units.
I have used one on my 4x4 which is sat in the garage of the road since sept 05 , keeps it topped up and i have been away for a month in that period.
I know the TVR drains quickly, but i am giving it a go with new solar panel on Sunday when i pic it up ( same as the one on the 4x4 ).
They are on offer at Maplins www.maplins.co.uk , £9.99 instead of £20.00.
Worth a go at that price.
Any luck?
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