keepin it live
Discussion
sad to say the poor old chim isn't daily runner these days. And even with a spankin new battery , trickle charge is needed so we are always ready to rumble (half life of sufficient charge is about 10 days)
But wot a flippin pain is crawling into footwell to connect/disconnect charger to b/t terminals? especially for mrs adove recovering from c section birth recently (new post - 3 up in a chim with a baby seat...?)
Is there somewhere under the bonnet i can hook up more accesible?
Apologies if RTFM is an easy answer - but i can't remember WTF I put TFM!!!
But wot a flippin pain is crawling into footwell to connect/disconnect charger to b/t terminals? especially for mrs adove recovering from c section birth recently (new post - 3 up in a chim with a baby seat...?)
Is there somewhere under the bonnet i can hook up more accesible?
Apologies if RTFM is an easy answer - but i can't remember WTF I put TFM!!!
adove said:
sad to say the poor old chim isn't daily runner these days. And even with a spankin new battery , trickle charge is needed so we are always ready to rumble (half life of sufficient charge is about 10 days)
But wot a flippin pain is crawling into footwell to connect/disconnect charger to b/t terminals? especially for mrs adove recovering from c section birth recently (new post - 3 up in a chim with a baby seat...?)
Is there somewhere under the bonnet i can hook up more accesible?
Apologies if RTFM is an easy answer - but i can't remember WTF I put TFM!!!
But wot a flippin pain is crawling into footwell to connect/disconnect charger to b/t terminals? especially for mrs adove recovering from c section birth recently (new post - 3 up in a chim with a baby seat...?)
Is there somewhere under the bonnet i can hook up more accesible?
Apologies if RTFM is an easy answer - but i can't remember WTF I put TFM!!!
Just run two cables from your battery into the engine bay and mount them on the front chassis rail....or to the starter motor. then you can attach battery charger or trickle charger to these...or mount the battery in the boot...
There are loads of options available to you.
I have the same problem.
I had to jump start my Chim again this morning. Put a new battery in a couple of weeks ago but the alarm / immobiliser seems to gobble up the juice.
I know it’s because I don’t use her enough but I travel by train 5 days a week and she sits there sulking?
Why is it that the Audi can sit there for the same amount of time and it always starts?
I had to jump start my Chim again this morning. Put a new battery in a couple of weeks ago but the alarm / immobiliser seems to gobble up the juice.
I know it’s because I don’t use her enough but I travel by train 5 days a week and she sits there sulking?
Why is it that the Audi can sit there for the same amount of time and it always starts?
Edited by whiplash on Thursday 1st March 08:54
Your ciggie lighter should be live with the ignition off. Just plug the trickle charger into that.
If you need a fast charge then don't do this as the wires are not up to the load. In this case you can connect it via the alt terminal, if you don't want to remove the batt, but be VERY careful as its easy to get a short with all the bare metal around.
If you need a fast charge then don't do this as the wires are not up to the load. In this case you can connect it via the alt terminal, if you don't want to remove the batt, but be VERY careful as its easy to get a short with all the bare metal around.
adove said:
Is there somewhere under the bonnet i can hook up more accesible?
My car's on the drive in front of the garage, so I needed somewhere accessible to mount it with the car secure.
Does your car have the facelift front without the grille? I mounted the Anderson connector for the jump leads on the same panel under the front edge of the bonnet that the screen washer reservoir filler is mounted on. The Optimate charger connector is 'piggy-backed' off this. Both connectors are now accessible with the car locked, but they're also out of sight and out of the weather.
The positive lead is connected to the starter motor terminal, the negative lead is connected to the chassis at one of the anti-roll bar mounting points.
Cider Andy said:
[quote=adove] I mounted the Anderson connector for the jump leads on the same panel under the front edge of the bonnet that the screen washer reservoir filler is mounted on. The Optimate charger connector is 'piggy-backed' off this. Both connectors are now accessible with the car locked, but they're also out of sight and out of the weather.
The positive lead is connected to the starter motor terminal, the negative lead is connected to the chassis at one of the anti-roll bar mounting points.
The positive lead is connected to the starter motor terminal, the negative lead is connected to the chassis at one of the anti-roll bar mounting points.
Errhm! That will work without a doubt, but I would be unhappy about having thick cables effectively connected to the battery right at the front of the car.
In the event of even a low speed crash it sounds as though they could short out, or have you covered that possibility?
tvr keith said:
Cider Andy said:
[quote=adove] I mounted the Anderson connector for the jump leads on the same panel under the front edge of the bonnet that the screen washer reservoir filler is mounted on. The Optimate charger connector is 'piggy-backed' off this. Both connectors are now accessible with the car locked, but they're also out of sight and out of the weather.
The positive lead is connected to the starter motor terminal, the negative lead is connected to the chassis at one of the anti-roll bar mounting points.
The positive lead is connected to the starter motor terminal, the negative lead is connected to the chassis at one of the anti-roll bar mounting points.
Errhm! That will work without a doubt, but I would be unhappy about having thick cables effectively connected to the battery right at the front of the car.
In the event of even a low speed crash it sounds as though they could short out, or have you covered that possibility?
What about all the people that have mounted the battery in the boot...surely they will have a similar concern?
And just for the record the petrol tank is the FIRST solid thing that is hit in a rear end smash!!!
tvr keith said:
In the event of even a low speed crash it sounds as though they could short out, or have you covered that possibility?
No, I hadn't, but I'm not overly concerned. Many cars have the actual battery mounted right at the front corner of the car (not Chimaeras, obviously). Even the Leven kit has the connector mounted on the chassis rail right behind the radiator which presents a similar risk. I suppose it's a question of where do you draw the line? In any accident I'd be more worried about my own fate than that of the car!
It's a good point, though. Perhaps a 200A fuse is in order....
adove said:
cheers everyone. I will google accumate. Erm, and the reason the audi doesn't behave like the tvr is because its an audi, not a tvr !!!
www.thegreenreaper.co.uk/ShowDetails.asp?id=973
I use the Draper battery master,bought it from Halfords.I've took off the croccodile clips and replaced them with a plug to use the ciggy lighter socket.If your car is kept outside you could probably extend the wire and route it into the car under the velcro on the hood.This way you can lock and alarm the car.
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