How to best charge a car battery without a driveway....
Discussion
Hi everyone,
I don't use my car that much and when I do it's usually pretty short trips bar the occasional motorway jaunt. I don't have a driveway and have to park on the road by the house, so short of getting a very long extension lead, I have no real access to a power supply to use a trickle charger.
Ideally I would like to just put the car on charge once per week just overnight or during the day but I'm not sure how to go about doing this? I used to have a (very good) ctek charger but since I moved house I sold it because I figured I couldn't really use it.
Any thoughts? Car is a Lexus LS460 so the battery is a fairly big one to churn over the engine plus a fair amount of electrics in the car.
Thanks!
I don't use my car that much and when I do it's usually pretty short trips bar the occasional motorway jaunt. I don't have a driveway and have to park on the road by the house, so short of getting a very long extension lead, I have no real access to a power supply to use a trickle charger.
Ideally I would like to just put the car on charge once per week just overnight or during the day but I'm not sure how to go about doing this? I used to have a (very good) ctek charger but since I moved house I sold it because I figured I couldn't really use it.
Any thoughts? Car is a Lexus LS460 so the battery is a fairly big one to churn over the engine plus a fair amount of electrics in the car.
Thanks!
Whilst I agree the car could sit for a while..... I do use it a few days a week when I don't cycle to work, that's only 2.4 miles each way..... So the car may do 8x2.4 mile trips in a week and only cover 10 miles. I'm pretty sure that would drain the battery more than just not leaving the car.... Wouldn't it?
Cheers!
Cheers!
TyrannosauRoss Lex said:
Whilst I agree the car could sit for a while..... I do use it a few days a week when I don't cycle to work, that's only 2.4 miles each way..... So the car may do 8x2.4 mile trips in a week and only cover 10 miles. I'm pretty sure that would drain the battery more than just not leaving the car.... Wouldn't it?
Cheers!
Any chance you could charge it at work?Cheers!
The solar battery maintainers are handy. The 12v sockets in my dads car are constant live so he puts his on the parcel shelf and plugs it in when he gets out of the car at work. His commute is just under 2 miles. I’ve no doubt the amperage draw on your Lexus is a lot more than my dads old Passat, but you could go for a larger solar panel and see how you get on?
sunbeam alpine said:
Sorry if it's a stupid question, but is it a big job to take out the battery on a Lexus?
You could charge it in the house and would be a very effective theft deterrent!
That's a pretty good suggestion, but it's a reasonable faff (involves removing several trim pieces under the bonnet) and it's also a pretty heavy old thing as it's a battery for a 4.6 engine. I think that removing the battery would also reset all of my settings such as saved radio stations, clock time etc etc You could charge it in the house and would be a very effective theft deterrent!
but otherwise yes, that would be a good idea! TyrannosauRoss Lex said:
Do the solar chargers require the cigarette lighter to remain live with the vehicle locked? I'm not sure if any of them in the LS460 do this?
It’s not mandatory, they usually come with a set of cables with croc clips or some to hard wire in even. The issue being you have to run them out of the door seal or through some sort of grommet in to the engine bay.Plugging it in to the 12v outlet was just the most convenient in my dads car.
Perhaps buy one of those decent mini portable battery packs, some have leads with clips that can be attached and remain attached to the battery terminals and The other end with quick attach/release connectors could be feed though the plastic covers on the Lexus. Then you can use the car until the battery struggles, jump it using that and then either
take it for a good run to recharge it
have an extension lead and fast charging mains battery charger and clean/hoover it for an hour or so (this depends on the road/house/neighbourhood)
Buy a second battery and swap it in when the first one needs a jump and charge it indoors.
You aren't leaving it that long between uses, has it let you down much so far. I understand it's not getting much of a run when you do but it would be interesting to know what the minimum usage a car like that needs to just sustain the battery
take it for a good run to recharge it
have an extension lead and fast charging mains battery charger and clean/hoover it for an hour or so (this depends on the road/house/neighbourhood)
Buy a second battery and swap it in when the first one needs a jump and charge it indoors.
You aren't leaving it that long between uses, has it let you down much so far. I understand it's not getting much of a run when you do but it would be interesting to know what the minimum usage a car like that needs to just sustain the battery
Scootersp said:
Perhaps buy one of those decent mini portable battery packs, some have leads with clips that can be attached and remain attached to the battery terminals and The other end with quick attach/release connectors could be feed though the plastic covers on the Lexus. Then you can use the car until the battery struggles, jump it using that and then either
take it for a good run to recharge it
have an extension lead and fast charging mains battery charger and clean/hoover it for an hour or so (this depends on the road/house/neighbourhood)
Buy a second battery and swap it in when the first one needs a jump and charge it indoors.
You aren't leaving it that long between uses, has it let you down much so far. I understand it's not getting much of a run when you do but it would be interesting to know what the minimum usage a car like that needs to just sustain the battery
Hasn't let me down so far..... Until I was in the car last night fiddling about and downloading new stuff over the infotainment system I got fitted with the ignition on for about 45mins until a warning light came on saying low battery take it for a good run to recharge it
have an extension lead and fast charging mains battery charger and clean/hoover it for an hour or so (this depends on the road/house/neighbourhood)
Buy a second battery and swap it in when the first one needs a jump and charge it indoors.
You aren't leaving it that long between uses, has it let you down much so far. I understand it's not getting much of a run when you do but it would be interesting to know what the minimum usage a car like that needs to just sustain the battery
So totally my fault, got AA to use a battery starter thing, it fired up straight away and then I took it for an hours drive.
Cheers.
TyrannosauRoss Lex said:
Whilst I agree the car could sit for a while..... I do use it a few days a week when I don't cycle to work, that's only 2.4 miles each way..... So the car may do 8x2.4 mile trips in a week and only cover 10 miles. I'm pretty sure that would drain the battery more than just not leaving the car.... Wouldn't it?
Cheers!
That’s almost the exact use profile of my Audi S5, never had an issue with the battery in 6 years.Cheers!
It's also worth noting that most of those power banks which are used for jump starting the car won't work as a battery charger or maintainer because they are only 12V output and you need a higher voltage to charge a car battery, usually around 14.5V.
I've seen a few which say they can output 15V and 19V but I'm not sure I would trust them.
I've seen a few which say they can output 15V and 19V but I'm not sure I would trust them.
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