Trickle Charger

[COOPS]

Have had my Tamora for a year now and had no signs of any problems with the battery until last weekend that is.
Drove the car approx 2 weeks ago and battery was showing full charge at 13.5v. Should it loose it's charge that quick?

I had a Trickle charger fitted when I bought the car due to the large amount of hassle in getting to the battery in this type of situation(behind the passenger footwell-off with the front wheel) As it was fitted by my dealer no instructions have been provided so I have the following questions:

Can you recharge a nearly flat battery with it.
If so, how long should it take
As it gets very hot, is it ok to leave it plugged in for long periods of time i.e days
once I have charged the battery how regulaly should I be using it to top up

any help from someone out there who is already using theirs would be appreciated
Many thanks
Glenn

[nubbin]

Glenn, back in my Chimaera days I used to hook up the battery to a trickle charger while I went on holiday - it is one of those that switches on and off automatically when optimum charge is reached. I never had any problems.

It sounds like your battery is faulty. Do you get a big voltage drop when cranking the engine (down to 11.5 or less?) If so, the battery is poorly. If not, switch your lights off!!

[simpo two]

COOPS said:

Can you recharge a nearly flat battery with it. If so, how long should it take As it gets very hot, is it ok to leave it plugged in for long periods of time i.e days once I have charged the battery how regulaly should I be using it to top up

It sounds like a battery conditioner which is NOT a simple trickle charger. Conditioners put in milliamps, not amps and switch off when done, then monitor the charge and switch back on as required.

True conditioners can be connected for months (though make sure what you've got first). They are not designed to recharge flat batteries.

It may be that yours is actually a trickle charger, that it has been overcharging the battery and damaged it?

[COOPS]

Just to clarify a few things:
I have NOT had to use the Trickle charger before this weekend.
Trickle charger unit that I have is a standard item sold by most TVR dealers which I have come across.

There was enough charge in the battery to turn the alternator over and set unset the alarm (although when the car is garaged I don't leave the alarm on.

[simpo two]

COOPS said:

Just to clarify a few things: I have NOT had to use the Trickle charger before this weekend. Trickle charger unit that I have is a standard item sold by most TVR dealers which I have come across. There was enough charge in the battery to turn the alternator over and set unset the alarm (although when the car is garaged I don't leave the alarm on.

OK, so it should be a conditioner. Does it say 'Optimate' or 'Airflow' anywhere and does it have a line of LEDs that go from red to green?

From my experiences with TVRs, flat batteries, chargers and conditioners gathered over 7 years and 3 TVRs, it seems most likely (to me) that your battery is simply slowly dying (they do in TVRs). This seems to happen whether the alarm is on or not; the alarm just makes it worse.

The conditioner is supposed to be connected whenever the car is tucked up to keep the battery nice and bouncy. As you haven't been using it, that's probably why your battery is getting unhappy. Conditioners are preventative, not curative.

But you may as well try it and see if it can resuscitate your battery - it make a take a few days.