A couple of weeks ago, I asked about storing my son’s Eunos (Mazda MX5 mk1) for 3 months; thanks for all the useful advice on that. Things changed slightly last week when a friend drove it back to our house so that it can now be stored close-at-hand on our (almost flat) drive in front of the garage and an electricity supply.
My son had ordered a new ‘all-over’ cover for the car – but would it be better to just use a ‘cockpit’ cover as recommended by Manatee?
I discovered the battery in the boot, and it appears to be one of those small ‘gel’ types. I’ve got a Lidl ‘Ultimate speed’ charger that works fine on conventional batteries; would it be OK to used that for charging – or is it necessary to invest in something a bit more sophisticated - a Ctek (MSX 5.0?)?
As I can’t get the car in the garage, I’m a bit concerned about the battery freezing. Is there any sort of small heating device that can be placed in the boot close to the battery? Something like an inspection lamp with a 40w bulb? Or am I likely to set the car on fire? - I don't think that would go down too well!
Thanks.
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Not sure about the lamp idea, can you just not stick a hot water bottle in the boot close to the battery before bedtime if you know it going to be chilly that night?
I would test by putting a pop bottle full of cold water in the boot and seeing if that freezes. If not, no problem.
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If battery freezing was a problem then every car parked outside during the Winter would be in trouble.
I don't know the freezing temperature of battery electrolyte, but I wouldn't worry about it.
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I can't imagine the charging system on the car being any different, regardless what battery is fitted. Being a 1991 car, I suspect it started out life with just a bog standard sulphuric acid battery and the gel battery fitted at some point in the future.
As to the battery freezing. I think you're unnecessarily worrying. Cars are left out in all weathers, on old airfields (by car manufacturers), drives, etc. 3 months is nothing.
Alternately, take it off the car and store in the garage. Charge when you think it necessary.
Last edited by: VxFan on Fri 16 Oct 15 at 09:53
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If we didn't have enough with glue sniffing, Manchester police have caught two boys drinking battery acid. They say they will be charged in the morning.
;-)
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"They say they will be charged in the morning."
Didn't this feature on the ''mouldy old jokes' thread several weeks ago?
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My son's MX5 was about the same age as yours.
The gel battery is a standard fit on those. It won't freeze, his was left out in all weathers with no problem. We also used a normal charger when required.
HTH
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I meant to add, check the battery vent tube is in place and routed to the outside. It is meant to dump any fumes through the bottom of the battery well. It's easy to displace it.
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"My son's MX5 was about the same age as yours.
The gel battery is a standard fit on those......................"
Thanks for the comment - that's very reassuring.
H
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>>Didn't this feature on the ''mouldy old jokes' thread several weeks ago?
I must be going a bit Armel.
:}
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>> If we didn't have enough with glue sniffing, Manchester police have caught two boys drinking
>> battery acid. They say they will be charged in the morning.
>>
>> ;-)
>>
But are the police positive?
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>>But are the police positive?
Dunno about that, but I am positive about the fact that some are AC/DC.
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If the car is being stored for 3 months,then I would disconnect the battery.Just remove the earth lead.This will ensure there is no battery drain.If it is an original gel type battery,then it could be a Panasonic make.I would use a Ctek charger.As for the car cover,I would be careful to ensure it is a good quality breathable fabric,otherwise you could end up with damaged paintwork from sweating/bubbling.I leave my MX5 outside with no cover,and no problems.Just rinse down the hood a few times to prevent build up of crud/mould.
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Sorry Haywain I missed this thread.
The Lidl charger is fine to leave connected, assuming it's this (the usual) one:
www.lidl-service.com/static/2844174/52513_GB.pdf
The point about battery freezing is that charged batteries don't freeze; only if it goes flat is there a possibility of the electrolyte freezing. At 20% charge for example the freezing point for lead acid batteries is about -7 degrees C. I don't know about the gel type, I suspect mine has been flat and survived that sort of temperature but I wouldn't guarantee it.
The answer is either to remove it or keep it charged. I just leave the CTEK or the ALDI charger I have (similar to the LIDL one) connected, as the car only gets used every week or two for much of the year and hardly at all in November-March.
The only difference I have found in use between the CTEK and the ALDI ones is that the ALDI one is baffled by a completely dead battery. The boss's battery went flat (not used for a fortnight with a consumer left plugged in to the permanently live accessory socket) recently. The ALDI one did nothing. The CETK had it charging in a couple of minutes, and fully charged by the next day.
As carmalade says, the original battery was a Panasonic. Mine is a Westco which is a very common replacement (they are £100, the Pana is dearer).
Last edited by: Manatee on Mon 2 Nov 15 at 15:03
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"The Lidl charger ..........."
Thanks - yes - mine is exactly the same charger as that one. I charged the battery last week, I'll do it again in a few days. I know this is a 'piece of string' question, but would very two weeks be sufficient to keep the battery in good, topped-up order?
The Ctek charger is about 4x the price of the Lidl one; I see they are stocked by Eurocarparts - who occasionally come up with some very good prices - I'll hang on while the Lidl is working. I've fancied a Ctek ever since my Aldi charger packed up a couple of years ago.
I tried to identify the make of the battery when I first hooked up the charger - I couldn't see whether it was a Panasonic or a Westco. I suspect that the side with the name was next to the bulkhead and I wasn't sufficiently keen to take the battery out just for that. Are there any other features, especially from the top, that would aid identification?
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Frankly for 3 months I'd just disconnect the battery. And then as and when I got around to it, simply reconnect and run the car a bit before disconnecting again.
I've left cars in airport car parks that long and they've never come to any noticeable harm - and nobody knows the battery (and therefore alarm) is disconnected.
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>> I know this
>> is a 'piece of string' question, but would very two weeks be sufficient to keep
>> the battery in good, topped-up order?
The risk is that there is some sort of drain if the battery is connected, the point carmalade made. But mine seems to hold a reasonable charge for at least that long.
I'd either leave the charger connected, or disconnect the battery at the earth strap; maybe remove it altogether if you don't plan to start or use the car at all.
>> The Ctek charger is about 4x the price of the Lidl one;... I've fancied a Ctek ever since my
>> Aldi charger packed up a couple of years ago.
Mine has the ALDI one connected just now; I swapped the it for the CTEK when I used that to get the boss's dead battery charging. The MX5 has survived at least one winter connected to the ALDI one.
>> I tried to identify the make of the battery when I first hooked up the
>> charger - I couldn't see whether it was a Panasonic or a Westco.
I mistakenly told you mine was a Westco - I'd forgotten that the one I ordered a while back was for friend down the road (I got the club discount). Mine is a Panasonic. It has the same yellow label and white numbers on the top as this one:
i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee372/Rayzpix/IMG_1687.jpg
I think it might be original.
The Westco is completely different - I think the one I got looked like this:
www.mx5parts.co.uk/battery-westco-mk1-25-p-635.html
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I'll have another look in daylight tomorrow, but I'm virtually certain that the battery looked like the Panasonic.
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"I'll have another look in daylight tomorrow..."
Yes - it's definitely a Panasonic battery (looking from the top) unless there are very convincing copies available!
I was reluctant to disconnect the battery because there's a 'Selca alarm' (immobiliser?) fitted and I don't really want to upset that. I wasn't sure if there was a coded radio as well, though my son has just Facetimed from Dubai and he was able to tell me that he'd fitted the radio himself and there was no code associated with it.
I was interested to read the information sheet given for the Westco battery - a different type again, as you say, and appearing to have its own particular requirements. The 'AccuMate' charger was recommended - is that, in essence, any different from a Ctek? They also make claims that the Westco is 'better' (?) than the Panasonic.
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Car was out the factory with a Panasonic battery.I am sure Mazda consider this to be excellent quality,as is a Ctek charger.My Bentley Continental has a maintenance charger supplied from new in the tool kit.It is a Ctek charger with a Bentley sticker on the top.If it's good enough for them.......
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>> "I'll have another look in daylight tomorrow..."
>>
>> Yes - it's definitely a Panasonic battery (looking from the top) unless there are very
>> convincing copies available!
>> I was interested to read the information sheet given for the Westco battery - a
>> different type again, as you say, and appearing to have its own particular requirements. The
>> 'AccuMate' charger was recommended - is that, in essence, any different from a Ctek?
One is gel, the other agm. A typical smart charger will cope with either. I'd avoid the snowflake setting with a gel battery though as it uses a higher voltage IIRC.
Old type basic chargers (Halfords, 1977 in my case) just applied a constant voltage and the current would drop as the state of charge increased; as long as the charger was connected the same voltage was applied, and the initial charging current could be quite high depending on the rate available from the charger.
Smart chargers have minimum three modes:
- Initial constant current mode, in which the voltage rises as the battery absorbs more charge. This prevents the battery getting too high a current initially.
- Then constant voltage, during which the current gradually falls and the battery is brought to full charge.
- Finally pulse (trickle charge) mode, which will keep the battery at full charge without causing it to gas or overheat.
I spent a lot of time looking into this a few years ago when we had some problems with batteries on a boat - I can't recall all the technicalities and advice now, but my MX5 battery has survived long periods connected to both the Aldi charger and the CTEK at different times despite it being the Panasonic gel type which don't like high charge rates (neither of my chargers is capable of more than 3.6/3.8 amps according to the specs).
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Thanks for the comments; interesting to learn that Bentley supply Ctek chargers as a standard item.
"I spent a lot of time looking into this a few years ago"
It seems to have become a much more complicated topic if you want to get it right. In the 50s, when I was a lad, and my dad used to be decoking a cylinder head on the kitchen table while we worked round him - eating tea or doing homework ...... battery/charger choice appeared simple. It was, more or less, Lucas or Exide batteries and a charger that looked like the business bit of a valve-radio - held captive in a metal cage. Nowadays there are several types of batteries, many different brands, and a multiple choice of chargers all claiming to do everything - brilliantly.
BTW, Manatee, you were absolutely correct about the wicking effect of the Moss cockpit cover straps! I couldn't find a way of getting the strap under the corner of the bootlid, so I'd left it in place while I pondered. I looked today and, sure enough, water had started to wick into the boot. There were only a couple of egg-cups full but, given a bit longer, I can see how you could have found 2 inches of water in there. This is a very definite basic design flaw. I now have to think of a non-intrusive way of pinning the rear of the cover down - self-tappers won't do! Actually, I wonder if the wicking could be prevented if the dried strap were impregnated with, say, vaseline?
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>> Thanks for the comments; interesting to learn that Bentley supply Ctek chargers as a standard item.
They also use Citroën's Suspension system.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydropneumatic_suspension
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"They also use Citroën's Suspension system."
After first melting it down? ;-)
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>>"They also use Citroën's Suspension system."
I recall seeing one of these 'car garage' TV programs that showed a Bentley having it's pressure sphere changed. The replacement came in a a sealed bag with the Bentley logo on it, the sphere had Citroen logo on it.
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>> I recall seeing one of these 'car garage' TV programs
Yes, that's the one I saw too. "The Garage" (English Mobile Mechanics) in Spain.
Last edited by: VxFan on Fri 6 Nov 15 at 01:23
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Earlier in the thread, it was mentioned by Manatee that the webbing strap of a Moss cockpit cover for the MX5 was liable to wick water into the boot - alas, I had to discover this for myself. Possibly due to a difference in the boot-lid design between the Mk1 and Mk2 MX5s, I was unable to trap the two straps under the corner of the lid (as per Manatee) ....... and so they just flapped for a couple of weeks while I tried to think of something.
With the threat of high winds and rain towards the end of last week, I decided to impregnate the webbing straps to the boot with silicone grease, followed by a swift burst of silicone spray; the straps were then tucked under the boot-lid as per the manufacturer's intentions. I took the precaution of placing a couple of vessels in the boot to catch any water that might drip from the straps in case my idea failed.
I am delighted to report, and I've just checked again, that the boot has remained dry, with no ingress of water via the straps. YAY!!!
Please don't tell me that silicone grease rots rubber boot seals!
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Good idea! I think silicone grease or oil is actually OK for rubber seals, it stops them drying out, cracking and sticking. Caravanists use it on windows seals.
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Manatee, may I ask what tyres you've got on your MX5? I note that the tyres on my son's MX5 are ageing, and the 10yr old one is horribly perished - I've no idea how it got through an MoT without a quick swap-over with some decent ones. I reckon that I've got to do some re-shoeing before my son gets back.
Thanks.
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Sorry Haywain, must have missed your question.
I put 4 new Vredestein Sportrac 3 on, about two and a half years ago. They are excellent, wet or dry. Far better than the Barum Bravuris/Firestone Firehawk mixture that was on it when I got it, when it had very poor grip on anything but a bone dry surface.
Now superseded by Sportrac 5 I think.
Tyres are cheap in the standard 195/50 R15 82V size.
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Thanks.
Actually, I thought I ought to get a move on as one of the tyres was particularly badly perished, and all 4 were different brands. I mailed my son, who looked on the Blackcircles website and suggested 4 x Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-2 ......... so that's what I got. I didn't think the price was too bad at £227.28 for 4 tyres fitted. I hope they turn out to be OK.
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Mazda MX5 - 91 1.6 Battery charging/care? - nice but dim
