Technical Car/Motor Issues > Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? Accessories and Parts
Thread Author: Dulwich Estate Replies: 20
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 Mon 26 Sep 11 19:59 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - Dulwich Estate
A 82 year-old, but handy, lady I know doesn't drive enough to keep the car battery charged and has asked me to recommend a battery charger. She isn't capable of disconnecting the battery, but can easily use crocodile clips, and certainly isn't clueless about polarity, gases and sparks.

To be safe, when I have charged a battery, I have always disconnected the battery as I think some cheaper chargers can screw up sensitive electronics. Right or wrong ?

Anyway, so perhaps some sort of smart charger/conditioner may be the way forward.

Over to the eminent panel............

Grrrr....PS The drop down boxes are daft for this sort of query (sorted it for you)
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 26 Sep 11 at 21:16
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 Tue 27 Sep 11 02:07 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - -
As recommended by the good chaps here, CTEK smart charger.

But keep an eye open for Lidl's or Aldi's smart chargers when they come up, i have a Lidls's £12.99 charger that whilst looking very slightly different to, is switched identically to and does exactly the same job as my CTEK 3600 @ roughly £40.

I never disconnect any more whilst running either of these, once you've sussed the switching it's easy peasy, my CTEK came with an extra set of connectors so it can be semi permanently wired in to the battery, simply connect the male/female connector, might be worth it for her convenience.

Top girl, long may she keep her independence, give her our best and invite here for a chat, might keep some of these boys in check.

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 Tue 27 Sep 11 11:05 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - VxFan
>> i have a Lidls's £12.99 charger

I got a trickle charger for my motorbike for £4.99 from LIDL a couple of years ago. Similar models in the bike shop were £33+ at the time.

I think the one you're referring to is the Tronic T4X SE / KH 3033

www.kompernass.com/pages/_pdfs/83bdeb16f64ba875b573bcc358d1bfa0.pdf

EDIT

or it might have been the Tronic KH 3157

www.kompernass.com/pages/_pdfs/c55299c63c23a2368a1b8190820ac4b2.pdf
Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 27 Sep 11 at 11:17
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 Tue 27 Sep 11 12:55 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - -
>> I think the one you're referring to is the Tronic T4X SE / KH 3033
>>

That's the one, but the one i bought is labelled Ultimate Speed, model no TX4SE instead of Tronic, and has a proper 3 pin plug instead of the shaver connector shewn..;)

You've just had me scurrying into the garage in me dressing gown to check, not a pretty sight, and me Lidl's jobbie does have those croc clips that are bolted to eye connectors, so it could be semi permanently fixed in place if required.

Thinking about it, if DE bolted 2 wires with eye connectors to the battery, with an inline fuse in the live close as poss to the batt terminal in case of a problem ( admit i sometimes use a push in fuse and two female spade connectors on it's blades for such if that makes sense) and an irreversible connector to the free ends, the same at the battery chargers end, DE's game old girl (no offence.;) wouldn't need to ponce about getting the battery cover off or anything, simply plug in both ends, press 'mode' button till the desired light illuminates and away you go.

Could even feed the wires through (safely, the same as if you were putting a feed for a bass box to the boot) and put the connector somewhere she wouldn't have to lift the bonnet, connector inside the car might be prudent, that way she'll see it and not jump in and clear off to karate classes.

Does any of that make sense, i know what i mean..;)

Breaking and reconnecting the 12v connections, not the 240v ones....
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 Tue 27 Sep 11 15:50 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - Dulwich Estate
Thanks (1) Mods: for Subject correction and (2) Panel: for reminding me of the past discussion of this topic.

This charger will be definitely recommended, but I'm not sure she can wait until the next Lidl special day - whenever that may be. The £40-ish cost isn't critical.

The idea of two purpose made connections instead of dodgy crocodile clips is a good one. The car is kept in a garage (as all elderly people seem to do ! !) so keeping the bonnet open during charging isn't a problem and in fact is useful as any gases will be more easily dispersed and it would be pretty difficult to drive off with the bonnet up.
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 Tue 27 Sep 11 18:41 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - swiss tony
>> The idea of two purpose made connections instead of dodgy crocodile clips is a good
>> one.

I would use those crimp on male/female connectors, of different sizes on positive and negative terminals so they cannot be swapped over.
Male on charger and female on battery to prevent shorts.
Edit... in fact female on the live side of the battery, male on the earth...that should also prevent shorting the charger....
Last edited by: swiss tony on Tue 27 Sep 11 at 18:43
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 Tue 27 Sep 11 21:06 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - Victorbox
Another vote for the CTEK range especially as they are waterproof for outdoor use: tinyurl.com/4392dfp
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 Thu 29 Sep 11 17:05 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - madf
tinyurl.com/67vknlr

is great and simple to use.

Not disconnected a battery to charge one in 20 + years.
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 Fri 30 Sep 11 16:36 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - henry k
May I suggest again to RTFM re disconnecting a charger.
Certainly the Focus manual is very specific re this aspect and is IMO not guessable.

A smart charger may be less of a risk.
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 Fri 30 Sep 11 20:32 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - Dulwich Estate
The CTEK XS3.6 12v 4 Step Battery Charger has been ordered. £46 at Amazon via Battery Megastore.
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 Sat 1 Oct 11 13:34 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - -
Excellent, that'll do the job nicely.

One thing you mentioned though DE, leaving the bonnet open whilst charging might mean having to leave the car unlocked if the alarm or locks have a wobbly, just have to experiment with that one a bit.

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 Mon 3 Oct 11 12:54 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - spamcan61
Aldi have one of their battery chargers in the special offers starting Thursday:-

www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_20978.htm?WT.mc_id=2011-10-03-10-21
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 Tue 4 Oct 11 10:46 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - Fursty Ferret
I've always used rapid chargers in the past without disconnecting the battery. So has my dad. Never a problem, and it's hard to see how it might damage* the car in the first place.










*Unless she forgets to remove the charger before starting the engine and driving away!
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 Tue 4 Oct 11 21:47 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - henry k
>> I've always used rapid chargers in the past without disconnecting the battery. So has my
>> dad. Never a problem, and it's hard to see how it might damage* the car
>> in the first place.
>>
The instructions in my MKII Mondeo handbook
" To reduce voltage peaks, switch on the blower and heated rear screen in the vehicle with the flat battery "
" Do not switch on the headlight in place of the heated screen, The peak voltage could blow the bulbs"
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 Thu 13 Oct 11 15:24 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - ike
I dont know alot about chargers, pls enlighten me :)

How long does it take for a charger to go empty if dont use it, and just keep it in your car?
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 Thu 13 Oct 11 19:42 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - Dog
>>How long does it take for a charger to go empty if dont use it, and just keep it in your car?<<

If you dont empty it it should stay fool, better keep it at ohm

:)
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 Mon 7 Nov 11 12:25 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - Dulwich Estate
Report and Update:

The set up is easy and the pack includes a permanently connected lead going from the two battery terminals and ending in a very neat rubberised plug with a click-on cap. This lead, about 18 inches long, and after use can be easily tucked away at the side of the battery with no worry about shorting out etc. Then it's a simple matter of finding it and connecting the charger lead whenever you need it without disconnecting the battery.

The charger display is simplicity itself and apart from the price it's a lovely bit of kit I'd recommend.

Being a cheapskate, I bought the LIDL £14.99 version for myself a couple of weeks back and used it for the first time this weekend. The instructions say to disconnect the battery before charging which is totally the opposite of the £46 job - does it matter I wonder. It also doesn't include the extra lead which kind of follows.

The box is near enough identical with a couple of cosmetic differences but the Mode Button is just as on the £46 job. I'm happy enough but still just a tad anxious about using it when the battery is still connected.

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 Mon 7 Nov 11 13:41 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - Slidingpillar
To charge a battery requires more than the 13.8v a fully charged battery is at rest. As some car electronics is always connected - the advice to disconnect the battery protects it.

I've had my Avo across a battery when I've connected one of the low rated 'intelligent' chargers and to my mind the car would see more volts in normal engine running, alternator battery charging service. But a boost charger may well put out a bit too many volts.
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 Mon 7 Nov 11 13:54 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - R.P.
Optimax 4 is their only charger that can be used with CANbus bikes/cars. They're expensive bits of kit but worth it - one is on its 4th winter, the other on its second winter - so the cost per annum is negligible. Both bikes are hard-wired with external connectors and they remain on charge all winter. A case of Unplug and play !
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 Mon 7 Nov 11 20:40 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - Falkirk Bairn
>>Optimax 4??????????????

Optimate 4 - optimax was the old name for Shell V-power (IIRC)
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 Mon 7 Nov 11 20:45 
 Charging a connected car battery - OK or not? - R.P.
Optimate - er...blush !
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