If I were to buy a mains trickle charger for the Volvo 12v battery, are there any particular recommendations? I can see prices from about £30 to £70 on Amazon for these things, but don't really know what I'm looking at/for in terms of specs.
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Friends who have classic cars which tend to sit in garages for long periods of time, speak well of CTEK.
Auto Express tested several a while ago:-
www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/45009/ctek-mxs-36-battery-charger-review
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The caravan battery and the motorcycle battery are connected to Aldi chargers. They sense how much charge to give but they switch off after a power cut, unlike a C-Tek charger. Good value at about £15 I'd say, but you have to wait for them to arrive in the shop.
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Down on the allotment I have a 12v battery that I use for pumping water and powering a range of 12v tools, it sits all year in the greenhouse connected to a small solar charger, it's been there 3 years now and has never gone flat! (and it gets a lot of use)!
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I have an Aldi version too but have not used it much.
I believe that they are all great at keeping a battery fully charged.
IIRC they do not work if the battery voltage is too low.
It appears they need to detect a certain number of volts to start working.
If your battery gets significantly discharged the the old style charger is needed
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Ive had a CTEK for a number of years. Works fine when I leave my car at home for several weeks. Other people would probably just disconnect the battery but I think that involves resetting stuff when you reconnect.
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I use a CTEC 5.0 charger occasionally during the winter. I disconnected my battery recently as my car lost the plot on battery charge level and the stop start did not work. Normal service was resumed on battery reconnection. I did have to switch the tablet type thingy on but it had retained the radio, Bluetooth phone link and speed dials, contacts etc. It also retained the settings in the car menues for all the cars systems.
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Thank you, contributors. Looks like a CTEC is getting the votes.
This is for the Volvo, now kept in the garage and run perhaps once or twice a month at best. It had not been run for about three weeks this time, and at the weekend it popped up a "Low battery" warning. Started and ran fine (warning vanished immediately), and not seen the error since, now it's had a run. Taking it on holiday in a day or two so it will get some running there too.
However, I thought a mains trickle charger might be judicious. I could of course replace the 12v instead/as well.
Out of interest, spoke to the dealer this morning to see the absolute worst price it could be to replace the battery.
Ahem.
£135 per hour "diagnosis" first.
£106 for the battery.
Another £135 per hour fitting charge.
Refused to be drawn on how many hours (they thought they could get away with charging for) - but minimum half hour blocks.
I guess the reality would actually be just buying one over the counter somewhere that isn't the main dealer and doing it myself (oh, watch all the pretty computers reset and crash). Even so, it makes a charger look like a good investment, if it buys me some time. Even if it doesn't, it will come in for another car at some point no doubt.
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A " battery conditioner " like the Ctec is ideal for your needs.
Shop around for a quality replacement battery and fit it yourself.
There are small battery powered units that you attach to the terminals to retain all the computer settings etc.
a Google search for car battery memory will list a lot.
www.halfords.com/advice/motoring/service/halfords-car-battery-fitting-service.
A simple low risk job ?
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I often leave my car and previous ones for weeks or several months. The only time I have ever had a problem was when I connected a solar charger and it then wouldn't start. I got a refund and went back to doing nothing.
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>> £135 per hour "diagnosis" first.
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>> £106 for the battery.
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>> Another £135 per hour fitting charge.
That is barefaced theft when they can get away with it - surely only the vulnerable can be paying up.
Halfords will do it for a modest fee I think, and can probably keep the voltage on the terminals to avoid the resets.
Incidentally, the CTEKS usually come with plug in leads - you can either use the crocodile clips, which is easy enough, or attached a permanent lead that you can just plug the charger into.
In either case, there is no need to disconnect the battery before charging, and it can be left on indefinitely.
I use one on the MX5.
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>> If I were to buy a mains trickle charger for the Volvo 12v battery,
Why would you, why do you need to. The car charges the battery, the battery lasts 7 years then dies (even if trickle charged)
Where does the trickle charger come into the equation?
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 2 May 17 at 15:57
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Because he doesn't use it much and it has shown a low battery warning.
I suppose the question is whether the battery is knackered (replace and hope that is a fix) or whether it is not getting enough charging for the number of starts it is doing and the background drain.
It could be both. I've got a bit lazy about putting the charger on the MX5 since I put a new battery on it and it's been fine even with infrequent use and short jouneys, so it seems likely that was part of the problem even before it became useless.
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>> Because he doesn't use it much and it has shown a low battery warning.
But it started. I'll be dumping the Volvo at Gatwick parking for three weeks soon. No chance to trickle charge it there, but I full expect it to start no problem.
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I, too, have a CTEC. Wonderful little charger.
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>> Why would you, why do you need to. The car charges the battery, the battery
>> lasts 7 years then dies (even if trickle charged)
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>> Where does the trickle charger come into the equation?
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I agree. I have four vehicles, two sometimes not started for a month or longer. Good batteries don't go flat in that time, and as soon as the engine starts it recharges the battery in short time. Two of mine have old generator systems over fifty years old, they work perfectly.
If the battery goes flat it's either a dud battery or something isn't turned off, typically a glove box or boot light or a door accidentally left an inch ajar leaving the interior light on.
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>> >> Where does the trickle charger come into the equation?
>> >>
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>> I agree. I have four vehicles, two sometimes not started for a month or longer.
>> Good batteries don't go flat in that time,
True enough.
However, my post at 11.13 on Tuesday referred to classic cars which, if you have several, may be left for a number of months between starts. Again, how crucial is it if that car won't start? Is there an alternative car that can be used?
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Our old Audi Convertible had been standing for four months; it still started first time. The starter motor wasn't, admittedly, as vigorous as usual, but once it'd been used it was fine! I haven't ever changed tehbattery, although undoubdedly it's been changed a few times in the past.
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There's a constant drain from the high tech alarm/immobilizer/bluetooth seeker/infrared sunroof/driver approach mechanism/SETI search dish/gravity wave analyser.
Or at least, there's a permanently flashing red LED apparently designed to send thieves away screaming with terror.
So something is pulling juice. I expect I will have to replace the battery soon enough, but this charger thing might postpone that a bit. If it buys me six months, the car will probably be sold anyway. If not, so be it. I have a charger I can use elsewhere/resell.
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>>Or at least, there's a permanently flashing red LED apparently designed to send thieves away screaming with terror.
Ditto, on this Hyundai thing I own. (The only one ever left at the airport for any length of time). 4 / 5 weeks is about top whack before it won't start.
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Mains trickle charger? - Duncan
