[lonewolf]

I'm not brave (or stupid) enough to run my gtr again this winter, so I have a run-around instead. I'll be parking the GTR off road, but the battery doesn't last long. I want to keep the battery charged over winter to keep the alarm active, but without tax/mot I can't drive it.

Looking through some very old posts I see solar panel trickle chargers being used with some success. I'm looking at getting one of these: Solar-Powered 12V / 2.4W Battery Trickle Charger: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors

Is that going to be ok? What are people’s opinions of solar trickle chargers?

Is this safe to be permanently attached to the battery or should I wire in a switch? How's best to get the cable from the parcel shelf to the battery? Any convenient holes or do I have to drill?

Thanks

 

[bigchris350]

i have one of thease , it was plugged into my cigarette lighter and didnt do anything from there, i think pluging it straight to the battery would make things better tho but at the mo mine is dead i need to find the crocdiale clips to go straight onto the battery, but yeah they are good mate id recomend one .

 

[Mookistar]

i use one on my 33 and if i leave the car cover on my battery goes flat, so it must work

mook

 

[lonewolf]

Thanks for the info.

Do these things have overcharge protection, or is this not a problem with car batteries?

Thanks

 

[rayman]

Dont waste your time on these, I have tried four different ones. They dont provide enough power to charge the battery. Your battery will just go flat after 2-3 weeks. Best option it to buy a Optima yellow top battery. This will be your best option.

Cheers,

ray

 

[mwebster]

To be honest the battery will still go flat just it will take longer to go flat if the solar charger is connected, depending of course on your alarm system. if you re going to winter the car properly perhaps you should consider using a transit relay(to disconnect the whole power supply) and removing a random but essential part of the car so it cannot be nicked.

 

[furrywoolyhatuk]

i have one of thease , it was plugged into my cigarette lighter and didnt do anything from there, i think pluging it straight to the battery would make things better tho but at the mo mine is dead i need to find the crocdiale clips to go straight onto the battery, but yeah they are good mate id recomend one .

I gave you that!

Just a note, if you have a device running of the 12v feed like a boost controller, if you use the cig lighter to trickle charge it, it will power the boost controller. Best bet, mount it on the parcel shelf, hook the croc clips of and away you go.

 

[ru']

As already stated, solar chargers are fine if you're using your car regularly (just not every day), but as the ciggy lighter is 'off' when the ignition is off they must be wired directly to the battery.

Unless the car was in direct sunlight 24 hours a day there's no way it will keep the battery charged over winter due to constant drains like alarms etc.

A mains trickle charger would be best if you need the alarm powered.

 

[kismetcapitan]

won't a trickle charger need to put out around 2 amps? that's 25 watts or so.

 

[ru']

Alarm current drain etc. shouldn't be more than about 80-100mA imho.

 

[clarky_gtt]

anybody know where to get a decent battery from? i only drive my car around 2-3 times a month and fed up of the battery going flat. Is there a solution?

 

[Swobber]

Ctek battery chargers is something i really can recommend.
We use them for just about everything - Racecars, long term stored cars, fast charging etc.

Check them out on CTEK SWEDEN AB - The smartest battery chargers in the world

 

[dan-hipgrave]

I use a solar panel. Just went to take the car for a spin today after 5 days of not driving it and it turned over very slowly before firing into life. I used it all last winter with reasonable success (flat battery once), but this year looks like its going to be a struggle if I have to drive it at least every 4-5 days to keep the battery topped up. Need a garage with electricity!

 

[Cris]

There are different sizes of panel offering different outputs (or charging rates if you prefer). If the drain on the system is a reasonable percentage of the output of the solar panel you will end up with a flat battery. You've got to remember that the panel will be rated for strong sunlight and in this country in winter you'll get less hours of sunlight and it won't be as bright anyway.

As a thought you could just buy a spare battery and switch them over every other week (charging the spare one at home) if you need the alarm active when laid up.

If it's for shorter periods then one of those jump starter packs would do the trick. Once the engine's running it'll charge up pretty quickly.

 

[clarky_gtt]

can anyone recommend a mains charger as my car lives under a cover, one that i can pop on the battery once or twice a week to keep everything topped up?

it's doing my head in lol!

 

[dan-hipgrave]

You've got to remember that the panel will be rated for strong sunlight and in this country in winter you'll get less hours of sunlight and it won't be as bright anyway.

Thats my problem - any other time of the year, the solar panel will keep it charged up enough that the car can be left for weeks. Over winter, its just a few days before its flat.

 

[Cris]

can anyone recommend a mains charger as my car lives under a cover, one that i can pop on the battery once or twice a week to keep everything topped up?

it's doing my head in lol!

I'll try and get the make and model of the one I've got. It does, trickle charging (safe to leave on), fast charging and an engine start function (if the battery is really low).

 

[dan-hipgrave]

I just spent some money on a beefier Solar Charger. Bye bye 1 watt charger, hello 12watt charger! That should help over the coming winter months. After doing some googling on the subject, there are some very beefy solar chargers out there, including ones that need regulators to prevent overcharging.

 

[Cris]

I'll try and get the make and model of the one I've got. It does, trickle charging (safe to leave on), fast charging and an engine start function (if the battery is really low).

This is the fella (12v obviously) - Ring Workshop Battery Charger Review | 24 Volt Battery Charger | Battery Chargers

 

[clarky_gtt]

crikey, that looks a serious bit of kit lol