Hi,

 

After over 2 years of my car sitting around the battery has given up. Can anyone suggest a good battery to get and are there any better ones for a car that won't be driven much? What does deep cycle mean on a battery?

 

Cheers

 

Vijay

Hi,

 

After over 2 years of my car sitting around the battery has given up. Can anyone suggest a good battery to get and are there any better ones for a car that won't be driven much? What does deep cycle mean on a battery?

 

Cheers

 

Vijay

 

The best advice I would give Vijay; is buy a budget (say £40) battery and invest in a good trickle charger. If your car isn't a daily runner, I really can't see the point of spending a lot of money on an expensive battery.

 

My car spends long periods in the garage and since I have installed the trickle charger, I've had no problems at all. Battery is always tip top whenever I go to start the car. It never used to be the case. If my car was standing for 4 weeks, the battery would be knacked.

 

The charger I have is a CTEK, not sure of the model number. I hard wired terminals to my battery, so it's just a case of popping the bonnet when I drive in the garage and plugging it in.

 

Best £50 I've ever spent mate.

Model number: CTEK Multi XS3600 Battery charger and conditioner.

 

http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/Store/Product/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=104&gclid=CP_rsobG0pgCFQwDGgod-Wka0w

 

 

You also have the option of buying a plug in adapter for your cig lighter instead of connecting to your battery terminals.

The best advice I would give Vijay; is buy a budget (say £40) battery and invest in a good trickle charger. If your car isn't a daily runner, I really can't see the point of spending a lot of money on an expensive battery.

 

My car spends long periods in the garage and since I have installed the trickle charger, I've had no problems at all. Battery is always tip top whenever I go to start the car. It never used to be the case. If my car was standing for 4 weeks, the battery would be knacked.

 

The charger I have is a CTEK, not sure of the model number. I hard wired terminals to my battery, so it's just a case of popping the bonnet when I drive in the garage and plugging it in.

 

Best £50 I've ever spent mate.

 

Yup; I agree with Steve.

 

Plus when my ZX is locked in my garage I do not set the alarm. Any aftermarket Cat-1 system must automatically immobilize the car independently of the alarm being set anyway.

 

I just lock the car using the key and leave the immobilizer to do its stuff - that way the alarm system does not drain the battery either.

 

Richard:cool:

Yup; I agree with Steve.

 

Plus when my ZX is locked in my garage I do not set the alarm. Any aftermarket Cat-1 system must automatically immobilize the car independently of the alarm being set anyway.

 

I just lock the car using the key and leave the immobilizer to do its stuff - that way the alarm system does not drain the battery either.

 

Richard:cool:

 

Do you use the same trickle charger Richard?

 

I didn't used to activate the alarm because it used to drain the battery, however, I can now switch it on. The CTEK conditioner allows me to alarm the car and keeps the battery at the top of it's charge.

 

PS. Sorry to hyjack your thread Vijay

Do you use the same trickle charger Richard?

 

I didn't used to activate the alarm because it used to drain the battery, however, I can now switch it on. The CTEK conditioner allows me to alarm the car and keeps the battery at the top of it's charge.

 

PS. Sorry to hyjack your thread Vijay

 

No I don't think so; I forget the make - I think it's gathering dust somewhere in the garage or loft. I moved house 3 years ago and my new garage does not have power so it got "put away" and you can guess the rest.......:nelson:

 

Richard:wack:

i got no lecky to my garage wish i did so i could benefit from one of those.:(

 

dan.

funnily enough i was chatting with a work mate about these this afternoon - my (almost new) battery went dead after merely 7 days of non-use, so obviously there's a problem with the car somewhere. he recommended these ctek battery conditioners too

i use the same charger as Steve on my vert (lives in garage), the TT i have a solar pannel trickle charger in the window (lives on drive)

 

but back to the origonal question.....

 

standard car batteries (lead acid) are designed to produce a high current to start your car. they have a limited life which comes down to how many times it can be recharged, the more you empty the battery each time the less recharges you get.

a standard lead acid battery is designed to not be let run below 50% charge without seriously shortening its life

 

Leisure batteries (generaly using a gel) designed for caravans etc are designed to withstand being run a lot emptier or "deep discharged" or "deep cycled" but cant produce high starting currents needed to start your car

 

Marine batteries are a good compromise with high current capabilaty but deep cycle abilaty too (happy to run to 75% discharged) , but they cost more

funnily enough i was chatting with a work mate about these this afternoon - my (almost new) battery went dead after merely 7 days of non-use, so obviously there's a problem with the car somewhere. he recommended these ctek battery conditioners too

 

it doesn't take much to discharge a battery,

 

here's some figures :

 

 

as an example the stock zed battery is 65AH, you only want to discharge a lead acid battery to 60% of its capacity to avoid damage ie 39AH

a single LED will draw aprox 20mA which is 3.36AH per week

 

39 / 3.36 = 11.6

 

so with just a single LED on you dont want to leave a zed for more than 11 1/2 weeks without charging the battery

 

my zed with only a car alarm, head unit and sat nav conected draws just over 200mA when off and locked (ie 33.6 AH per week) so on a stock battery it would need to be recharged every 8 days

 

 

bear in mind also that an alternator will never charge a battery fully so you may be starting with only 80 or 90% charge in the battery

 

also with lights, wipers, heating, stereo on you can easily be drawing nearly as much current as the alternator provides and on short journeys the charge put back in may be the same or less than the charge used to start the car

Edited February 10, 200916 yr by ianl

Cheers Guys.

 

My Z will be on my front drive so leaving it on trickle is not an option. They had these batteries in Costcos today but were £120 :( http://www.boschautoparts.co.uk/pcBatt8.asp?c=2&d=1

 

By the way, they have those CTEK chargers for £30 in Costcos at the moment ;)

Cheers Guys.

 

My Z will be on my front drive so leaving it on trickle is not an option.

 

 

use the sun

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12V-VOLT-CAR-BATTERY-CHARGER-SOLAR-PANEL-POWER-NEW_W0QQitemZ220294370892QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Gadgets?hash=item220294370892&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

By the way, they have those CTEK chargers for £30 in Costcos at the moment ;)

 

Bargain!

Do those solar panels really work? I had one and it didn't help much with an older battery :(

Do those solar panels really work? I had one and it didn't help much with an older battery :(

 

a bit but not enough, takes 3 weeks for my battery to go flat rather than one

my zed with only a car alarm, head unit and sat nav conected draws just over 200mA when off and locked (ie 33.6 AH per week) so on a stock battery it would need to be recharged every 8 days

 

is it really that bad? ok granted ive got loads of electronics in mine - stereo, footwell neons, boost controller, SAFC2, RSM, indiglo clocks, lit rear panel, and of course cat 1 security - when i use it during the week (20 miles a day) there's no problem, its just sluggish to start after a weekend, and cos ive not used it during the snowy weather, its just died.

i bought myself another new battery so ive always got a spare, got it back, had the bonnet up in the cold and dark earlier on this evening, and the bloody terminals are the wrong way around, so whichever way round the battery fits in, either the +ve or the -ve leads won't reach :xxx: i asked specifically for a 300zx one as well

What sort of warranties do batteries come with, 12 months?

Just fit a battery isolation switch. Sorted...:D

What sort of warranties do batteries come with, 12 months?

 

Depends. I have 3 powerful amplifiers in mine and they wouldn't give me 12 months warranty because of them.

Might get the Bosch one from Costcos then as they offer a 4 year warranty, just have to see if it's the right size.

What sort of warranties do batteries come with, 12 months?

 

Just bought a Bosch Battery today came with 3years Warrenty!

 

Might get the Bosch one from Costcos then as they offer a 4 year warranty, just have to see if it's the right size.

 

Place i bought it from today was a Bosch Battery i think it was Type S4(IIRC) and it was a hefty 85quid :(

Costco only have the S5 and S6 battery. I take it the S4 is a good fit?

What sort of amps need to be trickled into a battery to keep it charged?