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realspeed
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08-12-2017, 09:17 PM
1

car batteries

Just a quick reminder that during the cold weather there will be more drain on you car battery with heater-lights -sat nav- warm seats led day running lights etc etc
So get out the battery charger and keep it at the peak condition.

I found out today my battery was only half charged on my Nissan Xtrail Tekna. Warnings came up on the front screen that certain electronic parts like stop/start and cruise control become unoperative .

This one in the video this charger is a bit more expensive than the average charger but is far better. It is the one I have and would highly recommend. What the video doesn't mention is if you put the clamps to the battery the wrong way around a red light shows up in the charger, it also comes with an attachment that bolts onto the battery terminals so all you have to do is plug the charger in.




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08-12-2017, 09:37 PM
2

Re: car batteries

Originally Posted by realspeed ->
Just a quick reminder that during the cold weather there will be more drain on you car battery with heater-lights -sat nav- warm seats led day running lights etc etc
So get out the battery charger and keep it at the peak condition.

I found out today my battery was only half charged on my Nissan Xtrail Tekna. Warnings came up on the front screen that certain electronic parts like stop/start and cruise control become unoperative .

This one in the video this charger is a bit more expensive than the average charger but is far better. It is the one I have and would highly recommend. What the video doesn't mention is if you put the clamps to the battery the wrong way around a red light shows up in the charger, it also comes with an attachment that bolts onto the battery terminals so all you have to do is plug the charger in.
Thank you Realspeed, very thoughtful of you. 'Cept I don't have any of the above. I do wish I had the warm seats though. I was only thinking today standing with my bum on the rad, how funny it is that the whole body suddenly warms up when one's bum is warm
realspeed
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08-12-2017, 09:52 PM
3

Re: car batteries

Just been out and taken this photo

As you can see it is at stage 4. That is the charging stage that decreases as the battery gets more charged up .


enlarge photo to read setting



there are 8 stages in all, the last being a maintenance charge which keeps the battery topped up
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Primus1
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08-12-2017, 10:38 PM
4

Re: car batteries

I have a c-tec charger and is very good, mines for the stop start type of battery, although I haven't fitted it to the new car yet
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08-12-2017, 10:49 PM
5

Re: car batteries

Part of the problem with modern cars is that they are now fitted with "Smart Charging" in order to save fuel. In practical terms this means that the battery is never fully charged as with the old system and is only about 80% charged by the engine so connecting even a cheap fixed voltage battery charger does a better job at keeping the battery fully charged.

Fortunately my Isuzu is a bit old fashioned and doesn't have a smart alternator and anyway in an emergency I could use my aux battery to start the engine (and probably stuff the AGM battery up)
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08-12-2017, 10:50 PM
6

Re: car batteries

Originally Posted by Primus1 ->
I have a c-tec charger and is very good, mines for the stop start type of battery, although I haven't fitted it to the new car yet
So is mine, you are .not supposed to use an ordinary battery charger on an AGM battery anyway
realspeed
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08-12-2017, 10:54 PM
7

Re: car batteries

Just got off the phone to a pal in the west midlands and he has half inch of snow and here is is getting near freezing. So car battery maintenance is essential
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08-12-2017, 10:55 PM
8

Re: car batteries

Originally Posted by Pesta ->
Thank you Realspeed, very thoughtful of you. 'Cept I don't have any of the above. I do wish I had the warm seats though. I was only thinking today standing with my bum on the rad, how funny it is that the whole body suddenly warms up when one's bum is warm
Hot water bottle Pesta, it even works when the battery is flat......
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08-12-2017, 11:01 PM
9

Re: car batteries

Originally Posted by realspeed ->
So is mine, you are .not supposed to use an ordinary battery charger on an AGM battery anyway
That is surely referring to a deep cycle battery which is not a car starting battery. Car starting batteries are still the same old lead acid technology otherwise you couldn't fit them to old cars.

Car batteries are high current short duration and should be kept nearly fully charged at all times whereas deep cycle batteries are (relatively) low current batteries which can be discharged to something like 50% capacity without damage.

As I alluded to earlier using a deep cycle battery to start a car would damage the battery.
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Bruce
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08-12-2017, 11:23 PM
10

Re: car batteries

The only problem with the Cmax is that it is just a trickle charger with smart charging; ideal for cars which are not used much. It only charges at a maximum of 5amps and looking at the wires and from experience I would suggest its continuous charging figure would be about 2amps (ish) - yes I know that is not how it works but the maximum charging figure and the actual at bulk charge are usually quite different.

If you had a dodgy battery it would not save you, if that was your aim overnight charging with a less sophisticated but more robust charger would be better.
 
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