Prius Battery...trickle Charge?

[barrycoll]

apropos of Prius 12v Battery issues...are there any sophisticated trickle chargers , that can be used from a driveway to keep the 12v topped up, when left for a month or so.??

it would have to be a simple connect & forget type fitment, and not taking the Battery out of the car....

http://reviews.argos.co.uk/1493-en_gb/7404881/reviews.htm

argos sell this RAC Smart charger, and I am tempted

any thoughts, anybody??

barrycoll

[barrycoll]

these seem to be the neatest of them all....

http://www.ctekchargers.co.uk/index.php

my thoughts are to leave the unit connected, taking a lead through the cabin the the drivers footwell, and only connect up when leaving the car for an extended period

.......?????

barrycoll

[barrycoll]

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/144037-prius-gen3-12v-battery-trickle-charging/

looks like this topic has been covered before.......quite recently!

[valmiki]

I bought a smart Battery charger from LIDL that cost about £15, does all the above, and have used when the car has been parked up for a few days at a time. Mostly used during the winter months when the 12v Battery takes extra load.

I left the Battery in place when charging, didn't do any harm :-) p.s. that was my thread :-)

[Edit] Here's a link to the one I used

[barrycoll]

http://priuschat.com/threads/prius-v-trickle-charge-12v-battery.104086/

and in priuschat too.........maybe I should look first!

[barrycoll]

sounds like there are a lot of very cautious folk with this topic....well done for surviving armageddon Valmiki

[Sagitar]

We have been here several times before. A search will bring up a lot of stuff.

The Toyota main dealer from whom I bought the car recommended this one:-http://www.amazon.co...r/dp/B000R5936U

It comes with a two-pin plug and socket that attaches permanently to the Battery and enables a connection inside the boot with the charger on the garage wall.

I bought it because my pattern of use of the car tends not to charge the 12v Battery adequately at times.

[barrycoll]

do you permanently connect the unit up to the red and black terminals of the 12v in the car Sagittar???

as the power supply is in my forecourt, I would need to position the unit under the drivers seat, and take a mains lead out under the drivers door......

would this work, in your opinion

thanks barrycoll

[Sagitar]

The output side of the device terminates in a two pin socket. There are various connectors that plug into this socket. If you want a temporary connection you can do it with a connector with a pair of crocodile clips.

The connector that I use connects directly and permanently to the 12v Battery terminals. The free end has a two pin plug that connects to the socket on the device. You can locate the free end anywhere you like within the limits of the length of the connector. Mine is in the boot, just above the Battery and I connect to it from outside the car where my charger is mounted on the garage wall.

The output cable on the device has a quite small cross section and I have no difficulty in closing the boot with the cable in place, but I prefer to leave it open (with the interior light switched off) when charging.

If you are going to leave the charger inside the car, you will need to bring the mains input cable through the door seal and I have never tried that.

You can find all the technical information about connectors etc at http://www.optimate.co.uk/optimate%20technical.htm

[barrycoll]

thanks Sagitar, well described, and easy to replicate

barrycoll

[Opifex]

FWIW I've left the car for 4 weeks several times (I think it was once left 6 weeks) and I've never had a hint of a Battery problem. My only precaution was to read the manual to find out what to do if there was a problem.