Battery Charger

[cumbrialass]

I love driving my Celica but it isn't used every day. (The Rav may not be as much fun but is more practical) But I usually get it out for a good run every 8-10 days or so. Last week the Battery was flat (because of my being on holiday it hadn't been driven enough) I called the AA. The Battery is ok, just needed a quick boost. The AA bloke suggested getting a Battery booster pack. I have no idea which is best. Any suggestions?

I asked the man at Halfords but he was a bit offhand. What I want is something for emergencies. Last time we had a bad winter and the car was snowed in I just ran the engine for 20 minutes and this kept the battery charged. but this is using up petrol.

What should I be looking to buy?

Can you get something to check if the battery is needing to be charged before it is too flat?

Can you charge the battery without having to run the engine?

I'd be grateful for any suggestions& advice. And yes the obvious one is to get the Celica out and drive it more often!!

[Scarlett Arrow]

Hi, Kath.

I strongly recommend one of these, IMO they're fantastic value for money.

Your timing could be impeccable too, as they only come on sale occasionally, but are available for a short time as from today.

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/SID-1D84377C-B473705E/www_lidl_uk/hs.xsl/our-offers-2491.htm?action=showDetail&id=6203

If you have any questions on this charger..fire away :)

[Mooly]

Similar type of product here,

http://cpc.farnell.com/clarke-international/atc12v/12v-auto-trickle-charger/dp/CP04507

Without going into to much technical detail... a car Battery would take around 120 to 150 hours to recharge from totally flat with a device such as this but these kind of devices are safe to leave on for extended periods.

Sounds to me like your Battery is just gradually becoming discharged due to lack of use as you say. Although running the engine has the ability to quickly charge the Battery, in practice it doesn't because an older but otherwise healthy battery can't "accept" what is available and just charges slowly. So a trickle charger like this would solve the problem. Maybe just use it for a few days every three or four weeks or so. That would keep the battery charged.

Make sure you have no aftermarket alarms/audio stuff etc that could be draining that battery too. We have an 10 year old Corolla that is still on the original battery and that has covered only 26K from new. Battery still turns it over like new even after standing for a few days.