Battery Charging?

[PaleMelanesian]

It's fun in the Fiesta. It plays a little "tweedle-dee" chime every time you handbrake.

[frv]

That could get a bit irritating Andrew!

[Right Lane Cruiser]

Originally Posted by frv

That could get a bit irritating Andrew!

That's what wire cutters are for.

[frv]

I've been running around on same battery since last post - borrowed a charger in March and gave it a full charge last time I hadn't used it for a while and then this happened this morning.

I'd decided I'm was going to get myself a charger for the week when I'm not using my car through car-pooling to make sure it starts OK when it's been sitting all week not being used but now I'm not sure whether just to get another battery now I've looked at how much they are!

I've probably been doing even more FAS and P&G than I used to!

[Right Lane Cruiser]

Hi, Gord – are you sure it isn't a parasitic draw from an accessory? My Elantra drains after sitting for a while but I don't know what causes it as I have no reference to compare to – it used to be driven nearly every day and I never had issues when it didn't sit longer than 3 days at a time.

You could try unplugging the Scangauge after it goes into hibernation mode to see if that is the culprit. Otherwise, have you done any other electrical modifications to the car? Mine has a remote start system installed and that might be the problem for that car.

[frv]

Hi Sean - I haven't got SG, I've got a UG - it's always possible that could be slowly drawing it. Does anyone know what happens if you unplug it - does it lose all the mpg, trip, etc. info. I don't really want to unplug it until I finish this tank as I'm pretty sure it will be a record for me

Since April 20th to 26th, I only did 26.2 miles in multiple small trips and a fair few of the miles the engine was off too, then it was parked on the drive for 4 days in torrential rain until this morning so I've probably stressed the battery a bit.... maybe the charger would be the best bet, I've found a few with good reviews at a better price now!

[some_other_dave]

In the MINI world, the UG is known for spuriously waking up again after the car is shut down. It wakes up several other systems on the car, which drains the battery relatively quickly. The problem seems specific to the UG and the MINI, but there is some possibility that your car might be encountering similar problems.

There is a setting that will help, and supposedly is a cure for the problem on some cars, but it doesn't fix the problem on the MINI.

-soD

[frv]

Cheers Dave, I came across some posts about the Mini/UG issue while I was looking around for stuff.
My neighbour has lent me a charger and I've got it on charge now. It started at 50% and 11.7V. He's been clearing out his garage, I've never seen so much stuff! He had 3 chargers, a Sinclair C5, endless tools, etc. You can actually see the floor now. He's retired and has been at it for 2 weeks now

[frv]

Right. It's now indicating full charge. My little plug in gauge says it's 12.8V now so I'll check it in 10 hours when I set off for work tomorrow morning. Hoping do do my usual 5 FAS in the first 1.2 miles to first car pooler pickup!

[herm]

How about leaving a solar charger in the car?.. this baby can put out 1A in full sunlight.. perhaps in the rear shelf if you have a sedan.

http://www.amazon.com/Sunforce-50033.../dp/B001RJOP5Y

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