Battery chargers

[Michael-Pinner]

Hi

I have a 1988 XJ-S and in these lockdown and rather colder days its spending longer and longer not being driven. As a result the battery is running out.
Are these trickle charger a good idea and if so do you need to get a special one or will a common or garden variety do?

cheers

Michael

[JimMann]

Hi Michael, I suggest a decent battery conditioner / charger as opposed to a 'common or garden variety'. The unit I recommend is the Ring Automotive RSC 612, which is usually on special at Halfords / Amazon. This unit works for the larger size engines and can do a lot more than just trickle charge the battery - options for testing and memory when changing battery in the future.

Jim

[AndyF]

Hi Michael

Just thinking about the issue another way - one if the things that kills batteries in cars not used for a long time is the quiescent drain on the battery caused by the alarm etc. Even the clock pulls a small current.

So, rather than using a battery conditioner or repeated charging, I tend to fit a simple thumb wheel battery isolator to disconnect the battery when not in use. It is then only a moment, without tools, to reconnect it when you come to use it. See example below:

https://richbrook.co.uk/product/discarn ... er-switch/

This version has a small by-pass for the alarm - I would leave this out. The downsides for XJS installation?: the thumb wheel can sometime fight the battery cover and cause it not to sit flat... and it means that the car is stored unlocked/unalarmed. No problem in an integral garage with an alarm, but no good if stored somewhere less secure.

If not this route, then Jim's suggestion is a good one!

AF

[ptjs1]

Michael

I use Ctek mxs 5.0 conditioners on all my cars when laid up. You need a decent conditioner that maintains the voltage within defined limits not just a straight charger.

Look around for pricing as there seem to be big variations.

Good luck

Paul

[davidr]

Michael - like Paul I keep my cars on a battery conditioner when they are parked up which gives me full confidence that the battery is in top condition and the car will start without issue. This is particularly relevant to my XKR as poor battery condition will cause all sorts of spurious fault codes and dashboard warning lights.
In my view, the battery on a V12 is rather small considering the amount of energy needed to turn such a large engine over. The XKR battery for example is much larger capacity. Therefore I think it's important that the battery is up to scratch.
I also agree with Paul that a battery conditioner is the way to go as that will keep your battery healthy as well as topped up. I have put a permanent wire to the batteries in my cars so it's a very simple job to connect and disconnect as I wish. This is certainly easier than disconnecting the battery or trying to get access to an isolator.

[Michael-Pinner]

Thank you to everyone ewho replied so swiftly to my query... but let's face it we're none of us out and about right now..... #lockdown.

That is a lot of food for thought and i will look into all these options - this is great - just what the club is for.

stay safe.

Michael