Battery charger for Start & Stop car

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by Jiffy, May 5, 2023.

  1. Fat Controller

    Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2012
    Messages:
    27,739
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Public Transport
    Location:
    At me 'puter, GCHQ Ashford Office, Middlesex
    Ratings:
    +52,143
    Another vote for the Ctek here - had the MX5.0 with quick connector fitted to the battery for three and a half years I've had the car. Easy just to plug it in once in a while and it keeps everything happy, particularly with the charging strategies that modern cars use.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • Jiffy

      Jiffy The Match is on Fire

      Joined:
      Aug 25, 2011
      Messages:
      11,609
      Occupation:
      Pyro
      Location:
      Retired Next To The Bonfire in UK
      Ratings:
      +33,522
      Do you have to remove the terimals from the battery?
       
    • clanless

      clanless Total Gardener

      Joined:
      Jan 20, 2013
      Messages:
      3,201
      Gender:
      Male
      Occupation:
      Gentleman of leisure.
      Location:
      North Wales
      Ratings:
      +7,631
      Or, you could go for a car starter - I've had one for a couple of years now - the starter itself is the size of two boxes of cigarettes - I just leave it in the boot of the car.

      I had an older battery in my other car and the starter saved my bottom on a couple of occassion

      As the car is charging the battery then I reckon a car starter is the way to go - it gives peace of mind - when the battery does fail - you have the starter in your back pocket ready to start the car and get you to Halfords.
       
      • Like Like x 1
      • Fat Controller

        Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

        Joined:
        May 5, 2012
        Messages:
        27,739
        Gender:
        Male
        Occupation:
        Public Transport
        Location:
        At me 'puter, GCHQ Ashford Office, Middlesex
        Ratings:
        +52,143
        Depends on the car - on mine, yes I had to. On my mum's Honda Jazz, it was a case of loosening a nut, sliding the eyelet over the bolt and tightening the nut back up for each terminal - battery stayed connected throughout.

        What car are you fitting to?
         
        • Like Like x 1
        • Fat Controller

          Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

          Joined:
          May 5, 2012
          Messages:
          27,739
          Gender:
          Male
          Occupation:
          Public Transport
          Location:
          At me 'puter, GCHQ Ashford Office, Middlesex
          Ratings:
          +52,143
          PS - if anyone does find themselves in the unfortunate position of needing a battery, I would highly recommend Tayna Batteries

          The likes of Halfords, ATS, Kwik-Fit etc will cost you near on double what you would pay from Tayna and they send the battery overnight to you, so you don't have to wait long.
           
          • Agree Agree x 2
          • Like Like x 1
          • Sheps

            Sheps Keen Gardener

            Joined:
            Mar 30, 2017
            Messages:
            436
            Gender:
            Male
            Location:
            West Yorkshire
            Ratings:
            +1,437
            Hi @Jiffy no you don't have to remove the terminals, just undo the nuts, pop on the eyelets, redo the nuts and you are good to go.

            CONNECT EYELET M6

            There are two sizes M6 and M8 so if you go for ctek make sure you get the right size connector.
             
            • Like Like x 1
            • Sheps

              Sheps Keen Gardener

              Joined:
              Mar 30, 2017
              Messages:
              436
              Gender:
              Male
              Location:
              West Yorkshire
              Ratings:
              +1,437
              • Like Like x 2
              • Fat Controller

                Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

                Joined:
                May 5, 2012
                Messages:
                27,739
                Gender:
                Male
                Occupation:
                Public Transport
                Location:
                At me 'puter, GCHQ Ashford Office, Middlesex
                Ratings:
                +52,143
                Euro Car Parts:
                upload_2023-5-6_12-35-54.png

                Tayna:
                upload_2023-5-6_12-36-19.png

                Halfords only have their own brand in that particular size at just over £200, so not as much of a saving as such, but still not to be sniffed at.
                 
                • Like Like x 1
                • pete

                  pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

                  Joined:
                  Jan 9, 2005
                  Messages:
                  51,032
                  Gender:
                  Male
                  Occupation:
                  Retired
                  Location:
                  Mid Kent
                  Ratings:
                  +93,715
                  Dont you need some way of keeping the main electrical functions of the car running these days, when changing a battery?
                   
                  • Like Like x 1
                  • Fat Controller

                    Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

                    Joined:
                    May 5, 2012
                    Messages:
                    27,739
                    Gender:
                    Male
                    Occupation:
                    Public Transport
                    Location:
                    At me 'puter, GCHQ Ashford Office, Middlesex
                    Ratings:
                    +52,143
                    Again, depends on the car, but the general answer is no. The one common issue to doing it yourself is that you cannot 'code' the battery to the car (basically tell the car it has a new battery) so the BMS might be rather unhappy and prevent things such as stop/start from working. If you or someone you know has a suitable code reader, then it can be done quite quickly.
                     
                    • Like Like x 1
                    • pete

                      pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

                      Joined:
                      Jan 9, 2005
                      Messages:
                      51,032
                      Gender:
                      Male
                      Occupation:
                      Retired
                      Location:
                      Mid Kent
                      Ratings:
                      +93,715
                      I'm just basing it on when the RAC put a new battery on for me, might have cost a bit more but the radio still worked and even the clock was still right.:biggrin:
                      I'm sure there might have been other stuff that it stopped me having to sort out.

                      I wouldn't mess with a battery in my car these days.
                       
                      • Like Like x 2
                      • Fat Controller

                        Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

                        Joined:
                        May 5, 2012
                        Messages:
                        27,739
                        Gender:
                        Male
                        Occupation:
                        Public Transport
                        Location:
                        At me 'puter, GCHQ Ashford Office, Middlesex
                        Ratings:
                        +52,143
                        Modern cars are a pain for DIY maintenance, that is for sure - hell, you can't even replace rear brake pads on a lot of cars yourself now, unless you have the computer to back the calipers off. However, this is actually all the more reason to use something like the Ctek units - quite common for cars that have not had them used to knacker a battery in only a few years, whereas using one can extend that to 8 or 9 years. It is the charging strategies set up to save fuel that are the issue.
                         
                        • Like Like x 1
                        • Informative Informative x 1
                        • Jocko

                          Jocko Guided by my better half.

                          Joined:
                          Jan 2, 2022
                          Messages:
                          2,417
                          Gender:
                          Male
                          Occupation:
                          Retired engineer. Now Vice CEO of the garden.
                          Location:
                          Danderhall on southern edge of Edinburgh. Zone 8a.
                          Ratings:
                          +6,782
                          Some cars lose the radio code if you disconnect the battery; if you don't have it, it can be a pain to get it. More modern cars store the radio code in the ECU or BMS (or one of the many computers a modern car has), so no radio code is needed unless the radio is moved to another vehicle.
                          I just bought a pack of Brass M6 nuts, which is the size used on battery clamps, so I just put the eyelets on the clamp screws and put the second nut on the end of the screw. On both cars I have used this on there was more than enough thread left protruding from the original nut, but even if there is not, you just need a couple of threads for the nuts to grip. As long as it holds it secure enough for a good electrical connection.
                           
                          • Informative Informative x 1
                          • Jocko

                            Jocko Guided by my better half.

                            Joined:
                            Jan 2, 2022
                            Messages:
                            2,417
                            Gender:
                            Male
                            Occupation:
                            Retired engineer. Now Vice CEO of the garden.
                            Location:
                            Danderhall on southern edge of Edinburgh. Zone 8a.
                            Ratings:
                            +6,782
                            Regarding exchanging a battery. As long as the battery you fit has the same Ah capacity and the same chemistry (WET, GEL-, VRLA-, AGM-) then recoding is unnecessary. If you fit a bigger or smaller battery or change the type then, in some cars, recoding is advised.
                             
                          • JWK

                            JWK Gardener Staff Member

                            Joined:
                            Jun 3, 2008
                            Messages:
                            32,371
                            Gender:
                            Male
                            Location:
                            Surrey
                            Ratings:
                            +49,761
                            I swapped a new battery into my volvo with stop/start last year. Easy peasy, no need for a radio code but that may be different on other makes. The only difficulty was lifting it into position, they weigh a lot more these days. Might pay to get it done next time as I also had the job of taking the old one to the dump.
                             
                            • Informative Informative x 1
                            Loading...

                            Share This Page

                            1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
                              By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
                              Dismiss Notice