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So my car dosent get used a lot and now and again the battery will got flat, battery and alternator are fine, its lack of use being the problem
I could just go for a drive now and again to top it up but i always forget!
Now ive got a jumper pack for when it goes flat but id rather avoid it going flat in the first place
I can park pretty near to the house but there is no way i could run a trickle charger out of the house and across a footpath, so i was thinking is there a bluetooth battery monitor i could connect to the battery and when the battery drops below a certain voltage it would warn me on my phone so i can then got for a drive to top it back up?
If the battery and alternator really are fine then you have a voltage drain somewhere. You could do a 'binary-chop' on the fuses to try and narrow it down to where that is happening or try unplugging the battery when it is not in use. If you can't be bothered to track it down maybe install one of those race-car safety isolator switches so you can pop the bonnet, flick the switch and close the bonnet again quite quickly
What about going for a drive once a week/ fortnight/ month and making it regular?
Or disconnect the battery each time?
Can't you get a little solar panel that sits in the window and is plugged in as a trickle charger? Atleast were getting more daylight now
I drive very intermittently but just make a point of giving it a run once a week... And just get something like this if you do get stuck... Takes 30 seconds to jump start it if needs be. https://www.amazon.co.uk/YABER-Starter-Portable-Flashlight-Waterproof/dp/B0C8NJ45SD/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=EZGSWHCPPEMY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tPVbPNNZOIAHjN4HtOeZXQgTOQEVNxrFwBWndhQ64khdmQsD0tW-CBj4L-qCQIJfcm0vTRMlEiOHQhLjCmTolt-TNaYHTPHiCKzS0qA2dHSTYcJ-9igOZ3vUUiQIY3OEUyV__TTfAdUh-phY8-f0A3Sntot9iH-f0MTK3HMZGduBwjsZB9Bbza9jIJDzUl0XN1muqgipvvgBw0m7OjoR-w.mtOIGsK4HPoVZgmcErXIeAbH4kyf-8ZEMxILCGxalqU&dib_tag=se&keywords=battery+starter+power+pack&qid=1711389196&sprefix=Battery+star%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-3
My 5 year old car started fine after I parked it for a month. Brake discs were a bit rusty otherwise everything fine. Why not set a reminder on your phone to drive it every 3 weeks?
If the battery and alternator really are fine then you have a voltage drain somewhere
Cars don't like being left for long periods. More so modern cars with all their systems.
Hell a 12v lead acid battery not connected to anything will discharge over time
I've a solar maintainer on one of mine that works pretty well even through the window.
If the battery and alternator really are fine
even if they were fine before, that battery has taken a beating by being fully discharged several times. I’d spend your money on a new battery. Is it more than 3 yrs old? A good battery should be fine left for months, notwithstanding other discharge issues.
I would look for a solar trickle charger.
A good battery should be fine left for months,
In 1980 perhaps.
Modern cars that figure is quoted as about 2 weeks assuming your battery is in good health. A modern car is never really "off"
I get about 6 months out my 1987 land rover if I don't use it over summer. Worse in winter.
I get about 2months out of my 2005 iveco daily camper van - but it's got a monster of a battery on it which probably helps.
For our camper we just have a trickle charger which is left on. It’s intelligent enough to top up the battery when needed.
No parasitic drains but there is the alarm and immobiliser to consider along with the dashcam with parking monitoring, had this happen with my last car also
Battery and alternator have been health checked by a matés garage and are fine
I could just go for a drive once a week and/or put an reminder on my phone but things happen and they can be easily dismissed if I’m busy and I can say I’ll do it tomorrow and then I’ll forget!
The idea with a Bluetooth monitor is that it will warn me it’s getting low and keep warning me until I go for a drive to recharge so I’m less likely to ignore it
I guess we could give better advice if we had an actual timescale on OPs issues. What’s the shortest time you’ve left it before it’s dead?
I have a Land Rover 90 that is left unused for 5-6 weeks at a time due to my work pattern.
I looked at battery monitors but ended up with a CTEK intelligent trickle charger as the Landy is garaged.
Bluetooth monitors do exist:
Solar Trickle charger is a good shout too.
The idea with a Bluetooth monitor is that it will warn me it’s getting low...snip
I'm not sure that there is an accurate bluetooth gadget, a simple voltage test of the battery is only indicative, ideally they should be tested under load. If there is a gadget another problem is range, typical consumer bluetooth (class 2) might only manage 10m under ideal conditions. That needs power which will probably come from your car battery. (Apparently Sealey make a gadget 🙂 ^^)
If a car battery voltage gets too low then the battery can be permanently damaged. Another problem is unexpected things going out of calibration, the electric windows on mine wouldn't go fully up or down after a battery change; either go down the route of a solar unit or go for a drive every week IMHO
You can get a Bluetooth voltage monitor reasonably cheaply but as mentioned above voltage drop can be difficult to manage in a parked vehicle - better to use a solar trickle if you can fit it in
CTEK does - edit: used to do - a monitor that connects to an app on your phone and alerts you when the battery voltage drops. I guess you might find one old stock or on eBay. My Corrado battery used to go flat if you didn't turn the head-unit off completely - on standby, no LEDs etc, it would still use enough power to drain it in a week or so.
https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-chargers-12v-24v/ctx-battery-sense
I could just go for a drive now and again to top it up but i always forget!
Just set a calendar alert to go for a drive once a month (or whatever frequency you want) if your memory is poor. Far less faff than buggering about with gadgets that may or may not even work.
my Volvo will hibernate at about 2 weeks old and shut down all communication systems unless alarm is triggered. As has been said, modern cars are always drawing, lots spend time self testing, or updating systems so you need to keep a trickle going. Solar trickle in the windscreen with a permanently attached lead direct to battery (much like my plug in AA one).