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Post by racingteatray on Aug 31, 2022 9:18:08 GMT
My car is getting on for six years old and has 47k on the clock. It’s still on its original battery. I’ve not had any recent trouble with it, but in the first lock down in 2020, when the car didn’t move for a month or so, it did appear to run down.
We’re going to leave it here In Italy locked away in the garage for potentially up to eight weeks until we next go back down, and I’m concerned I might have difficulty starting it when we then try to use it.
The obvious answer would be a trickle charger as I have an electric socket in the garage, but I’m flying back to London a week before my wife and she will need to use the car, and I’m not certain she will want to deal with fitting a trickle charger before she leaves.
So am wondering whether it would be better just to get a new battery fitted? How long do they last in your experience?
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Post by PetrolEd on Aug 31, 2022 9:27:19 GMT
If you get a Ctek charger you can permanently fix a lead off the battery so when it comes to plugging the charger in when she leaves its no more difficult that connecting 2 leads. Or if you leave it when you turn up next time, stick the Ctek onto the battery and it will recondition the battery and charge in within 6 hours.
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 31, 2022 9:38:24 GMT
Ok thanks.
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Post by PG on Aug 31, 2022 9:42:28 GMT
If you get a Ctek charger you can permanently fix a lead off the battery so when it comes to plugging the charger in when she leaves its no more difficult that connecting 2 leads. Or if you leave it when you turn up next time, stick the Ctek onto the battery and it will recondition the battery and charge in within 6 hours. I don't know that works with all cars. For example on the XF I was told you need to connect the negative to an earth point in the car or else you can fry some of the battery control "stuff" (can't remember what exactly). Which makes connecting permanent connections for a trickle charger a non-starter. I am doubtful that a 6 year old battery will last that long though. So if Mrs racing isn't happy to connect it up, I'd suggest to leave it be and use a Ctek on return if it won't start. |
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Post by michael on Aug 31, 2022 9:53:11 GMT
I replaced my battery last year. It became apparent its days were numbered when stop/ start stopped working. A few weeks ago I got a light on my dash to say the stop/start was unavailable, I thought there’s no chance the battery can have failed so soon. It turns out that my car has two batteries and the second had bitten the dust.
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Post by Roadrunner on Aug 31, 2022 9:54:48 GMT
I have no idea how it would work on a modern car, but I can certainly recommend a Ctek charger for old relics of the sort that I run.
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Post by ChrisM on Aug 31, 2022 19:08:08 GMT
I'm a great fan of the CTek smart charger especially since I bought one.
Battery life seems to be a bit of pot luck.... IIRC about 10 years in my old Honda, about the same for mum's former Volvo. The Captur one died after about 4 years but they seem notorious for poor quality OEM batteries. The Polo is on its original battery after 6+ years and 52,000 miles but I reconditioned it using the CTek as soon as I could, ditto the Fiesta whose battery is over 6 years old. If a car is being left for months unattended I'd suggest using a top-up charger and the CTek can do this too - when mum stopped driving for many months I had a top-up charger connected to the Volvo whilst it sat in her garage between my occasional visits to take it out for a run. During lockdown I used the CTek in rotation on my cars.
I've previously left a car for 5 weeks without being on a charger and it started OK on first attempt but I wonder if 8 weeks is too long, even for a new battery? Personally I wouldn't chance it, more a question of can you train your wife to be able to connect a charger up before she leaves the car alone? Once a battery has gone flat, even if you subsequently charge it before attempting to start the car, it is supposed to have had a significant detrimental effect on the battery's life
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Post by LandieMark on Aug 31, 2022 19:17:08 GMT
Mazda runs down in about three weeks. I use a CTEK too. PG any earth point near to the battery will do - a simple bolt will do - although there are many cars with battery management and I can't see a low current device causing any issues. The alternator will put more current past the battery management connection at the battery than the charger ever would. |
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Post by bryan on Aug 31, 2022 20:23:29 GMT
Again a recommendation for Ctek and the hardwired cable, even my 80yr old Mum can use it to keep her Golf topped up
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 31, 2022 21:00:01 GMT
Mmm now I just need to find one here…
I rang the local BMW dealer to enquire how much a new battery would be and got a quote of €490!?!?!?
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Post by LandieMark on Aug 31, 2022 21:03:02 GMT
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Post by PG on Sept 1, 2022 7:13:18 GMT
Mazda runs down in about three weeks. I use a CTEK too. PG any earth point near to the battery will do - a simple bolt will do - although there are many cars with battery management and I can't see a low current device causing any issues. The alternator will put more current past the battery management connection at the battery than the charger ever would. Very true. The battery on the Jag is in the boot and so I use the spare wheel hold down as the earth. I can see your point re the low voltage not doing any damage, but people being people, I guess they have to cover themselves in case anybody connects up a boost charger or jump leads. Friends of ours connected a starter booster battery to battery on their van conversion horse lorry (so 12v not 24 v system) and did a ££££ damage to the electrics. |
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Post by Tim on Sept 1, 2022 7:54:04 GMT
Mmm now I just need to find one here… I rang the local BMW dealer to enquire how much a new battery would be and got a quote of €490!?!?!? It needs to be coded to the car! At the 1st service I got on my 320 (so 64k miles and 4 years old) I was told the car needed a new battery at around £400. Obviously I ignored that and the battery was still in the car and functioning perfectly at 7 years old and 125k. However maybe yours suffers due to relatively low mileage? |
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Post by Big Blue on Sept 1, 2022 8:51:46 GMT
Yep, that price sounds right. As Tim says they have to “tell” the car that’s a new battery and it belongs to that car. I use a trickle charger in the bikes but six years sounds like you’d Best Buy a new one.
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Post by Stuntman on Sept 1, 2022 13:18:19 GMT
My M3 is now on its third battery but then again it is over 13 years old. Both the previous batteries lasted about six years.
My experience with my first Porsche was not as good, but until fairly recently (the mid 2010s) Porsche was well known for not fitting good batteries to their cars as standard.
The GT4 was four and a half years old when I sold it and the battery didn't need to be changed when it was resold by Porsche.
My current GTS has got battery managing technology on it so that it discharges much more slowly if the car isn't used for a while.
The Yaris, being a Toyota, will probably harvest energy from wherever it can scavenge it and thus the battery will never die!
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Post by Martin on Sept 1, 2022 13:45:25 GMT
The battery in our 2011 Boxster was crap, it lasted just under 4 years, which is apparently very good. To keep the warranty intact it has to be replaced with the same one, which needed filling with acid/water iirc, we couldn’t just buy a sealed one from somewhere else. My last couple of cars have had 2 batteries, I assume that’s due to stop/start technology. The Boxster battery is the only one I can remember buying.
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Sept 1, 2022 13:49:50 GMT
I remember buying a battery for my Escort in about 1984 but never since then. I couldn't even guess at what an average price for one is.
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Post by Tim on Sept 1, 2022 14:43:57 GMT
I remember buying a battery for my Escort in about 1984 but never since then. I couldn't even guess at what an average price for one is. The big batteries for a 20 year old 5 series were about £150 from Halfords last time I got one (18 months ago). They're probably about £500 this week  |
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Post by johnc on Sept 1, 2022 15:10:00 GMT
I have never had a BMW battery fail (touch wood). The one in the E92 was 8 years old and still going strong.
I'd be tempted to get the charger and just recharge the battery next time you're back - you will need the charger in any case if you are going to leave a car out there, so no point in jumping the gun and replacing it when it might not be needed.
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Post by Martin on Sept 1, 2022 16:47:20 GMT
Don’t the CTEK chargers condition the battery as well as charge it up, so you could buy one at home and take it with you next time if it’s difficult to buy one in Italy and it would do the job?
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Post by ChrisM on Sept 1, 2022 18:23:29 GMT
Don’t the CTEK chargers condition the battery as well as charge it up, so you could buy one at home and take it with you next time if it’s difficult to buy one in Italy and it would do the job? I don't know if all CTek battery chargers feature their conditioning technology; a quick look on the 'web suggests that they don't, but buying here and taking it to Italy should be OK so long as you comply with any import/export regulations.... have I missed something as to how the BMW got there as I though the LHD Mini was the car for Italy? |
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Post by Grampa on Sept 1, 2022 20:22:06 GMT
I generally find a modern car battery lasts 8-10 years. At six years old and just 8 weeks lay up, I’d park the car and expect it to start again after the 8 weeks.
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Post by bryan on Sept 2, 2022 5:49:08 GMT
I bought a new battery for the lotus last year ( after the previous cheap Halfords battery lasted less than 2 years) that was fine but ran low in the car and my home charger couldn't bring it back ( I know Ctek need some charge to work with)
Seems to be a thing with new batteries, they don't like running flat, county batteries brought it back to life and would have replaced under warranty
Keep it on a Ctek would be my suggestion
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Post by Tim on Sept 2, 2022 7:43:25 GMT
I generally find a modern car battery lasts 8-10 years. At six years old and just 8 weeks lay up, I’d park the car and expect it to start again after the 8 weeks. You clearly haven't had a modern BMW then...... |
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Post by Grampa on Sept 2, 2022 10:30:12 GMT
I generally find a modern car battery lasts 8-10 years. At six years old and just 8 weeks lay up, I’d park the car and expect it to start again after the 8 weeks. You clearly haven't had a modern BMW then...... Does a Mini count? - had two where it's been around this age to replace. |
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 2, 2022 14:22:58 GMT
I rang around and found a large auto parts supplier here on the outskirts of town. They supplied me with an “intelligent” battery charger that can both trickle charge and recondition a discharged battery, and is suitable for both cars. I forget the make right now as it is down in the garage. They had a range of them and this was the one that they recommended after doing some checks.
I’m obviously due a shock as and when I do have to replace the BMW’s battery. That just seemed a ridiculous price to me.
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Post by Boxer6 on Sept 2, 2022 15:13:09 GMT
I used my lunch (half) hour to rifle through the Subaru's folder of receipts and job sheets. In just shy of 10 years of ownership, and while plenty of other things went wrong with it, the battery was still the one fitted at the factory when I sold it. I never really had that down as a potential issue to be honest.
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Post by johnc on Sept 5, 2022 8:04:04 GMT
I’m obviously due a shock as and when I do have to replace the BMW’s battery. That just seemed a ridiculous price to me. It is a very long time since I replaced a battery on one of my cars and if I remember correctly is was about £40. I had to replace the battery in my daughter's Mini last year and that stung me somewhere close to £200 for the stop start version. Some things really do seem to have increased in price exponentially! |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2022 16:10:42 GMT
Three batteries since I got the car. Not many miles, just time.
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Post by ChrisM on Sept 11, 2022 17:26:13 GMT
^
Do you have the ability to connect a "float" charger, Mike, or is the car in almost daily use but just doesn't cover many miles? Keeping the battery in a low state of charge probably doesn't help its life
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