How to preserve Battery
- Thread starter e21jbk
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E21JBK,
In order to maintain some of the memories setting in cars like clock, radio settings, alarms, etc; there is parasitic drain in car batteries. All this will drain the battery flat, depending on the condition of the battery.
If u r planning to not drive yr car for extended periods, it's best to disconnect the terminals of yr car battery. If possible, take out yr battery to be stored in a cool dry place, esp if yr car is locked in garage or under the sun!!
U can refer to yr manual on how to do it, but its mainly abt removing the terminals from yr battery connection.
Upon of return to use car, just put in the terminals. But then again, this will depend on the condition of yr battery, but still better than the parasistic drain on the battery that makes it flat.
Then, to recharge the battery, drive it around at 50Km/h. Dont charge it by leaving it idle, the alternator is not getting much work when the car is stationary!!
Worse case, prepare a new battery on standby in case the old one doesnt work.
This may/may not work on yr car, i assume its a E21?? Just my 2 cents.
For more info on car batteries, Click here
PS: i donno of the DIY charger. Other sifus can help??
In order to maintain some of the memories setting in cars like clock, radio settings, alarms, etc; there is parasitic drain in car batteries. All this will drain the battery flat, depending on the condition of the battery.
If u r planning to not drive yr car for extended periods, it's best to disconnect the terminals of yr car battery. If possible, take out yr battery to be stored in a cool dry place, esp if yr car is locked in garage or under the sun!!
U can refer to yr manual on how to do it, but its mainly abt removing the terminals from yr battery connection.
Upon of return to use car, just put in the terminals. But then again, this will depend on the condition of yr battery, but still better than the parasistic drain on the battery that makes it flat.
Then, to recharge the battery, drive it around at 50Km/h. Dont charge it by leaving it idle, the alternator is not getting much work when the car is stationary!!
Worse case, prepare a new battery on standby in case the old one doesnt work.
This may/may not work on yr car, i assume its a E21?? Just my 2 cents.
For more info on car batteries, Click here
PS: i donno of the DIY charger. Other sifus can help??
I used to have a charger that can charged the battery.
It have a boost and trickle charge feature. Can't remember
where I got it from but I think some of the auto accessories
sell them.
Don't find them useful any more becoz can start car with
"good" jumper wire if battery run flat..
k:
Strider
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Originally posted by jarance@Feb 16 2005, 08:39 PM
This is one of my "tools" that really help me and other people a lot. it is a necessity to have it...just my 2 centsDon't find them useful any more becoz can start car with
"good" jumper wire if battery run flat..
saat
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For a long time I was faced with a situation of 4 cars with only 2 drivers in the family. So 2 of the cars ended being hardly driven.
Good practise is to drive the car at varying speeds for at least 30 minutes at least once every 2 weeks. This will not only prolong the battery but also prevent damage to other parts especially rubber ones e.g. tyres (flat spot).
Disconnnecting the battery results in the hassle of reseteing so many things and I do not recommend it for the current generation cars that requires some power all the time to maintain the circuit and memory. To further prolong the battery, as mentioned it is advisable to attached a charger that will perovide a trickle charge. Obviously this will be dependent on your parking situation. How many of us can park our spare car with a power source nearby. At the end, of it all, this will prolong the battery but not the other parts which require the regular drive.
I didnt have the time to even do the regular drive and so I ended up with 2 dead batteries so often that I gave up and replaced the battery very year.
I even loaned the car out to my siblings so that they can keep driving them.
Final solution - Sold both cars, bought another for my daughter who now has a drivers licence and now start another whole set of problems.
Good practise is to drive the car at varying speeds for at least 30 minutes at least once every 2 weeks. This will not only prolong the battery but also prevent damage to other parts especially rubber ones e.g. tyres (flat spot).
Disconnnecting the battery results in the hassle of reseteing so many things and I do not recommend it for the current generation cars that requires some power all the time to maintain the circuit and memory. To further prolong the battery, as mentioned it is advisable to attached a charger that will perovide a trickle charge. Obviously this will be dependent on your parking situation. How many of us can park our spare car with a power source nearby. At the end, of it all, this will prolong the battery but not the other parts which require the regular drive.
I didnt have the time to even do the regular drive and so I ended up with 2 dead batteries so often that I gave up and replaced the battery very year.
I even loaned the car out to my siblings so that they can keep driving them.
Final solution - Sold both cars, bought another for my daughter who now has a drivers licence and now start another whole set of problems.
Originally posted by Strider@Feb 17 2005, 11:19 AM
Yup, get the good one that can carried 400 amp or more. Those that are less than 200 amp rating cannot start a car with flat battery. In the case of emergency and you have 200 amp battery jumper, leave the jumper connected for about half hour to charge the flat battery before attempting to start the car.This is one of my "tools" that really help me and other people a lot. it is a necessity to have it...just my 2 centsDon't find them useful any more becoz can start car with
"good" jumper wire if battery run flat..
that depends on the way it was charged. if you use boost charged, the battery would not hold it charge for long. The trick is to use trickle charge. of course, if you battery is old, then it is pointless to charge it as it would not hold the charge any way. Check also the SG of the elctrolyte as well with a hydrometer.
i hear people say internet got sell some solar power gadget u poke into the cigalet lighter hole when never drive car bcos go langkawi holiday for 6 months and this feller can automatic keep battery power steady so come back from holiday can straight away drive car go mamak no need to tension turn key time click-click sound car don't want to start.
teejay
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try and change to a maintenance free battery, and try and get a rating higher for the car eg. if you are using DIN55, try and buy a DIN66 rating, provided it can fit in your car, then get a booster and charger it over night every month or so
boosters are sold in ACE hardware, not sure how much it cost, but my ever so faithful grey booster has been with me for about 4 years now and it is also advisable to charge it up once in awhile
boosters are sold in ACE hardware, not sure how much it cost, but my ever so faithful grey booster has been with me for about 4 years now and it is also advisable to charge it up once in awhile
vladd_tappish
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Hi to all. I have not tried not starting the for the whole week but I have tried starting after 5 days. No problem! It started just like that. I have a new idea how to prolong your battery life. Many never heard of this. Tell you guys something my battery is 3 years old and it is still in a very good condition. The secret behind longevity is change your battery water annually. Ha Ha Ha I bet most of you guys never heard of this huh. Go to the shops where they only sell batteries. Ask the battery man to remove the battery out and leak out all the water inside and fill it with new sulphric acid because your battery looses the sulphric acid concentration when you add battery water. Battery water is not acid. It is deionized water. When you add the battery water it actually dilutes the acid . Give it a try because you have nothing to loose beacuse it only costs around RM15.00 per year. However this idea cannot be used on the newer models because from what I heard, once the battery is removed the ECU has to programmed back.
Actually this is not entirely true. When your battery is being charged, the ionised water do get evaporated. hence, the SG or specific gravity of the electrolyte (acid) become higher or more concentrated. It would be only sensible to dilute it back with ionised water. However, changing the electrolyte is a good idea... or better still get the maintenance free battery..
As usual Jarance give some very good technical info on this subject matter. BTW I wonder if I can revitalise an old battery by changing it's acid as suggeted by VT and if it is cheap to get the instrument to measure the SG of the battery water ourselves.
