My car will be left for days, very occasionally up to 10-12 between use, though usually 5 or 6. Do the batteries usually drain down in this time - I mean will there be enough to start the car up? Obviously it is just the security system plus natural drain of the battery over time that could be cause for concern.

I've been considering trickle charging - although, a mains outlet may not always be possible or practical. I've spotted some solar chargers that plug into cigar lighter and that just rest on top of the dashboard - daylight and plenty of it is not a problem in both of my main locations. I guess question is do these units supply enough of a charge. I've seen them at 2.5v 4v 7.5v 10v and 12v?

Thoughts would be welcome guys?

 

Solar charger? You leave that thing parked outside???

 

lol occasionally needs must. Although at one location on a private drive, and another it is barely noticed amongst the Lambos and Ferraris and Maseratis - I do have access to secure underground car parking of course as well. My query was to be honest more 'in general' and exploring different options out there.

 

ive left my car untouched plenty of times for 10+ days. never seemed to have an issue. just make sure your battery is in good condition

 

My experience has been that < 1 month is fine on a good battery; more than that may discharge your battery too much for its health. Trickle charge is good, as long as it is "smart" and doesn't overcharge.

 

I'll agree with Mike and Addict, I've left mine for a month in the winter with no problems.

 

Hey carzaddict I hear that and you have some pretty cold winters there in NYC too? My 'thing' is that I have just aquired the car and from the history the battery was changed in 2006 which makes it almost 7 yrs old. The dealer says there was no problem and I have no reason to question that. The battery will have been checked, within the PDI - and the previous owner who I have extensive contact with also doesn't report any issues. I guess I'm trying to be pro-active. I'm just not wanting that 6am start, turn the key and 'nothing'.....

 

So for the price of a battery, why not just refresh it and be done with it? What's a few more quid? False economy to try to eke it out.

 

I leave my XJR on a trickle charger always. It recently sat for 9 weeks while I was travelling & the snow was piled up outside. Low temps kill batteries. The trickle charger I have has a "cold weather mode" & it started up without issue after sitting for 2 months.

I think the limit is about 3-4 weeks before you need to think about a charger, unless the temps really drop down low. But then you also need to think about stopping the tyres from flat-spotting in the cold.

I've got some foam rubber blocks that I park it on, helps keep the tyres round.

Sound like you get it out every weekend so i wouldn't worry.

 

Yeah, actually you took the words right out of my mouth - although I do hasten to add that the query remains even with a solid new battery - is preventative maintenance in the form of some sort of trickle charge an advantage?

By the way.... the battery is 12v / 24v ?

 

I would HIGHLY recommend a Battery Maintainer. It will keep the Battery Fully Charged without overcharging it.

Before using a Maintainer, my Battery would Discharge in as short as a few days to as long as a month. Very unpredictable.

Using a Battery Maintainer will make the Battery last a LOT Longer as full discharges shorten Battery Life.

There are many Battery Maintainers on the market and they are not very expensive.

 

I have been using a Battery Tender (registered trademark) to maintain my auto and boat batteries during winter storage. No complaints, seems to work as advertised. Readily available online. Paul is right on. If you can find the equivalent solar charger with a maintenance circuit, it should do the trick as well.

 

I suspect that with the "very unpredictable" you have hit the nail squarely on the head. Could be that new battery plus some kind of maintainer is the answer for peace of mind. I'm going to give it this week, to get me kind of used to to the idiosyncrasies of turning over the mightly V8 from cold (this is my first Jag) and then will blow the cobwebs off the wife's credit card

 

GGG & I can recommend C-Tek https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/g...34/#post565300 but as long whatever you get maintains rather than charges it's OK

 

Mine is regularly left for the time periods you suggest, in all weathers, not a million miles from you (Suffolk) and it has never been a problem. Last winter it was left for a couple of weeks outside in sub zero tempratures down to -10 (Celsius) and started with no problem. The battery is about 3 years old.

Although it gets left unused for relatively long periods, it rarely gets used for short journeys, so gets a good charge each time it is used.

 

Yeah gotcha.... I'm doing Gatwick to London once a week, M25, M4, A4 and back.... in miles, I dont know about 40 each way, in time, about 1.5hrs depending on time fo day. 5am up to London gets a good non-stop fasr run, 70 80 +mph and back the same. I dont know what constitutes a good charge but... we'll see.

 

Mine is regularly left for the time periods you suggest, in all weathers, not a million miles from you (Suffolk) and it has never been a problem. Last winter it was left for a couple of weeks outside in sub zero tempratures down to -10 (Celsius) and started with no problem. The battery is about 3 years old.

Although it gets left unused for relatively long periods, it rarely gets used for short journeys, so gets a good charge each time it is used.

 

For those times when an outlet is available, I can not underscore how happy I've been with "Battery Tenders". The greatest testament to their effectiveness comes from one of my motorcycles. Those of familiar with old (60s - 80s) BMWs know that it's not unusual to need a new battery every year. With a Battery Tender, I easily got five years out of one.

I like the idea of a solar panel, but I haven't experienced any discharge problems for moderate periods of inactivity.

Good luck - Jim

 

We don't have the extreme cold of our northern members, but i do use a battery maintainer on the Harley and the bass boat. When we have a beautiful day its nice to hit the starter and go. Not to concerned about the Jag its a daily driver. I did have to chance battery on the Jag a few weeks ago it was dated 2008. Jim

 

The solar maintainers which use the cigar lighter. The only issue is that the sellers of these items state that the cigar lighter socket must be live when all systems are switched off and the car is locked. I had the feeling that if you plugged anything into that socket that its like plugging something directly into the battery so YES it will be live - am I wroong on this.. anyone?