Battery charging

[Detailer dave]

happy Easter everyone

I have a question our new a3 s-line is a weekend car only so sits in garage all week I am planing on useing
a smart charger on the car to keep battery topped up during the week anyone used one and anything I should know .

Many thanks.

 

[veeeight]

CTEK

 

[Detailer dave]

I should have said I have a charger just not used it on a3 yet. Does a3 have an earth pin or just use neg therminal .

 

[veeeight]

Is it really a smart smart charger though?

For an AGM battery you should have a constant current charge in the bulk phase, does your charger supply this?

For a charge current its better if you go onto the negative terminal of the battery, rather than the chassis pin/point.

 

[Detailer dave]

Will buy a ctek charger as don't think my current charger is sutable for stop start batteries Ctek Max's 5.0 looks perfect.

 

[jetron]

+1 for CTEK, great bit of kit. I can recommend the Multi XS 7000 which I bought about 10 years back but I don't think they sell that model any longer.

 

[driver_tim]

Is this really necessary? It's not uncommon for my car to sit for a week without use, sometimes more. I don't wish to tempt fate but so far I've never had any starting problems.

 

[Liquidfusion-S3]

If the car battery is relatively new there should be no need to keep it on charge

 

[jetron]

@driver_tim, it all depends on your driving style. If you do short journeys, infrequently, your battery will suffer, especially in the winter. The end result is that your battery will age prematurely and you will need to change it. If, under similar circumstances, you look after it and charge it on a regular basis, you will have reliability and save having to replace the battery for maybe 5 years, a saving of approx £100. A good charger like a CTEK is a great investment in my opinion.

 

[The Challinor]

But how much is the charger + running costs and time charing vs a new battery?

 

[Pulp84]

Guys - I can give you some word of warning on this.

I have done 1,700 miles in my S3 since May 14. All winter it sat barely used on my drive. @veeeight warned me about the battery but I did not listen.

Now have a serious issue with my battery where after leaving the car only a few days the battery charge is very low. Twice it has refused to start and then pinged all sorts of error messages that only disappear after a bit of drive and the battery has some charge. Even after a 4 hour drive it warned me of low battery 2 hours later when I got back in the car and started it. I suspect it's ******. It's a right PITA.

Going to take it to Audi and get them to swap it out. I'm in Tenerife at the moment and dreading having to start it when I get home next week after it's sat doing nothing for the last 10 days

 

[veeeight]

But how much is the charger + running costs and time charing vs a new battery?

Don't think of it as a charger, it's more a conditioner/top up - as and when it needs it, hence, you really need a smart smart charger with at least 4 or 6 different charge programs/phases so it doesn't end up cooking the battery.

I'm in Tenerife at the moment

You're missing the stunning UK bonk holiday weather here I'm lying through my teeth, of course.

 

[jetron]

But how much is the charger + running costs and time charing vs a new battery?

Looking at the above example, I would imagine a new battery would be required every year. At £70 a pop you would pay for the charger in one year, plus have the peace of mind that your battery was in good nick when you needed it.

I bought mine when the 110 Ah battery in my A4 Avant 2.5 TDI (B6) decided to let me down through multiple short journeys. The battery was located right in the middle of the engine bay, next to the firewall and it would have been a right sod to remove. So, I decided to keep the battery in situ and on spending less on a CTEK charger. The battery lasted me another 4 years until I sold the car.

 

[The Challinor]

Don't think of it as a charger, it's more a conditioner/top up - as and when it needs it, hence, you really need a smart smart charger with at least 4 or 6 different charge programs/phases so it doesn't end up cooking the battery.





You're missing the stunning UK bonk holiday weather here I'm lying through my teeth, of course.

Bonk holiday, will have to tell the missus that one

 

[The Challinor]

Looking at the above example, I would imagine a new battery would be required every year. At £70 a pop you would pay for the charger in one year, plus have the peace of mind that your battery was in good nick when you needed it.

I bought mine when the 110 Ah battery in my A4 Avant 2.5 TDI (B6) decided to let me down through multiple short journeys. The battery was located right in the middle of the engine bay, next to the firewall and it would have been a right sod to remove. So, I decided to keep the battery in situ and on spending less on a CTEK charger. The battery lasted me another 4 years until I sold the car.

No, I guess for some people it does make sense.

 

[Detailer dave]

Bought the ctek as its a agm charger as been told a3 8v with stop start has an agm battery.

 

[veeeight]

It will be AGM or EFB, CTEK will work with both types

 

[Detailer dave]

Have it on charge at min. The option on ctek Max's 5.0 is agm or full discharge so opted for age option seems to be charging ok at min its at stage four bulk .

 

[Helifella]

Would solar charging be an option? I tried one a while back which plugged into the ciggy 12V on my 8P. Wasn't convinced it was pushing through to the battery though.

 

[driver_tim]

I guess it's a question of degrees and situation. Personally if it gets to two weeks without me using the car I take it for a decent drive anyway, because I think that's probably about the longest it's sensible to leave a car without using it for a number of reasons, not just battery wear. When I do use it it's mostly for journeys of ten miles or more. I live in a block of flats with a communal underground car park so using a mains charger is not practical, both in terms of getting an electrical supply to it and also having to leave the car unlocked. If I have to change the battery then I'll have to change the battery because I don't have any other options at present.