Battery conditioner/trickle charger

[martinbrowning]

Hi there,
My Lotus spends a good deal of time in it's Carcoon,in the garage. (I am fortunate in not having to use it as the every day car). I have a trickle charger/battery conditioner but there seems to be conflict in how to use it. Should it:

a. be connected to the battery which is taken out of the car
b. be connected to the battery which has been disconnected but remains in the car
c. be connected to the battery in the car which itself remains connected.

Any thoughts/advice please?

Martin B

[rocket]

Hi Martin,

Assuming it is a conditioner, not just a normal charger, it is best connected to the battery with the battery in car and connected....just remember to disconnect before you drive off...

Ian.

[512BB]

Do you A, agree, or do you B, disagree.

Answer, Agree with Ian. Leave the battery on the car, connected, and leave conditioner connected.

And let us know how your respray turns out Martin.

Leslie

[martinbrowning]

Ian,Leslie,

Many thanks for your very prompt replies-it is a charger/conditioner unit(supplied by Carcoon) so I will leave it connected. The car in question is actually a Europa Special.

Leslie-kind of you to remember about the respray on my plus 2. Car has been with Paul Matty for three weeks now and no bad news phone calls....yet!

Martin

[rgh0]

I have a battery trickle charger / conditioner connected to my 3 Loti when they are not going to be used in the next few days. I also have a battery isolator on the battery in each car.

I disconnect the battery using the isolator when not using the car and putting on the conditioner for 2 reasons

1. By disconnecting the battery I know all the wiring in the car is dead and no random failure in an electrical component while the car sits can result in a short circuit and fire. ( A friend lost his 7 in a fire when this happened many years ago - at least that was the only reason that we could understand for the fire that happened)

2. By disconnecting the battery I get reminded to take off the conditioner before I can drive away !!!

The trickle charger / conditioner will work quite happily with the battery still connected to the car but I disconnect it for the above reasons. I leave the battery in the car just because its to much hassles to totally remove but I also leave the boot at least partially open when the conditioner is connected as it is possible to generate flammable hydrogen gas from the battery and I just want to ensure it readily disperses and does not build up to potentially flammable levels in the sealed boot space.

regards

Rohan

[Elanintheforest]

Totally agree with Rohan on the disconnection. I know of two Elans that have destroyed themselves (and everything around them) with fire because of some failure in the system. I always disconnect even if just for a night.

Mark

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Most worrying considerations Rohan & Mark.
I remember that Triumph 2000PI's used to spontaneous combust.
Top priority & the initial reason for rebuilding my S4 Zetec was getting my tame "Sparks" to knit a new modern standards Harness with Relays & Fuses for everything.
I've had a Battery Conditioner connected for 10 years & can thoroughly recommend them.
I replaced the 10 year old (cheapy) Battery only last Winter; "just to be on the safe side"
Oh & yes within that period I've reversed out of the Garage twice without disconnecting the Conditioner.
Ripped out the wires from the low voltage side on one occasion; repairable with a Soldering Iron.

Cheers
John

[alexblack13]

I agree with Rohan,Mark & John.. Why not invest in one of those battery disconnect switches that work so well on Lotus cars?

Turn the knob and the power is off. Reverse the procedure and its back on. Turn it off and connect your charger / conditioner.
when you want to go, should you forget to remove the conditioner etc the car wont start until you switch on reminding you nicely to remove the charger..

What's the downside?? I always leave my car with the battery switched off. ALWAYS....

Too easy to loose by fire and apart from that my bedroom is only just above. Sod that!!

Alex...

[billwill]

Don't you get fed up resetting the radio?

I used to have one of those switches bypassed by a low amp fuse to keep the radio powered.

I blew lots of those forgetting that the switch was off.

I honestly had not thought of or heard of static Lotus spontaneous combustion, now you've got me worrying..

[Lincoln62]

I used to have one of those switches bypassed by a low amp fuse to keep the radio powered.

I blew lots of those forgetting that the switch was off.

I have the same system on my S2. Works great for interior light and radio memory.

Pete
66S2

[john.p.clegg]

Bill

You should change to a re-settable fuse for that purpose....I have....It's a lot cheaper in the long run...and much more convenient..

John

[alexblack13]

Re-setting the radio on my car isnt an issue either! Its an oldie..Original fit.Old as the hills with mech' presets. Fair point though.

Oh the fun of it!!

C u's Saturday!

Alex....

[billwill]

Bill

You should change to a re-settable fuse for that purpose....I have....It's a lot cheaper in the long run...and much more convenient..

John

Ah, yes, good idea.


Now a REALLY nice trick would be to have an automatic main cut out, so that on switching off the ignition or pressing a suitable button on the dash, the main high-current battery circuit is switched off by a solenoid near the battery, and then you have to open the boot to reset it before next journey.

[bcmc33]

By disconnecting the battery I get reminded to take off the conditioner before I can drive away !!!

I had to smile at this one - that's why I now always leave the boot open.

[alexblack13]

Hi Guys,

Its an age thing!! And a wallet thing as well!!!

I used to think I would only do things like that once but..... I lowered my lift down on top of one of my classic bikes the other day. Luckily I spotted it just as it was reaching bottom-out stage on the bikes suspension so I got away with a paint chip on the headlamp.

With any luck I will only do that once!

During my flying days at Glenrothes (Fife) airport where we kept our Grumman AA5, I stood and watched in disbelief as an aircraft taxied past with its tie down (5 gal drum filled with concrete!!) still firmly tied to the tail hook!! Methinks that would have upset the weight and balance a bit. Took him years to live that down... But, he did live! ATC told him over the radio that trying to get airborne in that config' could be hazardous to his health...


Happy days.

Alex B....