Disconnect the Battery while away?

[DanW]

Hi All, I'm going to be away in the US for close to 4 weeks and can't seem to find any good info on whether or not I should disconnect the battery in the D4 while I'm away?

I have someone looking after the house, and while they could start it up, they won't be driving it and from what i know this is unlikely to charge the battery anyway.

I have a traxide system as well, so would appreciate others thoughts/experiences on what they have done when leaving the pride and joy at home?

many thanks

Dan

[Epic pooh]

Personally I leave mine on charge when not using it for more than a couple of weeks (I use a ctek mxs 5.0). That way you're guaranteed to have a fully charged disco on your return.

[pop058]

If it is only 4 weeks I would leave or, as suggested get a little ctek maintenance charger. If you leave it connected, your clock, radio, etc. settings will not have to be reset.

[drivesafe]

Hi Dan, and for a 4 week break, I personally would remove the negative cables clamps from both batteries.

If you can, give the batteries a good overnight charge first.

[wbowner]

A couple of things

What is the impact of disconnecting the negative terminals.


I have read it is not good to leave the car on charge for extended periods, longer than 4 weeks, I think.

Would it be worth using a timer so the charger comes on say once week for a day?

Sorry about changing threAd a bit

Richard

[Epic pooh]

Out of interest Tim, why would you disconnect as opposed to leaving the vehicle on a proper trickle charger ?

I leave my van (2 x 100ah deep cycle) on trickle whenever it is not in use.

[p38arover]

If you are using an automatic charger, get one that will restart after a power outage. I recently found this after returning from 7 weeks overseas. I'd left the Rangie on charge but when I got home the battery was dead flat. There had been a blackout a few days after we left and the charger didn't start up again after power was restored, it sat there in voltage monitor mode.

The battery was so flat that none of my smart chargers would charge the battery, they all indicated the battery was short circuit. I recovered the battery with an old dumb charger and am still using the battery.


What is the impact of disconnecting the negative terminals.

One usually removes the ground/earth leads first because, if the spanner contacts the chassis, there won't be short circuit. On any modern car that means removing the negative leads. On older Land Rovers (and most, if not all older British cars), the positive lead was the one that was connected to chassis, i.e., positive earth.

[Graeme]

The battery was so flat that none of my smart chargers would charge the battery, they all indicated the battery was short circuit.Probably insufficient battery voltage to allow the charger to confirm that the charger was connected with correct polarity. To overcome this I temporarily connect a good battery in parallel using jumper leads then disconnect it as soon as the charger starts.

[p38arover]

Yep. I can't remember the voltage but it was down near zero. An hour with the dumb charger brought it up enough for the smart charger.

The P38A is not a car you can leave for extended periods without a charger attached.

[mottzone]

I've left mine (2011 D4 with traxide kit) for six weeks at a time with no problem. Has always started without difficulty. As the battery is now over three years I now always give it an overnight charge before leaving it for any length of time and I'm more anxious about leaving it.

Does anyone know if leaving a smart charger on for many weeks has any implications for the car's electronics?

[d2dave]

I've left mine (2011 D4 with traxide kit) for six weeks at a time with no problem. Has always started without difficulty. As the battery is now over three years I now always give it an overnight charge before leaving it for any length of time and I'm more anxious about leaving it.

Does anyone know if leaving a smart charger on for many weeks has any implications for the car's electronics?

A smart charger or what I call a maintenance charger, if it is a good one, can be left on indefinitely. It can't hurt the cars electronics as its voltage will not exceed alternator voltage.

If it is me, I would leave it on charge whilst away.

As for the above leaving it for six weeks. Your car started, that was good. However at what state of charge was it at? Batteries left for long periods start to sulphate. This is the slow process over the batteries life that causes it to wear out.

By leaving it for long periods I believe will shorten its life.

My motor bike which I purchased new in Aug 08 has a C-tek on it when ever it is parked in my shed. I do not ride it as much as I would like and I can say for sure that it has spent far more time on the charger than on the road.

The battery is now six and a half years old and is still good.

[AndyG]

Based on an earlier thread, my Defender, which is resting, is on a 5.0 ctek on a 7 day timer. It gets charged once a week.
Apparently in this scenario a smaller charger is better than larger?
I charge via the crank battery rather than auxiliary, because. ..?

It got moved this week after 2 months, all good.

[d2dave]

If it is a C-tek why have you got it on a timer? These things turn themselves off when voltage reaches optimum and when it falls a bit they start again.

It repeats this over and over keeping the battery at its optimum. Good for the battery.

[Epic pooh]

My battery guy says the 5.0 amp ctek is perfect for maintenance of either my van or disco battery setups.

He tried to explain why it is better for maintenance charging but it was over my head so I took him at his word.

My van is in a garage that has occasional outages due to an overly sensitive circuit breaker - reset the breaker and it starts up again no fuss. Imagine it would also restart after a power outage too.

[d2dave]

Power outage will not effect a C-tek. It will restart when power is restored.

[d2dave]

I have a 7 amp on my caravan which gets used for 4 weeks a year. For the other 48 it has a C-tek on it full time.

[wbowner]

If you are using an automatic charger, get one that will restart after a power outage. I recently found this after returning from 7 weeks overseas. I'd left the Rangie on charge but when I got home the battery was dead flat. There had been a blackout a few days after we left and the charger didn't start up again after power was restored, it sat there in voltage monitor mode.

The battery was so flat that none of my smart chargers would charge the battery, they all indicated the battery was short circuit. I recovered the battery with an old dumb charger and am still using the battery.



One usually removes the ground/earth leads first because, if the spanner contacts the chassis, there won't be short circuit. On any modern car that means removing the negative leads. On older Land Rovers (and most, if not all older British cars), the positive lead was the one that was connected to chassis, i.e., positive earth.
Hi I think you misunderstood my question

I was wondering if there is any impact on the car by disconnecting the terminals as drive safe mentioned when leaving a car for an extended time


Rich

[wbowner]

Based on an earlier thread, my Defender, which is resting, is on a 5.0 ctek on a 7 day timer. It gets charged once a week.
Apparently in this scenario a smaller charger is better than larger?
I charge via the crank battery rather than auxiliary, because. ..?

It got moved this week after 2 months, all good.


That was what I was thinking of doing

Sounds like a good option instead if leaving charger on all the time

Rich

[d2dave]

Disconnecting the battery is not detrimental to the car, but is to the battery as I said earlier.

Each to their own, but IMHO a maintenance charger is the best option.

[discotwinturbo]

Personally I leave mine on charge when not using it for more than a couple of weeks (I use a ctek mxs 5.0). That way you're guaranteed to have a fully charged disco on your return.

X2.

Brett....

[Eevo]

the only problem is, a few car/shed fires have been started by unattended battery chargers.

[Epic pooh]

Ctek explicitly claim this risk arises from old style trickle chargers and that their method of charging does not entail this risk and they explicitly state that their chargers are safe for long term use due to their internal temperature monitor and other mumbo jumbo.

I too am a sceptic and a slow reluctant convert.

[AndyG]

If it is a C-tek why have you got it on a timer? These things turn themselves off when voltage reaches optimum and when it falls a bit they start again.

It repeats this over and over keeping the battery at its optimum. Good for the battery.

It was suggested by an experienced forum member, that a weekly charge was better than a 4 month extended charge, but either will work with Ctek.

[lightwing]

I have been a fly in fly out worker for nearly three years and just park and forget my vehicle until my return four weeks later. No disconnect or trickle charge.
So far no problem at all.
hope this helps

[LandyAndy]

I have a CTek 25amp charger.
Look what can happen overnite:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
2 Deep cycle batteries severely discharged.Charging in tandem to slow the re-charge rate,one obviously had a mechanical fault.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/11/85.jpg (http://s113.photobucket.com/user/LandyAndy_2006/media/001_zps38881ae6.jpg.html)
Andrew

[LandyAndy]

It was suggested by an experienced forum member, that a weekly charge was better than a 4 month extended charge, but either will work with Ctek.

When My D4 was delivered,the dealer recommended lowering the suspension and locking the suspension it if it was to be parked for extended intervals.Prevents the air suspension trying to self level.
I didnt take it as gospel,but took it onboard.
Andrew

[d2dave]

Andy. I read in another thread a while ago about you getting a couple of batteries for nicks and they were rooted. Is this them?

[LandyAndy]

Yep,I wont be putting them in the camper trailer;););););)
The good one gets used regularly in the shed as a 12V source,its good but I wont use it in the trailer.
Andrew

[Epic pooh]

Andy I can't see the pic well enough on my screen to understand what happened ?!?

One of my highly dodgy van batteries died when it was on charge over winter - I noticed because the C-Tek had ceased charging and displayed a fault. Upon testing one of them was utterly cactus and the other was ok. So I got two new matching ones (and redid a bunch of the van wiring / charging system) as I've been planning to do for ... er ... some time.

[Bluepippa]

Your thoughts..
I'm away for 6 weeks over Xmas.
I have a 20w solar panel fixed to the car running through a German (can't remember the model) regulator, connected straight to the cranking battery.

The car is being left out for the whole time.. I'm just going to park it and forget it :cool:

[drivesafe]

Your thoughts..
I'm away for 6 weeks over Xmas.
I have a 20w solar panel fixed to the car running through a German (can't remember the model) regulator, connected straight to the cranking battery.

The car is being left out for the whole time.. I'm just going to park it and forget it :cool:

I my experience, this is by far the best way to maintain batteries that are not in use for long periods of time.

The problem with using a battery charger is that it is on all the time, even Ctek's pulse maintenance cycle is a constant voltage with a higher voltage pulse.

With solar, the battery is allowed to settle ( rest ) at night.

BTW, up to a 10w solar panel can be used, with out a regulator.

[wbowner]

I can't drive at the moment and my D4 has been sitting in the garage for a weeknight so
I have the Traxide dual battery

When I went to get in the car today I got the message low bsttery please start the car

The car started ok
But why the message

Rich

[Eevo]

Ctek explicitly claim this risk arises from old style trickle chargers and that their method of charging does not entail this risk and they explicitly state that their chargers are safe for long term use due to their internal temperature monitor and other mumbo jumbo.

I too am a sceptic and a slow reluctant convert.



Car battery charger believed to be the cause of the $800k shed fire that destroyed a Porsche and two Mercedes


No Cookies | The Advertiser (http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/car-battery-charger-believed-to-be-the-cause-of-the-800k-shed-fire-that-destroyed-a-porsche-and-two-mercedes/story-fni6uo1m-1226904748077)


the internal temp monitoring isnt for the battery, its for the device itself.

.

[drivesafe]

I can't drive at the moment and my D4 has been sitting in the garage for a weeknight so
I have the Traxide dual battery

When I went to get in the car today I got the message low bsttery please start the car

The car started ok
But why the message

Rich

Hi Rich and the voltage level for the warning is set at 12.2v, while my isolator cuts out at 12.0v but your D4 can be started from a battery with 11.58v.

The higher warning level is to give you a good chance to still be able to start the motor before the battery is too low to be able to start your motor.

BTW, if any landy is a daily town drive vehicle, you will be surprised how many have a voltage level of around 12.2v to 12.4v.

For those with the inclination, try measuring your cranking battery voltage in the morning, before you start your motor.

Again, many of you may be a bit surprised at how low your cranking batteries are.

[wbowner]

Hi Rich and the voltage level for the warning is set at 12.2v, while my isolator cuts out at 12.0v but your D4 can be started from a battery with 11.58v.

The higher warning level is to give you a good chance to still be able to start the motor before the battery is too low to be able to start your motor.

BTW, if any landy is a daily town drive vehicle, you will be surprised how many have a voltage level of around 12.2v to 12.4v.

For those with the inclination, try measuring your cranking battery voltage in the morning, before you start your motor.

Again, many of you may be a bit surprised at how low your cranking batteries are.
I was a bit surprised I got that message after a week or so. Any way it it is on the charger tonight. I have one of those CTEK 5 amp ones.

I will just have to get in to the habit of doing this now and again as others have.

It would be good to know what is drawing on the battery when it is All locked up and close down though.
My accessories are
traxide dual battery, I think the 4s set up
linear electronics LED gizmo to cater for LED lights in trailers
Tekonsha P3 brake controller

Could the installation of one of these cause some extra draw on the batteries.
Rich

[Epic pooh]

What kind of charger was it eevo ?


the internal temp monitoring isnt for the battery, its for the device itself.

Yes, that's what I summarised from Cteks claims in my earlier post.

The higher amp models (15a and up) have a battery temp monitor.


With solar, the battery is allowed to settle ( rest ) at night.

BTW, up to a 10w solar panel can be used, with out a regulator.

Thanks Tim.

[wbowner]

Tim,
If you use a timer to turn the charger on off, you could simulate the same as the solar charging as you mentioned above.



Rich

[Eevo]

What kind of charger was it eevo ?



Yes, that's what I summarised from Cteks claims in my earlier post.

The higher amp models (15a and up) have a battery temp monitor.



Thanks Tim.

Forum rules say I can't cant answer that.

Not many people would have the 15amp model.

[DanW]

Hi All, just closing the loop on this thread that I started.

In the end, I did nothing (parked the Disco in the carport and turned the ignition off), came back 24 days later and it started first press without any hesitation - as did the Passat.

I don't know if that proves anything but at least the answer is here for the next punter that comes along!

Cheers

Dan

[d2dave]

In the end, I did nothing (parked the Disco in the carport and turned the ignition off), came back 24 days later and it started first press without any hesitation - as did the Passat.

I don't know if that proves anything but at least the answer is here for the next punter that comes along!

Cheers

Dan

It proves a lot. It proves that your battery/s are in good nick.

However, batteries that sit for long times do start to sulphate, which shortens their life.

By how much in your case I do not know. It could be a few days, weeks or some months.

Because of the unknown here, is the reason why I would have put a charger on it for the length of time you were parked.

At the very least I would have disconnected them, as you would have also had a parastatic drain.

If you do this again down the track when they are a little older, you might find that it wont start.

[TerryO]

Forum rules say I can't cant answer that.

Not many people would have the 15amp model.


Actually Eevo Forum rules don't say you can't name a battery charger.