12v battery maintenance

Solar Battery charger 15% off at Amazon , just ordered one for myself. 😊🔋

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AA-Essentials-AA1432-Battery-Charger/dp/B084M5ZL5L/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3FSZ4R6E5CCHH&keywords=aa%2Bsolar%2Bbattery%2Bcharger%2B12v%2Bideal%2Bfor%2Bcars&qid=1649864741&quartzVehicle=29-10519&replacementKeywords=aa%2Bsolar%2Bbattery%2B12v%2Bideal%2Bfor%2Bcars&sprefix=aa%2Bbattery%2Bcharger%2Bsolar%2Caps%2C75&sr=8-5&th=1

On 2/26/2022 at 12:12 PM, Spo2 said:

I am just wondering what do people do who do not have access to electric power socket near the vehicle? 

https://odysee.com/ekologie_v_praxi-(1):1

Wrong on so many levels. 

For on street parking a jump starter pack and a solar charger would work. 

For garage parking without electrics the jump starter pack to get you put into solar effect. 

14 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

Wrong on so many levels. 

For on street parking a jump starter pack and a solar charger would work. 

For garage parking without electrics the jump starter pack to get you put into solar effect. 

Thanks, Roy, got a jump starter and have yet to buy a solar charger though got a smart/trickle charger. Some members are reviewing AA solar charger, so would see their experience. I drive my car every day like 7- 10 miles, so should not be expecting Battery problem.

Sol, that mileage might be marginal, I don't know. An additional item you might consider is a voltmeter.  If it shows your Battery is not getting a full charge from those short runs you could then use the recommended READY mode routine to make up the difference. 

More expensive than a voltmeter (useful for other things too) and more expensive at £22-£26 is a bluetooth Battery monitor. This is wired to the Battery and sends data to your phone.  One Amazon review is by 'Tilly' who uses it to monitor her Toyota. 

While it means you can monitor the battery without opening the bonnet, the bluetooth range is limited ; I guess being under the bonnet is the reason. 

3 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

Sol, that mileage might be marginal, I don't know. An additional item you might consider is a voltmeter.  If it shows your battery is not getting a full charge from those short runs you could then use the recommended READY mode routine to make up the difference. 

More expensive than a voltmeter (useful for other things too) and more expensive at £22-£26 is a Bluetooth battery monitor. This is wired to the battery and sends data to your phone.  One Amazon review is by 'Tilly' who uses it to monitor her Toyota. 

While it means you can monitor the battery without opening the bonnet, the Bluetooth range is limited ; I guess being under the bonnet is the reason. 

Thanks Roy,  would check this out. Are you using or have you used this monitor as well?

Sol, not used it but definitely considering it when we get our Yaris.  IIRC the black box is labelled BM2 with almost every one having identical detail on the box except one has some omitted. 

You can pay less on eBay but Amazon is the better bet as they have a right to return for a month or two. 

With hybrids distance doesn't matter as much as time, so if those 7-10 miles involve being stuck in traffic a lot then it should have enough time to put some amps into the Battery.

37 minutes ago, Cyker said:

With hybrids distance doesn't matter as much as time, so if those 7-10 miles involve being stuck in traffic a lot then it should have enough time to put some amps into the battery.

 

Oxfordshire, so that figures 😄

Where I am 7 miles equates to 10 minutes. 

34 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

Oxfordshire, so that figures 😄

Where I am 7 miles equates to 10 minutes. 

I actually do to and fro each of 3.6 miles. I checked in MyT app- each to or fro  3.6 miles takes 13 to 17 minutes. So say an average of 15 minutes each side, and about 30 minutes both side. This is urban B roads with some stop start traffic. Would this be enough to keep the Battery in good condition? 

2x30 minutes per day should be fine. 

A voltmeter, about a fiver, is always useful, checking fuses, checking electric wiring is dead or alive, or checking Battery voltage. 

When in READY mode you expect over 14v and a short while after you switch off about 12.5v.  Next day it should still be up. 

Suppose you didn't use the car for a long weekend, you could check the Battery before switching on.   This would give you a feel for how much it has drained. 

17 hours ago, Roy124 said:

Where I am 7 miles equates to 10 minutes. 

My commute of 6.5 miles averaged around 40 minutes, though sometimes took 60.

Before I had the car for work it was my gf car and only been used daily for school runs 3 miles total distance and about 20min , I was picking them up in the afternoon with my other car. Weekend travel about 30-40 miles and total time 2x30 min = 1hr. Like that about 3 years. Some holidays each year 3 weeks plus one extra week without use in the winter.  No problems at all. One difference though, the car has no connected services that usually drains power constantly. 👍

16 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

Before I had the car for work it was my gf car and only been used daily for school runs 3 miles total distance and about 20min , I was picking them up in the afternoon with my other car. Weekend travel about 30-40 miles and total time 2x30 min = 1hr. Like that about 3 years. Some holidays each year 3 weeks plus one extra week without use in the winter.  No problems at all. One difference though, the car has no connected services that usually drains power constantly. 👍

Thanks Tony. I disable smart entry but wondering does anyone know how to disable connected services?

4 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

My commute of 6.5 miles averaged around 40 minutes, though sometimes took 60.

My sympathies fellow traffic crawler! My commute and site-to-sites are similar! It was so brain-bending during the lockdown as my journey times were cut to a third of the normal times - I have seen heaven and it was just me and 3 other cars on the A10 at rush-hour!  

One Lincolnshire commute I did for 3 years was 57 miles each way - 75 minutes.  If I had a 'late' start it was a good 30 minutes longer. 

Yikes, that's a bit of a trek... at least you spent most of it moving tho'!!  

I must admit part of the joy of driving the Mk4 is because so much of my journey involves not moving and staring at brake lights, so for the vast majority of the journey the engine isn't even running and I can just nudge the car forward a bit when the traffic moves.

So much better than the stop-start system in the Mk2 (Well, when it worked), where the poor engine would be constantly starting just to move me a foot and then stop again.

9 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Yikes, that's a bit of a trek... at least you spent most of it moving tho'!!  

I must admit part of the joy of driving the Mk4 is because so much of my journey involves not moving and staring at brake lights, so for the vast majority of the journey the engine isn't even running and I can just nudge the car forward a bit when the traffic moves.

So much better than the stop-start system in the Mk2 (Well, when it worked), where the poor engine would be constantly starting just to move me a foot and then stop again.

 

That’s one reason why Toyota hybrids are the best ice cars currently, only full ev is better or perhaps the same, but you need to have hybrid for some time to appreciate it. Driving a manual car or anything that has a ignition key, gears, clutch and a starter motor is a century old tech, even though it might be made only a week ago, it’s a full stop for me. 👌👍

I must admit I do miss the manual a bit just because I miss all the low-speed finesse tricks I could do with it (It is literally impossible to stop the Mk4 as smoothly as I could a manual car, partly because the drive is always engaged so it's fighting the brakes, but also because of the brake-by-wire!), but this is so effortless to drive at all speeds I much prefer it to the Mk2! Not even that 6th gear could tempt me away now!!  

I feel kinda lucky I got this when I did; It is exactly what I need right now - It has that EV-responsiveness, stupidly good mpg, but also an obnoxiously raucous engine for when I want to put my hooligan hat on   Best of all worlds!  

On 4/18/2022 at 8:45 PM, Roy124 said:

2x30 minutes per day should be fine. 

A voltmeter, about a fiver, is always useful, checking fuses, checking electric wiring is dead or alive, or checking battery voltage. 

When in READY mode you expect over 14v and a short while after you switch off about 12.5v.

I have a car socket extension block which provides additional car sockets and USB sockets. It also has a built in digital voltmeter. Very useful.

Alan, anything of that nature is good. The point about the voltmeter is it is an inexpensive tool box item. 

I had a CTEK wired-in 3 light system. 5 times the price, a pain to monitor, it told you practically nothing.  Fortunately it was a free return to Amazon. 

My voltmeter confirmed an open circuit in an electric towel rail.  It saved the cost of an electrician. Daily monitoring of a defective Battery got me a new one.  For some reason my garage fitted one with 20% greater capacity. 

5 hours ago, johalareewi said:

I have a car socket extension block which provides additional car sockets and USB sockets. It also has a built in digital voltmeter. Very useful.

Alan, thanks- would you be able to post a link to this?

Ordered this one- https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07DWR42MX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Now, I do have a 12v splitter with USB port but that is without a voltmeter- should have bought that one with a voltmeter

I got this one but i see it is currently unavailable.  My wife has a similar one in her car.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07W56ZYQB

We are not alone. 

There is an article in today's Telegraph under motoring of a Land Rover Discovery owner who got a low Battery warning light.  Land Rover's advice was to undertake a longer journey every month. 

Flat batteries were caused by the increased demands of car electronics. 

The ultimate advice was to use trickle chargers or solar chargers. 

This is clearly an industry wide issue such that cars should have such chargers either as standard or a factory fitted option.  Obviously this problem will go away in due course. 

"Electrical power demands on modern vehicles have increased significantly over time with the addition of the latest safety systems, efficiency systems such as start/stop, security and luxury comforts."

“As with many facets of owning and running a vehicle, Battery management should be considered. Like many manufacturers, Land Rover products feature warning systems to prevent complete depletion of the Battery and guide the user to take action. Land Rover also provides guidance in the user handbook."