Disconnecting my car battery for an extended period

[sn809]

Hillbilly: haha....another incisive and absolute response - thanks for the comment!!

Ain't nothing "all technical" about 2 wires and a set of 2 x pin connectors!!

I have looked at the CTek charger but I discounted the universal, one-size-fits-all "permanent connector" as being not suitable (IMHO, of course).

When I install these simple charger looms, I much prefer to make a custom built extension that fits snugly in the engine bay, that is exactly the required length and that uses high quality gold connectors (at both ends). Plus I like to install an in-line fuse for added safety- smart chargers are normally self protecting, but I don't like a directly connected wire to the +ve battery terminal of any sizable length being un-fused. And finally, the CTek "permanent connector" is intended to be bolted to the +ve and -ve battery terminals- as you will be aware, this is a no-no on Stop Start cars with regeneration.

Anyhow, I ain't had any complaints thus far - but of course, others are perfectly free to accept a different standard (as is their right)!!

Don

COuld you upload a photo I am intrigued by these gold connectors that can be left attached to the car.

[Nudist]

+1 for the trickle charger. And pump up the tyres to about 50 psi

As I said in my original post the other alternative is disconnecting the battery but I wonder what the effect would be when I reconnected in terms of if I lose a lot of settings.

[DV52]

COuld you upload a photo I am intrigued by these gold connectors that can be left attached to the car.

^^^^hmm...... OK - ain't nothing particularly special about the connectors -they are widely available and I've been using them for many years now on all sorts of battery applications both in cars, on radio controlled devices and anywhere where VD (volt drop - not the disease) and potentially high electrical current draw might be a concern. And of course, the connectors are corrosion resistant - so especially suitable for charger extension looms where the car owner doesn't want to have to lift the bonnet to make the charger connection.

As I said, lots of variants available on the net, but I'm tending towards Dean plugs of late (sometimes called "Tee - plugs") - Google the term!!

Don

[DV52]

As I said in my original post the other alternative is disconnecting the battery but I wonder what the effect would be when I reconnected in terms of if I lose a lot of settings.

Nudist: Most (all?) of the important "settings" in the car will be stored in non-volatile memory - so disconnecting/connecting the battery shouldn't be a problem.

However, when you reconnect the battery, you will generate a number of alarms in the car as the modules attempt to re-establish their initialization parameters. Most of the alarms will self clear shortly after the rail voltage in the car stabilizes (try cycling the ignition switch a couple of times - it often helps). Any residual alarms that may persist should be cleared by taking the car for a short drive. It will take longer for the car to validate its internal emission tests (called "readiness" in the engine module) - however these tests normally sit in the background without the driver being aware that they are occurring.

Don

[Hillbilly]

Hillbilly: haha....another incisive and absolute response - thanks for the comment!!

Ain't nothing "all technical" about 2 wires and a set of 2 x pin connectors!!

I have looked at the CTek charger but I discounted the universal, one-size-fits-all "permanent connector" as being not suitable (IMHO, of course).

When I install these simple charger looms, I much prefer to make a custom built extension that fits snugly in the engine bay, that is exactly the required length and that uses high quality gold connectors (at both ends). Plus I like to install an in-line fuse for added safety- smart chargers are normally self protecting, but I don't like a directly connected wire to the +ve battery terminal of any sizable length being un-fused. And finally, the CTek "permanent connector" is intended to be bolted to the +ve and -ve battery terminals- as you will be aware, this is a no-no on Stop Start cars with regeneration.

Anyhow, I ain't had any complaints thus far - but of course, others are perfectly free to accept a different standard (as is their right)!!

Don

.
Mine was connected to the + terminal and the post on the firewall as recommended by VW. Worked perfectly for about a year till I bought a new battery. Just saves having to make things

[GTD AYO]

Until the pandemic I left my 2011 GTD in a garage for up to six months a year whilst working overseas. I lowered the tyre pressure and put it on a trickle charger from Bunnings. Nil problems. My first battery lasted 7 years. And leave fuel below quarter so can top up with fresh when ready to go again...

[gregozedobe]

Until the pandemic I left my 2011 GTD in a garage for up to six months a year whilst working overseas. I lowered the tyre pressure and put it on a trickle charger from Bunnings. Nil problems. My first battery lasted 7 years. And leave fuel below quarter so can top up with fresh when ready to go again...

Good advice. Going for a short drive is supposed to fix the multitude of error messages you get after disconnecting the battery.

I don't know how effective these tyre savers are, but they are supposed to reduce flat-spotting:
Tyre Saver (Pair)

[gregozedobe]

.
Mine was connected to the + terminal and the post on the firewall as recommended by VW. Worked perfectly for about a year till I bought a new battery. Just saves having to make things

I bought the "Indicator" CTEK connector, it is fused, and has 3 LEDS which go from green, through yellow to red as the battery voltage drops. The LED threshold voltages aren't what I would design, but it is good enough to tell me when my battery could do with a topup.

[Hillbilly]

Until the pandemic I left my 2011 GTD in a garage for up to six months a year whilst working overseas. I lowered the tyre pressure and put it on a trickle charger from Bunnings. Nil problems. My first battery lasted 7 years. And leave fuel below quarter so can top up with fresh when ready to go again...

I would RAISE the tyre pressures to try to stop flat spots as nothing worse than a car sitting on soft tyres for long periods without moving

[salrom]

Hi Nudist,
I have the same problem not driving much at the moment so I hook up a small 12v solar panel from supper cheep auto that has the wire permanently connected to the battery terminals.

It just sits on the dash board. I didn't want to fix it to the dash so all I have to do is move it into the doors side pocket when I drive.
Its only a 300 ma 4 W peek current unit, and it only charges when there is sun so its not going to over charge the battery as it will naturally lose some charge and the car uses some power even when its not being driven.