Electrics: Battery charger

[Dastardly Diesel]

The pattern of usage of my D5 is a bit odd. It'll get used intensely for 4 or 5 days, then it'll stand idle for 7 or 8.

The car handles it just fine, but I am aware that SLA batteries don't like this sort of thing. Does anyone use an intelligent charger or battery conditioner on their 90? What makes or models are recommended? I'm thinking of one with a permanent loom I can attach to the battery, so it's a plug and play activity.

[S60D5-185]

Originally Posted by Dastardly Diesel

The pattern of usage of my D5 is a bit odd. It'll get used intensely for 4 or 5 days, then it'll stand idle for 7 or 8.

The car handles it just fine, but I am aware that SLA batteries don't like this sort of thing. Does anyone use an intelligent charger or battery conditioner on their 90? What makes or models are recommended? I'm thinking of one with a permanent loom I can attach to the battery, so it's a plug and play activity.

I have similar usage to yourself but in January when I knew that I would not be driving for several weeks following a knee replacement, I bought a used Optimate 3 + smart charger.

I extended the supplied hard wired lead and coupled it up to the under bonnet positive post and one of the earth points on the nearside wing.

This extends down just through the grille when in use but tucks away when not.

Knowing the complexity of the electrics on an XC90 I didn't want to allow the battery to run low or go flat and the £20 I paid for this quality charger has solved it.

[Dastardly Diesel]

I run an Optimate on my motorbikes. According g to the book they're only good for batteries up to 50ah. How would that cope with the 90ah brick in my XC?

[S60D5-185]

Originally Posted by Dastardly Diesel

I run an Optimate on my motorbikes. According g to the book they're only good for batteries up to 50ah. How would that cope with the 90ah brick in my XC?

I'll be honest, I didn't check it's capabilities but nonetheless after 4 weeks sat on the drive it spun it over as if it had a new battery on it and my car has the same battery as yours.

I have a couple of these chargers and use the other one on my bikes.

I understand that CTEK are also highly rated.

I see you have a 91 Vmax. Lovely bike. I sold my immaculate 2004 20th Anniversary Vmax about 3 years ago. Still a very quick bike and interesting in the bends.

[Moose Test]

Originally Posted by Dastardly Diesel

According g to the book they're only good for batteries up to 50ah. How would that cope with the 90ah brick in my XC?

For a good quality charger, there is no risk of damage to either it or to your battery. It's simply that since it can deliver less charge current than a larger unit, it will take longer to fully charge the battery from any given state of discharge, all other things being equal.

If your intended use-case is just to top-off/maintain a battery which is in generally good condition over a period of days whilst the car is not in use, a smaller charge capacity should be fine.

[Dastardly Diesel]

Thanks guys. Then I guess all I need is an additional Optimate loom and I'm sorted.

Aye, the Max is a bit of a handful if you get a bit cocky in the twisties. It's got beefed up fork springs and emulators, and I'm a big strong lad so can manhandle it more than most, but it can still bite if you don't respect it. Monstrous in a straight line though.

[cheshired5]

Originally Posted by Dastardly Diesel

I run an Optimate on my motorbikes. According g to the book they're only good for batteries up to 50ah. How would that cope with the 90ah brick in my XC?

The short answer is fine.

As alluded to, lower spec Optimate are recommended for smaller capacity applications because they deliver voltage at a much lower current.
If you needed the ability to to recover large capacity batteries in a few hours or overnight, you'd have to get a smart charger which can deliver a higher current.

My Optimate 4 delivers 0.8A versus 5-6A with the likes of Optimate 5 and 6

That said, the Optimate 4 has regularly managed to recover dead 90Ah D5 batteries but it just needs time..... a lot of time which is fortunately what you have with your present car use and charging requirements.

[60041]

I have used a Numax “Connect and forget” charger for the last few years.
My Morris and motorcycles tend to get used only in the summer and can spend nearly 6 months out of use, so the charger is connected to each one in turn for a week or so.
The batteries are always in tip top condition.

[ksmi]

Afternoon all,It's a bit like the bike section on here at the mo' Luverly!, very nostalgic, I Do Miss Bikes! The V-Max sounds like a sprung hub Triumph,handling wise, but not compared with the power of modern bikes,still enough to get in trouble. I do miss the days when I could do a tour of the car dealers looking for bikes they had taken in part ex. or failing that could find them in car auctions all over the place.
By the way,must mench., A couple of days ago noticed water in both n/s foot wells,today was the 1st dry day since,so had a look, could not see any thing obvious, so using one of my remaining 'little grey cells' checked the drains
from the plenum chamber,the first one I tried almost filled my boots up! no wonder it was getting inside! Made my day! Hope the Labs. don't mind me using their towels in the mopping up operations, "I am going to wash them afterward lads", promise.

Regards,Keith.

[Bashy]

Been thinking of something similar, what about these solar trickle chargers, are they any good?