Ormy
Member
Due to covid lockdown I'm barely using my car at all. Once per week to drive to the local supermarket which is less than a mile away. Consequently the battery is barely being charged and keeps going flat. Getting the car started when I want to use it is not a problem, I've already bought a jump starter thing (one of these) which I can charge in the house and use to get the car started.
The problem is that the battery is draining so low that it is starting to set the alarm off, sometimes in the middle of the night.
I don't want to be regularly driving around wasting petrol for the sole purpose of charging the battery.
If I could attach a trickle charger that would be problem solved however I do not own a garage or driveway, it would mean trailing wires across a residential street, not a long term solution.
I considered removing the battery each week and bringing it in the house to be charged, but that means the car would be unprotected by the alarm and the dashcam while the battery was inside, not acceptable to me.
My current idea is to buy a second battery, a large deep-cycle caravan battery, charge it in the house and then once charged put it in the car boot and connect it to the car's main battery, this will charge the main battery and keep the car alarm and dashcam running. I would take it out one night per week to charge and then put it back in the boot. I already have thick wiring from the car battery under the bonnet to the boot for my subwoofer/amplifier so wiring would be easy. Main car battery is 60AH so I'm thinking to buy a caravan battery with at least double that.
I'm not too bothered about the cost of a large second battery, a high capacity 12V battery is a useful item to have around for powercuts and emergencies so the general utility would be worth the cost for me.
Has anyone got any other/better ideas?
The problem is that the battery is draining so low that it is starting to set the alarm off, sometimes in the middle of the night.
I don't want to be regularly driving around wasting petrol for the sole purpose of charging the battery.
If I could attach a trickle charger that would be problem solved however I do not own a garage or driveway, it would mean trailing wires across a residential street, not a long term solution.
I considered removing the battery each week and bringing it in the house to be charged, but that means the car would be unprotected by the alarm and the dashcam while the battery was inside, not acceptable to me.
My current idea is to buy a second battery, a large deep-cycle caravan battery, charge it in the house and then once charged put it in the car boot and connect it to the car's main battery, this will charge the main battery and keep the car alarm and dashcam running. I would take it out one night per week to charge and then put it back in the boot. I already have thick wiring from the car battery under the bonnet to the boot for my subwoofer/amplifier so wiring would be easy. Main car battery is 60AH so I'm thinking to buy a caravan battery with at least double that.
I'm not too bothered about the cost of a large second battery, a high capacity 12V battery is a useful item to have around for powercuts and emergencies so the general utility would be worth the cost for me.
Has anyone got any other/better ideas?