In-situ car battery charging

[pebe]

I own a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa and want to ensure that I don’t get a flat
battery, again, as a result of short winter trips. So I have purchased a
float charger.

Is there a simple way of connecting it up each night without lifting the
bonnet and clipping on to the battery terminals? I had thought of going
in through the cigarette lighter socket, but the ignition has to be
switched on before it connects.




--
pebe

 

[D Yuniskis]

pebe wrote:

I own a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa and want to ensure that I don’t get a flat
battery, again, as a result of short winter trips. So I have purchased a
float charger.

Is there a simple way of connecting it up each night without lifting the
bonnet and clipping on to the battery terminals? I had thought of going
in through the cigarette lighter socket, but the ignition has to be
switched on before it connects.

I'd opt for one of those bulky battery connectors found
in (APC) UPS's. No, you don't need that sort of current
handling capability (unless you also wanted to use this as
a power *outlet* to connect, for example, an inverter!).
But, the connector is "ample" (in terms of size), keyed
and easy to manhandle -- I suspect you are looking for
something you can easily plug in without having to "fuss
over it".

I suspect this would also fare reasonably well in rain/snow
as they aren't "precision" components, it is not a "pin and
socket" style connection (rather, two blades) that could
fill with water and freeze, etc.

I'll see if I can find a URL of a suitable image...

 

[Wild_Bill]

The reply fom MP is generally the best method to approach the situation. You
should use a suitable gage of wire to exceed the charging capacity and avoid
any sharp metal in routing the wires.

The important part is the fuse near the battery terminal. The fuse capacity
should exceed the charging capacity by about 150-200 %, if you intend to
avoid using the charging connector for any other equipment.
Having a method to cover the interior connector's terminals would be a good
idea, to avoid any accidental contact between them, or contact with any
other electrical potentials (car body metal, for example). I like using
urethane vacuum caps for covering connector ends.. they're the type of soft
caps that are used on fittings to block off a barbed fitting stem.

A stainless steel terminal would be most suitable if connecting directly to
the battery connector, although you can probably find a full-time B+
junction block near the battery to add the terminal to.

--
Cheers,
WB
..............


"Meat Plow" <mhywatt@yahoo.com> wrote in message
newsan.2010.10.31.20.27.12@lmao.lol.lol...

On Sun, 31 Oct 2010 14:34:55 +0000, pebe wrote:

I own a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa and want to ensure that I don’t get a flat
battery, again, as a result of short winter trips. So I have purchased a
float charger.

Is there a simple way of connecting it up each night without lifting the
bonnet and clipping on to the battery terminals? I had thought of going
in through the cigarette lighter socket, but the ignition has to be
switched on before it connects.


On my Harley motorcycle I have a male/female 2 pin Molex plug. Ring
terminals on the battery. 1.5 amp Schauer floating charge. Battery is
going on 9 years old and I don't anticipate replacing it soon. You could
rig something that is wired to the battery comes into the cabin where
your other wires pass through from the engine compartment. You could then
plug into that. Make sure you use a fuse on the positive wire at the
battery connection.


--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

 

[D Yuniskis]

D Yuniskis wrote:

I suspect this would also fare reasonably well in rain/snow
as they aren't "precision" components, it is not a "pin and
socket" style connection (rather, two blades) that could
fill with water and freeze, etc.

I'll see if I can find a URL of a suitable image...

http://www.atbatt.com/product/22588.asp

(click on the 4th? "alternate view" to see this enlarged)

This is about 1.5" across -- to give you a sense of scale.

I suggest it mainly because I come across a *lot* of
discarded UPS's and these connectors are among my favorite
"pulls" (be sure to get both mating halves if you go this
route!)

Note that the blades (contacts) are easily released from
the connector shell so you can unsolder the existing wire
and make a new connection, if desired. You can also slide
the blades into some *other* shell (there are different
variations of this same connector body theme)

 

[Jeffrey Angus]

On 10/31/2010 3:55 PM, D Yuniskis wrote:

I'd opt for one of those bulky battery connectors found
in (APC) UPS's.

I'll see if I can find a URL of a suitable image...

Something like this then.

Widely available.

<http://www.amazon.com/Power-Pole-Connector-Black-Anderson-Sermos/dp/B000QUZD4W>

Jeff

 

[Meat Plow]

On Sun, 31 Oct 2010 14:34:55 +0000, pebe wrote:

I own a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa and want to ensure that I don’t get a flat
battery, again, as a result of short winter trips. So I have purchased a
float charger.

Is there a simple way of connecting it up each night without lifting the
bonnet and clipping on to the battery terminals? I had thought of going
in through the cigarette lighter socket, but the ignition has to be
switched on before it connects.

On my Harley motorcycle I have a male/female 2 pin Molex plug. Ring
terminals on the battery. 1.5 amp Schauer floating charge. Battery is
going on 9 years old and I don't anticipate replacing it soon. You could
rig something that is wired to the battery comes into the cabin where
your other wires pass through from the engine compartment. You could then
plug into that. Make sure you use a fuse on the positive wire at the
battery connection.


--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

 

[Dave Platt]

In article <pan.2010.10.31.20.27.12@lmao.lol.lol>,
Meat Plow <mhywatt@yahoo.com> wrote:

I own a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa and want to ensure that I don’t get a flat
battery, again, as a result of short winter trips. So I have purchased a
float charger.

Is there a simple way of connecting it up each night without lifting the
bonnet and clipping on to the battery terminals? I had thought of going
in through the cigarette lighter socket, but the ignition has to be
switched on before it connects.


On my Harley motorcycle I have a male/female 2 pin Molex plug. Ring
terminals on the battery. 1.5 amp Schauer floating charge. Battery is
going on 9 years old and I don't anticipate replacing it soon. You could
rig something that is wired to the battery comes into the cabin where
your other wires pass through from the engine compartment. You could then
plug into that. Make sure you use a fuse on the positive wire at the
battery connection.

Rather than using a Molex plug system, I'd recommend using Anderson
PowerPole connectors. They're designed to survive a large number of
connect/disconnect cycles without wearing out.

Most of the amateur-radio emergency groups have moved to using these,
rather than Molex, due to their ruggedness and their ability to create
"universal" connection systems (e.g. any battery or power supply or
device will connect to any other, with proper polarity and with no
"gender changers" being required).

The 15-amp PowerPole connectors and inserts are probably what you'd
want.

I agree, fusing the "hot" lead near the battery is a very good idea.

--
Dave Platt <dplatt@radagast.org> AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

 

[Meat Plow]

On Sun, 31 Oct 2010 17:03:36 -0400, Wild_Bill wrote:

The reply fom MP is generally the best method to approach the situation.
You should use a suitable gage of wire to exceed the charging capacity
and avoid any sharp metal in routing the wires.

The important part is the fuse near the battery terminal. The fuse
capacity should exceed the charging capacity by about 150-200 %, if you
intend to avoid using the charging connector for any other equipment.
Having a method to cover the interior connector's terminals would be a
good idea, to avoid any accidental contact between them, or contact with
any other electrical potentials (car body metal, for example). I like
using urethane vacuum caps for covering connector ends.. they're the
type of soft caps that are used on fittings to block off a barbed
fitting stem.

A stainless steel terminal would be most suitable if connecting directly
to the battery connector, although you can probably find a full-time B+
junction block near the battery to add the terminal to.

--
Cheers,
WB
.............


"Meat Plow" <mhywatt@yahoo.com> wrote in message
newsan.2010.10.31.20.27.12@lmao.lol.lol...
On Sun, 31 Oct 2010 14:34:55 +0000, pebe wrote:

I own a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa and want to ensure that I don’t get a flat
battery, again, as a result of short winter trips. So I have purchased
a float charger.

Is there a simple way of connecting it up each night without lifting
the bonnet and clipping on to the battery terminals? I had thought of
going in through the cigarette lighter socket, but the ignition has to
be switched on before it connects.


On my Harley motorcycle I have a male/female 2 pin Molex plug. Ring
terminals on the battery. 1.5 amp Schauer floating charge. Battery is
going on 9 years old and I don't anticipate replacing it soon. You
could rig something that is wired to the battery comes into the cabin
where your other wires pass through from the engine compartment. You
could then plug into that. Make sure you use a fuse on the positive
wire at the battery connection.

The Schumacher 1.5 amp Battery Companion comes with the appropriate male/
female Molex connectors. But you'd have to lengthen the battery end wires.
Must of these come with decent connectors designed to protect from shorts
however none come with fuses. A fuse at the battery is a must. Prevents
fires. A 5 amp fuse should do the job although the lower the better. My
Icom 706MKIIG uses about 25 amps on HF and I have some stranded #8
running through the firewall. Positive is fused with a 25 amp fuse at the
battery, the same value as the double fused factory cable. I've seen a
van burn to the ground that was improperly fused and had some high power
audio gear inside I don't want that to happen to me. Grommets through the
firewall are a must also.








--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Dave Platt:

Rather than using a Molex plug system, I'd recommend using Anderson
PowerPole connectors. They're designed to survive a large number of
connect/disconnect cycles without wearing out.

+1
--
PeteCresswell

 

[N_Cook]

pebe <pebe.7138349@diybanter.com> wrote in message
newsebe.7138349@diybanter.com...

I own a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa and want to ensure that I don't get a flat
battery, again, as a result of short winter trips. So I have purchased a
float charger.

Is there a simple way of connecting it up each night without lifting the
bonnet and clipping on to the battery terminals? I had thought of going
in through the cigarette lighter socket, but the ignition has to be
switched on before it connects.




--
pebe

Does anyone produce a bigger version of the "electric toothbrush" charger
system? - inductively coupled. I've seen a system for charging multiple
mobile phones etc using this. What is the minimum power transfer required
and the minimum clearance between a sender on the floor and the receiver
coil mounted under the car. ? Then no plugging in required at all

 

[Meat Plow]

On Mon, 01 Nov 2010 08:12:53 +0000, N_Cook wrote:

pebe <pebe.7138349@diybanter.com> wrote in message
newsebe.7138349@diybanter.com...

I own a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa and want to ensure that I don't get a flat
battery, again, as a result of short winter trips. So I have purchased
a float charger.

Is there a simple way of connecting it up each night without lifting
the bonnet and clipping on to the battery terminals? I had thought of
going in through the cigarette lighter socket, but the ignition has to
be switched on before it connects.




--
pebe


Does anyone produce a bigger version of the "electric toothbrush"
charger system? - inductively coupled. I've seen a system for charging
multiple mobile phones etc using this. What is the minimum power
transfer required and the minimum clearance between a sender on the
floor and the receiver coil mounted under the car. ? Then no plugging in
required at all

I hardly think the OP is going to find it tedious to plug in his charger.
One thing he could do is to rewire his cigarette lighter to remain live
with the ignition off. Then all he would need would be a lighter plug on
the charger end. Personally I would just run some 18 ga through a grommet
already established for engine to dash wiring, install a 5 amp fuse at
the batter end and use a Molex plug or whatever plug comes with the float
charger. They usually have a plug, mine did. And it is suitable for the
interior of the cabin. I let mine lay all summer in between the passenger
seat and center console. When the temperatures dip below 10F I use the
charger. My vehicle has a self start feature. Just bump the key and
release. If batter voltage is low because of the ambient temperature
the start relay tends to release before the engine starts then re-engages
the starter making it grind into the flywheel. Keeping the battery at top
voltage prevents this. What I need is a better brand of battery not
susceptible to cold or a heater in my garage



--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

 

[pebe]

'Meat Plow[_5_ Wrote:

On Mon, 01 Nov 2010 08:12:53 +0000, N_Cook wrote:
-
pebe pebe.7138349@diybanter.com wrote in message
newsebe.7138349@diybanter.com...-

I own a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa and want to ensure that I don't get a flat
battery, again, as a result of short winter trips. So I have purchased
a float charger.

Is there a simple way of connecting it up each night without lifting
the bonnet and clipping on to the battery terminals? I had thought of
going in through the cigarette lighter socket, but the ignition has to
be switched on before it connects.




--
pebe-


Does anyone produce a bigger version of the "electric toothbrush"
charger system? - inductively coupled. I've seen a system for charging
multiple mobile phones etc using this. What is the minimum power
transfer required and the minimum clearance between a sender on the
floor and the receiver coil mounted under the car. ? Then no plugging
in
required at all-

I hardly think the OP is going to find it tedious to plug in his
charger.
One thing he could do is to rewire his cigarette lighter to remain live

with the ignition off. Then all he would need would be a lighter plug on

the charger end. Personally I would just run some 18 ga through a
grommet
already established for engine to dash wiring, install a 5 amp fuse at
the batter end and use a Molex plug or whatever plug comes with the
float
charger. They usually have a plug, mine did. And it is suitable for the

interior of the cabin. I let mine lay all summer in between the
passenger
seat and center console. When the temperatures dip below 10F I use the
charger. My vehicle has a self start feature. Just bump the key and
release. If batter voltage is low because of the ambient temperature
the start relay tends to release before the engine starts then
re-engages
the starter making it grind into the flywheel. Keeping the battery at
top
voltage prevents this. What I need is a better brand of battery not
susceptible to cold or a heater in my garage



--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

Thanks everyone for your inputs.

Meat Plow,
I initially thought of rewiring the cigar lighter as you suggested, but
could not identify the wiring to it. All the leads come out on the
engine side of the bulkhead through a rubber gaiter. There are dozens of
wires bound up in a tight bunch about 40mm in diameter. They leave the
gaiter inside the fusebox and immediately disappear under the fuses.
There is no way I can identify the one that feeds the cigar lighter.
The user manual gives me the fuse number but that fuses several
circuits. I’ve tried to get the wiring diagram from the internet
but with no success.

Inside the car, the rear of the bulkhead is entirely covered in a unit
of plastic panels that house instruments, heater, radio, glove pockets,
airbags, etc, and which extend from the windscreen down to within
14” of the floor. It’s impossible to remove them to get at
the wiring without know-how or special tools – neither of which I
have.

So I have settled for fitting an alternative connector. I have located
the source of a suitable 10A one and a 7.5A inline fuse. All I have to
do now is find a route for the cable through the bulkhead! Not an easy
job………!




--
pebe

 

[tm]

"pebe" <pebe.7162649@diybanter.com> wrote in message
newsebe.7162649@diybanter.com...

'Meat Plow[_5_ Wrote:
;2526406']On Mon, 01 Nov 2010 08:12:53 +0000, N_Cook wrote:
-
pebe pebe.7138349@diybanter.com wrote in message
newsebe.7138349@diybanter.com...-

I own a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa and want to ensure that I don't get a flat
battery, again, as a result of short winter trips. So I have purchased
a float charger.

Is there a simple way of connecting it up each night without lifting
the bonnet and clipping on to the battery terminals? I had thought of
going in through the cigarette lighter socket, but the ignition has to
be switched on before it connects.

snip

So I have settled for fitting an alternative connector. I have located
the source of a suitable 10A one and a 7.5A inline fuse. All I have to
do now is find a route for the cable through the bulkhead! Not an easy
job………!

Can you find a hot fuse in the fuse panel with the ignition off?

tm

 

[mm]

On Sun, 31 Oct 2010 14:34:55 +0000, pebe <pebe.7138349@diybanter.com>
wrote:

I own a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa and want to ensure that I don’t get a flat
battery, again, as a result of short winter trips. So I have purchased a
float charger.

Is there a simple way of connecting it up each night without lifting the
bonnet and clipping on to the battery terminals?

Yes there is.

I had thought of going
in through the cigarette lighter socket, but the ignition has to be
switched on before it connects.

I used to have a 6-volt car, and it was hard to start in the Chicago
winter, so I put a one-amp battery charger inside the engine
compartment, with its 12 volt cord still wrapped up like new and the
alligator clips on the battery posts, and I put the AC cord through
the grill.

Whenever I got home, I plugged it in to an extension cord that I ran
from the kitchen and hung on a pole. I did that all winter, rain and
shine, never took the extension cord inside. Even when it snowed and
the middle of the wire was underneath the snow, everything was fine.
Never blew a fuse. (I didn't handle the plug or outlet directly when
it was wet. I either had on gloves or I pulled it apart by the
wires.)

I wan't sure the 6-volt setting was really enough to keep it charged,
so I set it on the 12-volt setting, and the circuit breaker would trip
ever 90 seconds and reset 20 seconds after that. And that caused no
problem either about 720 cycles a day for 100 days or more, 72000
cycles, and still working fine when spring came.

The circuit breaker was a little clear glass thing with a point with a
little knob on the end, that looks something like a neon bulb or one
of the small xmas tree lights.

And the car started all winter too, except new years eve, very very
cold, when the tow truck couldn't start it either. I guess I hitched
a ride that night.


BTW, this was 1967 to '68 and the car was a '50 Olds V8 303ci engine.
I sold the car but I still have the charger and, after replacing the
diodes in 1980, it still works fine. The charger belonged to my
cousin (as did the car) and was about 10 years old in 1968, so it's
about 52 years old, but looks quite modern and in v. good condition.

 

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article <pebe.7138349@diybanter.com>,
pebe <pebe.7138349@diybanter.com> wrote:

I own a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa and want to ensure that I don’t get a flat
battery, again, as a result of short winter trips. So I have purchased a
float charger.

Is there a simple way of connecting it up each night without lifting the
bonnet and clipping on to the battery terminals? I had thought of going
in through the cigarette lighter socket, but the ignition has to be
switched on before it connects.

I sort of did it the other way round - fitted the battery charger in the
car, and a waterproof mains inlet under the rear bumper. The charger
itself is alongside the spare wheel under the boot floor so doesn't get in
the way.

--
*Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.*

Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

 

[Angelo Campanella]

"pebe" <pebe.7138349@diybanter.com> wrote in message
newsebe.7138349@diybanter.com...

I own a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa and want to ensure that I don't get a flat
battery, again, as a result of short winter trips. So I have purchased a
float charger.

Is there a simple way of connecting it up each night without lifting the
bonnet and clipping on to the battery terminals? I had thought of going
in through the cigarette lighter socket, but the ignition has to be
switched on before it connects.

In Alaska and northern States, it is common to have a "pig tail" type of
connector accessible from the exterior where mains ac can be connected for
overnight, or day-over back-up charging for below-zero temperature seasons.
This amounts to a short wire extension off the + and - battery terminals to
a compatible male or female connector accessible on the exterior, such as
feeding it out through radiator air louvers by a headlight or over a bumper.
It may need to be wrapped to prevent enrooted water and road grit from
entering. Presumably, you will have an attending mating plug from a
mains-supplied DC charging source where you park or store your car.

My experience in battery life and maintenance (driving since 1944) is
that a battery starts service in good condition, can survive a few extremes
of abuse such as light-on drain to nil PROVIDED it is charged back full
slowly or "by the book". My greatest battery life achieved that way was nine
years (my wife's '63 Chevy stick shift, no A/C). These days, I seem to get
about five years life from a four-year guarantee battery.

Your concern deals with midlife where the battery has uncertain good
life remaining. and trickle charging as you propose will give you more
months of successful cold weather starting. But remember, a lead-acid and
any other storage battery is like us... it never get any younger nor any
better than when first new.

There always comes a time when it is prudent that the battery be
replaced. My gage of that event is when it has failed for the second time to
start when I want it to. After the first failure, I do a slow and humane
recharge, sometimes leaving it connected to trickle charge (less than 2
amps), for two or three days in a row. A "second chance" failure after
little elapsed time of normal driving is clear evidence of being permanently
degraded (sulphated, bent separators and plates, or accumulated bits of
either at the cell bottom shorting adjacent plates).

I usually resurrect that battery once more, while simultaneously looking
for a replacement source, either on the internet or at a nearby battery
service center. This second resurrection is used only to drive to that
service center while avoiding a tow charge or an embarrassing hunt for a
"jump start".

Angelo Campanella

 

[mm]

On Sun, 31 Oct 2010 14:34:55 +0000, pebe <pebe.7138349@diybanter.com>
wrote:

I own a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa and want to ensure that I don’t get a flat
battery, again, as a result of short winter trips. So I have purchased a
float charger.

Is there a simple way of connecting it up each night without lifting the
bonnet and clipping on to the battery terminals? I had thought of going
in through the cigarette lighter socket, but the ignition has to be
switched on before it connects.

The latest post makes me want to add:

a) I doubt I'll ever get past 9 years. I just about make it to the
warranty limit most times.

b) Besides having a good battery my recommendation for not getting
stuck is eiither a Battery Buddy, if you can find one on ebay or
somewhere, or a Battery Brain, which I've never had but seems to be
the logical successor to Battery Buddy.

Both disconnect the battery when its charge or voltage gets low,
leaving enough to start the car. I just have to open the hood and
push a big red button on the box that I strapped to the battery.

Because of assorted extra current drains, or disconnecting the
headlight buzzer and leaving the lights, and not getting a replacement
battery when I maybe I should have, my Battery Buddy has saved me 100
or 200 times over the last 20 years, only failing to work once about 6
months ago, but it's worked since then 5 or 10 times. I have another
one I bought last year in case this one fails, but I'm not ready to
change it yet.

It also says it won't turn the battery off when the 4-way flasher is
flashing. No experience with that. My battery always goes dead in
the middle of the night.

The Battery Brain is about 60 or 65 dollars, twice the Buddy, but I'll
buy one when the second buddy breaks. I've only been stuck once in
20 years.


I also have to reset the presets on the car radio, and the time, and
the engine control computer forgets what it has learned about how my
car runs, so sometimes it takes two consecutive tries to start the
car, but the car seems back to normal after only 10 seconds or so.
(Maybe not?)

 

[mike]

Dave Platt wrote:

In article <pan.2010.10.31.20.27.12@lmao.lol.lol>,
Meat Plow <mhywatt@yahoo.com> wrote:

I own a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa and want to ensure that I don’t get a flat
battery, again, as a result of short winter trips. So I have purchased a
float charger.

Is there a simple way of connecting it up each night without lifting the
bonnet and clipping on to the battery terminals? I had thought of going
in through the cigarette lighter socket, but the ignition has to be
switched on before it connects.

On my Harley motorcycle I have a male/female 2 pin Molex plug. Ring
terminals on the battery. 1.5 amp Schauer floating charge. Battery is
going on 9 years old and I don't anticipate replacing it soon. You could
rig something that is wired to the battery comes into the cabin where
your other wires pass through from the engine compartment. You could then
plug into that. Make sure you use a fuse on the positive wire at the
battery connection.

Rather than using a Molex plug system, I'd recommend using Anderson
PowerPole connectors. They're designed to survive a large number of
connect/disconnect cycles without wearing out.

Most of the amateur-radio emergency groups have moved to using these,
rather than Molex, due to their ruggedness and their ability to create
"universal" connection systems (e.g. any battery or power supply or
device will connect to any other, with proper polarity and with no
"gender changers" being required).

The 15-amp PowerPole connectors and inserts are probably what you'd
want.

I agree, fusing the "hot" lead near the battery is a very good idea.

Don't forget the strain relief on both ends so it will
disconnect itself without "drama"
when you back out of the garage without disconnecting the plug.

 

[PeterD]

On Wed, 24 Nov 2010 19:02:14 -0800, mike <spamme0@go.com> wrote:

Don't forget the strain relief on both ends so it will
disconnect itself without "drama"
when you back out of the garage without disconnecting the plug.

Smart move... Most larger vehicles (trucks) have a seven pin flat
blade connector that includes a battery pin. This pin can be used to
charge the battery, and if you disable the locking tab on the
connector (not the receptical) you can make it self disconnecting just
like on the space shuttle launches!