Stownrow. I charge mine every few weeks using one of the chargers most mentioned around here. I bought a cigar adaptor from the same manufacturer, that allows me to put the charger in the boot and charge through the socket in the boot which is permanently live, as is the rear socket mounted on the front console! This method allows me to frequently charge the battery while the car is double locked with the alarm on!
There is also an option to connect the supplied fly leads permanently to the battery, where you can simply connect the charger to the fly leads without any tools and charge up, although for me with the car on the drive, that would leave the charger outside in full view along with the electrics.
I do a lot of short town trips and tend to use stop/start when it's warmed up and 'so far' it always shows fully charged after 4 hours or so of charging.

Plug a CTEK charger into your elctric point in the cabin  Mine: 2012 Golf GTI Edition 35
Family's: 2009 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Auto, Stornoway

Yorkshire - God's County

Wing wrote:

.....There is also an option to connect the supplied fly leads permanently to the battery, where you can simply connect the charger to the fly leads without any tools and charge up, .......

Thanks guys! Thinking about charging it using the boot aux socket. not sure which is the best CTEK unit to get ?  

stownrow wrote:

Thanks guys! Thinking about charging it using the boot aux socket. not sure which is the best CTEK unit to get ?

Hi Stownrow

you best bet will be the XS4003 (unfortunately not available in South Africa ). It will do all you need to. If you have more than one vehicle, then don't forget to order some extra quick connect leads. They are available with 6mm, 8mm and 10mm eye lugs.

Good luck! With kind regards
DiscoGeorge
1998 Disco1 ES 300Tdi with twin TrueTracs
2005 Disco3 TDV6 S
And some more serious stuff

Stownrow,
Let me know the conditions of your battery problem. Did they check the quiesent drain?
You shouldn't get battery problems at the temperatures as they are now. Charging the battery is only masking the root cause. Another member of the failed FL2 clutch/DMF club, twice.

Yesterday purchased a $20 voltmeter that simply plugs into any cigarette lighter plug (brilliant little thing) and so I can now monitor the battery permanantly without wiring in voltmeters or anything more complicated like that.
I'm pleased to say that the voltage does vary from the alternator and can often be seen in the 14.4 - 14.8 range shortly after start-up, though only temporarily. It appears that the battery is monitored and the charge rate dropped if it seems OK. It seems to settle down to 12.7v or so which I think is OK for reasobably charged starter batteries.

Pegleg wrote:

Stownrow,
Let me know the conditions of your battery problem. Did they check the quiesent drain?
You shouldn't get battery problems at the temperatures as they are now. Charging the battery is only masking the root cause.

Hey Pegleg!

Yeah had it all checked out! all normal. Just seems the battery needs a little top up. Apparently this needs to be done via a charger as the car can only do so much....

769 SAE (800)
12.67V

(Land Rover tested after engine running for a while) 

well started my FR2 today , been parked up since 1st may when we came back from caravan trip ! Sorry CG
Fired up with avengence, no problem at all. THis has only been since fitting the extra earth strap ! before that had to keep a trickle charger on it all the time wearing the bonnet hinges out. I actually cannot belive that after almost 3 years of ownership and only since x-mas when i got so fed up with it and fitted the lead has it been so good. It was crazy having to put a trickle charger on it everytime it was parked up ! for more than 24 hrs.

Only today on another forum i read of a jaguar owner having almost all the same problems with messages on start up and difficult turning over and electrics doing funny things including lights and wipers and several dealers later did he discover it was caused by a bad earth ! so often overlooked.

So the people that haven't got the extra earth strap and also haven't got starting problems, charging problems, spurious messages, flashing lights, poor economy, hunting auto's, wrong gear auto's etc must have a good earth, therefore the earthing system is proven and perhaps the high resistance contact point just needed cleaning.

I'm just waiting for a post to say it will make my hair grow again

It's a proven fact that owning a caravan leads to hair loss

Even more so when stuck behind one


Sorry - a bit off topic - but had to be said  2002 Honda VFR800
2002 Toyota Celica 140 Silver (mid life crisis - again!)
2007 FL2 GS Manual Army Reconnaissance Green + freel2.com sticker
2004 Toyota Celica 140 Black - Gone
2000 Toyota Celica 140 Silver - Gone
1998 Toyota Celica ST Pearl Green - Gone
1996 Nissan Primera 1.6 - Gone
1994 Rover Montego 1.6 Auto - Gone

I still have a full head of hair & if your stuck behind me towing a caravan its because I'm stuck behind a Nissan Micra with a flat cap inside on the way to a garden center !
Used to be Rovers and metro's

Man, I was reading this post. It's so funny but gave up after 2 pages.

The way people get carried away by this toppic... Jeez.

Today was a full day of intense off-roading...
If at the beginning the voltage kept by the generator on the battery was about 14.3 volts, at the end of the day it was as low as 13.5 volts. But at the end of day the engine and engine bay area (and implicit the battery) were very hot!
This because the ground level temperature was over 32 degrees Celsius and there was a lot of rock crawling, mud and sand dunes driving.
So the conclusion is clear: the car's charging system takes into account the temperature and termal run-away of the battery and tune the charging voltage accordingly. It would be a shame if it wasn't this way...

Spot on Alex. Battery management!
This is why just strapping a voltmeter to the battery while the engine is running might cause alarm.
During -15 deg after cranking i recorded 14.2 volts which is fine. Now the weather is warmer and after the engine has run for 10 mins, i'm seeing less than 14v.
I'm sticking my neck out now, but from my experiance in the motor industry, smart battery charging should make the battery last longer. Another member of the failed FL2 clutch/DMF club, twice.