Battery Charging

[Michael Butcher]

During the current Corona virus issue, vehicle use,particularly mine, is almost nil.i have a standard 6amp charger and there are conflicting opinions as to whether this is suitable for my vehicle or should l purchase a Maintainence charger. CTek or similar. I have  the AGM battery with stop start. The car is garaged and so far no issues but how long before the battery needs a little help.

[Magnet]

Hello Nick,

Good question. 

You must not (in caps) use your ‘old’ conventional 6 amp charger to charge your AGM battery. These batteries need to be charged with what I would term intelligent chargers which tailor the charging cycle and duration, to the requirements of your battery. 

You mention CTEK, which I understand are good quality (expensive) intelligent maintenance chargers which can be left permanently connected while the car is not used - ensuring the battery will be up to scratch when the car can be used again. 

These are fine if your car is garaged and you can leave it plugged in, but I wonder about their use for say someone who just wants to charge the battery on a fine day when the car is outside. This situating is more likely to require an intelligent charger with a greater output over a shorter period. 

I would reinforce:- DO NOT USE an older standard charger to charge modern AGM and stop/start technology batteries. 

If in any doubt - Stop - do not use a charger, and simply start the car say twice a week and leave it run for around 15 minutes - disabling the stop/start if fitted. 

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Michael Butcher]

Many thanks Gareth, you confirm my thoughts on this. For sale one 6 amp conventional battery charger, going cheap🤗

Regards Mick Butcher