battery life????

[Anonymous]

has anyone had any problems with there battery ?   i replaced mine12 months ago and got a new toyota battery . its fine when im using the car but if its not used for a couple of weeks its dead the only thing im running of it thats not standard is my alarm please help????

[firepower]

i have had a similar problem only thing i run extra is my alarm it would appear to be a common fault , my car had a new battery in january but it still goes flat  s:? :? s:?   perhaps we should try a heavy duty battery  s:?: :?: s:?:

[Anonymous]

its just a concern because after 2 weeks its not starting but after three weeks its killing my alarm my car remains locked but its not alarmed?  maybe its the alarm mines a toad not sure what model ?????

[Anonymous]

It can be quite common with alarms

one of the celica club guys compared a standard gen 7 with one fitted with an aftermarket alarm

0.04A loss goes up to 0.09A or roughly double with an after market. So what ever period the car is expected to last you will get half that time at best possibly only 1/3rd if only short journeys un between.

doesnt take long to drain your battery past the point of starting the car.


also if you have a fancy head unit like one of the alpines for instance with a separate 'brain box', these also constantly drain power.

[mr2mark]

You should invest in one of them solar panel things what you plug into your cigar lighter socket. This then trickle charges your battery at a very slow pace . Not very dear either I paid £15 for mine and that must of been 6yrs ago !!

[Anonymous]

NEVER EVEN HEARD OF THOSE MATE ? Where do they sit on your dash? are they any good ? cant imagine they do much in winter?

[roger]

Not much sun in the garage if you lay your car up   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

I suggest you link in one of those small intelligent trickle chargers, again no more than £15 £20 - Halfrauds have them,

[northernalex]

NEVER EVEN HEARD OF THOSE MATE ? Where do they sit on your dash? are they any good ? cant imagine they do much in winter?

There's still light in winter.

Standard monocrystaline solar cell outputs (for a typical 1 sun cell with full summer light)

Current = 32-34 m A /sq cm
Voltage = 600 mV (doesnt change with cell size much)

But the outputs depend on how the cells are lined up (series adds up the voltage, parallel adds up the current)

In the winter the current drops depending upon the light intensity, its linear.  But you'll still get a trickle.

In the garage, however, you wont get much LOL

[edward.carter]

i thought those little solar chargers were only for mobiles and the like never thought they did one designed for car batteries

[aaronjb]

Maplins sell them for about £20 (or did, last time I checked)

[edward.carter]

Maplins sell them for about £20 (or did, last time I checked)

the phone ones that i had seen before £30   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:    m http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Mod ... &doy=12m12 m

car trickle charger on promotion half price £9.99!!  m http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Mod ... &doy=12m12 m   s8) s8)

[ChrisGB]

Maplins sell them for about £20 (or did, last time I checked)

the phone ones that i had seen before £30   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:    m http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Mod ... &doy=12m12 m

car trickle charger on promotion half price £9.99!!  m http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Mod ... &doy=12m12 m   s8) s8)

Is the cigarrette lighter live when the ignition is off? This looks like a good idea but cant help wondering if it actually provides enough current to offset the alarms useage?

Chris

[Anonymous]

Hi There,
The cigarette lighter is dead with the ignition off !
I have also tried the solar trickle charger but the current given out is not enough to offset the drain which is about 100ma.
I am not convinced that it is all the alarm but whatever, if you don't use the car often you just have to live with this common fault.
Bill Mak

[filcee]

There are a number of charging options discussed in this thread here.

I have the airflow (I posted there to say so) - which was recommended by a friend who has/had a Mk1 Elise as his weekend toy.  It worked well for me when I was away without the car for weeks on end.

[Anonymous]

Hi there,
Yes we know that a mains powered battery charger will keep the battery topped up but I do believe we were talking about solar powered items which cannot keep up with the drain
Bill Mak

[ChrisGB]

Hmm

If the standard alarm runs 40mA off the battery 24 hours a day and the trickle chager peaks at 1.5W @ 17V (88mA) in summer, I would have an educated guess at the charger giving an average of 22mA at best over a 24 hour period in the winter. On this basis, it seems pretty pointless.

I think I will just give the 2 a top up chagre with a normal charger every few weeks. At the moment, starting from cold feels a bit marginal / weak when the car has not been run for a few days. Of more concern is the discs which appear to be rusting faster than Boxter ones!

Chris

[Anonymous]

Hi,there, I used to have the same problem,i believe the problem lies with the alarm draining the battery,a quick fix if the car is garaged is to leave the engine cover (rear bonnet) open,this stops the alarm from passive arming,i have been doing this for last few months with no trouble.  s8) s8)

[mg]

Hi,there, I used to have the same problem,i believe the problem lies with the alarm draining the battery,a quick fix if the car is garaged is to leave the engine cover (rear bonnet) open,this stops the alarm from passive arming,i have been doing this for last few months with no trouble.  s8) s8)

What about using the remote to do the same thing?  I have to 3 press my remote when arming to disable the interior sensor that triggers when I close/open my garage door - does this do the same thing?

[firepower]

toyota fit a 45ah battery to the mk 3  but fit a 60ah battery to the mk1 and mk2 . varta batteries recomends a 60ah for all three models . i have had problems with a flat battery for a while now so have fitted a 60ah battery, the engine now whizzes over when i start it   s:D s:D   as before with the old battery it turned over more slowly even though the battery was in good condition and taking charge . time will tell , i  will update in a few weeks and let you know if the 60ah battery solved my problem

[Anonymous]

where did you get the battery? part no. and cost please as mines on its way out!  s:( s:(

[firepower]

the varta web page ( varta.com) they list different batteries for the mr2 under which battery and where to buy, cost about £70.00

part no: 45 Ah : 545 156 033 2082

             60Ah : 560 162 042 2082

[Anonymous]

That is good news indeed, however is the 60AH battery roughly the same dimensions and will it fit into the 45AH space ?
If will fit I will change asap
Thks Bill

[Anonymous]

Hi
Just had a check on the varta web site
the 45AH is L = 232 W = 173 H = 225
the 60AH is L = 238 W = 129 H = 227

Not in the car at the moment and will be dark before I get home, so does anybody know if the battery will fit using the dims above ?
All looks Ok except for the Width which is extra 44mm
Bill

[firepower]

the battery dimensions will fit just check that the clamp will still secure the battery . as varta list this battery for the mk3 then everything should fit ok  s:) s:)  and the 60Ah battery gives better cold start power

[Anonymous]

Thank you
What they say and what is fact is sometimes worlds apart.
Hopefully it will fit, I'll let you know
Thank you for the info
Bill