Battery care

nd5061 replied on 17/08/2017 08:33

Posted on 17/08/2017 08:33

We have a swift 622 motorhome. Sadly we are not going to be able to use the unit for 6 months from January 2018. Normally we have a battery conditioner attached continually maintaining the battery. My question is this. Is it better to totally disconnect the vehicle batteries over that period or leave the conditioner connected. Any help would be appreciated 

Randomcamper replied on 17/08/2017 11:49

Posted on 17/08/2017 11:49

The general advice I believe is to leave the battery connected to the vehicle and maintained by a battery conditioner (trickle or maintenance charger) as it sounds as though you are already doing. A suitable charger, like a CTEK will not overcharge the battery or harm the vehicle electronics. Your van will then maintain its memory of radio codes and ECU settings etc etc.

My van is permanently connected to a CTEK charger for the cab battery when off duty.

So is my pet BMW in the garage......

Neither have come to any harm over many years.

AA advice here.......

AA Advice

hitchglitch replied on 18/08/2017 08:15

Posted on 18/08/2017 08:15

Agree you should leave on a maintenance charger. We have two CTek chargers which we use for our cars kept in the garage when we are going away for long periods. The only note of caution is that some cheap trickle chargers are not designed to be permanently connected. Sounds daft but that's what it says on the box!

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