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[tickmike]

Your Car During Lockdown.
Cars Battery.

Just a heads up to remind you if you have not been using your car during lockdown (or very little) to give the battery a charge, If you have a battery charger then use that, (I always remove the - or earth terminal of the battery before I charge it as you can not be too careful with over 145 computing modules on one of our cars, better to be safe  )

If you do not have a battery charger then start and run the engine for 30/ 45 minutes .

As my wife is a 'Key health worker' I gave her car a bit of a charge as well to make sure it will always starts to get to her important work.

Tyres.
We have not used our Evoque for two months and it is a good idea to just move the car slightly to prevent a flatter area of the trye with it standing, look were the tyre valve is and use that to work out how much you have to move it, a quarter of a turn would be good enough.

Wouldn't hurt to check the Tyre pressures, Oil, Water (engine coolant), screen washer water, Brake fluid levels before you do the above, Give you something to do if you are bored with lockdown  .

Anyone got any more tips for your cars. ?

 

[sevenlayermuddle]

Car battery charging is not as straightforwards as it used to be.

One problem is that charger voltages are often not well regulated.   This  can, as Mike suggests, lead to an over voltage on car’s electronics if connected with battery in situ and for that reason, best to disconnect the battery.

But... if you disconnect the battery, some of the car’s settings may be lost, so make sure you have a note of radio codes, etc, and read the owners manual too. On other half’s Polo iirc the windows need to be ‘recalibrated’, non intuitive process documented in manual.   

I’ve also heard stories (maybe true, maybe not) of car electronics being damaged from the surge current when battery is reconnected, so I much prefer to avoid the need to charge or disconnect.  A short drive every two weeks seems to suffice but remember you may be stopped by police and fined if they consider your journey to be outside the official rules.  I hope they’d accept this as a valid reason providing the journey really is short, but I don’t know for certain.

[roseway]

According to the official police advice you are allowed to drive to a place of exercise, so long as you spend significantly more time exercising than driving  (and of course follow all the social distancing rules).

[Ronski]

I was reading about a pilot this morning who spelt out NHS with the virtual trail of his light aircraft, whilst light aircraft are allowed to fly once a fortnight to ensure the engine doesn't suffer any problems, his flight was deemed excessive.

[vic0239]

I have a hybrid, so don't think the engine will run for long enough and I have no idea where the 12v battery lives! I just take it out for a jaunt every couple of weeks which keeps everything topped up. I'm very rural here and never see another vehicle on my route. I think most of my neighbours do the same. 

[Chunkers]

Modern car battery chargers have good battery management, polarity and surge protection built in and will give battery condition and reporting information.

I recently bought one for my mother https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07VMSVMP5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1like this one, they are cheap and are not going to damage your car or battery.

Although it is described as a trickle charger it can actually charge at up to 8A which is actually decent for a charger, not very expensive

[Bowdon]

I had to call the RAC out to the front car a few weeks ago. Battery dead.

I better start the other car up in the yard or else that might be dead too!

[tiffy]

I have a hybrid, so don't think the engine will run for long enough and I have no idea where the 12v battery lives! I just take it out for a jaunt every couple of weeks which keeps everything topped up. I'm very rural here and never see another vehicle on my route. I think most of my neighbours do the same. 

I just bought a Toyota C-HR Hybrid at the end of January, with a short local run twice a week for provisions etc. no problems to date.
The 12 V. battery is surprisingly small as it's not used for engine cranking as such, that's performed by one of the "motor/generators", very clever and impressive technology.

Would certainly be very wary of connecting a battery charger to the 12 V. battery while still vehicle connected on any hybrid, with Toyota it's charged via a DC/DC converter from the HV traction battery and the complete system is bristling with electronics which could be damaged and will be very expensive to replace as indeed could be the case in most modern vehicles.

[vic0239]

Very nice. Mine is an Auris, my third hybrid, which still attracts zero road tax.    I am impressed by your technical knowledge which only reinforces my desire not to venture under the “hood”.  A.

[tiffy]

Very nice. Mine is an Auris, my third hybrid, which still attracts zero road tax.    I am impressed by your technical knowledge which only reinforces my desire not to venture under the “hood”.  A.

Apologies if going slightly off topic.

Yes, afraid the road tax reduction incentive for current hybrids has all but disappeared now as has the government purchase cost grant, have to go full electric now to qualify for that.
It's our first automatic, love it, will never go back to manual.

There are some very good technical videos on line about the Toyota hybrids, very detailed, mostly American unfortunately but still excellent, obviously there are still a few smart technical people there and not all Donald Trump's !

[sevenlayermuddle]

I was reading about a pilot this morning who spelt out NHS with the virtual trail of his light aircraft, whilst light aircraft are allowed to fly once a fortnight to ensure the engine doesn't suffer any problems, his flight was deemed excessive.

I now have this picture in my mind of the police helicopter following behind, blue lights and ‘stop’ signs flashing, as the aircraft laid his naughty trail.

[kitz]

hmmm this has made me think about mine.    i've not been able to drive for a few weeks and told it will be at least 4 months until i get back into the driving seat :/

[sevenlayermuddle]

hmmm this has made me think about mine.    i've not been able to drive for a few weeks and told it will be at least 4 months until i get back into the driving seat :/

That can be a bigger problem.   When a conventional (lead acid) car battery becomes extremely exhausted it can suffer damage, preventing it from taking a charge again.

Older cars are a better bet because, when parked, the battery is pretty much isolated and will remain charged for a long time.   Modern cars have all sorts of widgets than drain the battery, from alarms, to the radio sensors for remote keys, and much else.

If there is anybody who could start the engine once a fortnight and run it for 20-30 minutes, might help? 

Else trickle chargers are available, including solar ones that sit on the dashboard, thus not needing mains power.   I remain mistrustful of that technology and the possibility (probably remote) of damage to the car’s electrics, but there comes a point it may become a risk worth taking...

[tickmike]

hmmm this has made me think about mine.   

I am glad my effort to do the post was appreciated. 

Stay safe. 

[displaced]

We live near the A2 and have so far gone 3 weeks between supermarket visits owing to a well-stocked cornershop that’s just a few doors down.

So when my wife or I have gone to the supermarket, we’ve nipped off to the A2 and run up and down for a few junctions just to give the battery a little top-up and blow the cobwebs off.

The starter cranks a few more times than usual after 3 weeks, but so far so good.