Battery on MK3 low on power

Hi all

Battery in my mk 3 seem lower and other half is saying light etc are bright. It only gets short runs about 10 miles round£ trip 3 times a week and the other half has a habit of not dropping it onto access suspension height when she parks it on the drive for a couple of days which I understand can use batter to keep it at height.

It had a new battery in it about 4 years ago so think it is just not getting enough running time to charge it fully so planning on putting it on a smart charger this weekend. Will most likely get the below

Amazon product

As seem good for the price.

Couple of questions:-

A) assume I will have to disconnect it from the car to charge

B) if I do disconnect will I have to re enter radio codes etc as not sure these came with car.

Apologies I’m not mechanically or technically minded.

Thanks
Matt

You want an 019 battery, if you have a Halfords trade card they work out at decent prices, 106 instead of 132 list price for Yuasa silver top.
No radio code on my D3, only thing I lose is the clock time.
My car does 2x5 miles commutes per day and after 15 months the new battery is on its way out, basically the car cannot charge it in the short time it has available, another LZ memmber suggested I need to trickle charge it twice a week, you may find yours needs to be left connetced to one at all times to keep the battery tip top.

Its simple to change just heavy, 13mm spanner for battery terminal clamps and 8 or 10mm socket for the battery hold down clamps.

DO NOT overtighten the battery terminal clamps they just need a decent nip and check the clamps themsleves cannot move aftewards.

Hi Lynall

Thanks for this, i’m Glad that my gut feeling was right I’ll get a smart charger and hook it up and hopefully this will do the trick and I ok to leave the battery connected and in that car when charging ?

Thanks
Matt

hi

just as si

Matt Hyde said:

Hi Lynall

Thanks for this, i’m Glad that my gut feeling was right I’ll get a smart charger and hook it up and hopefully this will do the trick and I ok to leave the battery connected and in that car when charging ?

Thanks
Matt

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hi matt

plus one what @lynall has said, he also put me onto the CTEK chargers

u can leave ur battery connected , what mode, is ur plse , sorry can’t remember, as if u have the 12s towing socket fitted u can charge it through that

this is the one i got and great bit of kit

https://www.ctek.com/products/vehicle/mxs-5-0



also good to use a multimeter to test ur alternator

i also do short trips and fitted a split charge system in the end

Hi Gstuart

Was looking at this one

http://www.ringautomotive.com/uk/products/Cars/Battery+Care/SmartChargers/RSC612

But will check out the ctek as well

Cheers
Matt

Matt Hyde said:

Hi Gstuart

Was looking at this one

http://www.ringautomotive.com/uk/products/Cars/Battery+Care/SmartChargers/RSC612

But will check out the ctek as well

Cheers
Matt

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hi

must admit haven’t seen that one , indeed have a read ref the CTEK and see what u think

gary

gstuart said:

hi

must admit haven’t seen that one , indeed have a read ref the CTEK and see what u think

gary

Click to expand...

Hi Stuart reading about it now looks good, are the cables long enough to call neck close bonnet and out charger in the car as our drive is very exposed and open to the road

Thanks
Matt

Matt Hyde said:

Hi Stuart reading about it now looks good, are the cables long enough to call neck close bonnet and out charger in the car as our drive is very exposed and open to the road

Thanks
Matt

Click to expand...

u can get a 2.5 meter extension lead , have u noticed if u have the 12s towing socket

personally for me i park mine on the drive and the extension just about reaches , i fed the cable through the front grill so u can close the bonnet and through the letter box

i haven’t got the 12s socket but installing one, also bought a 4m trailer lead which i will make up to then give me p,entry to reach and can then just plug my charger into the towing socket

here’s my thread which hopefully at least gives u an option

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/12s-seeking-pin-crimp-tool-plse.326084/

urs might already have the socket ??

hope it helps , gary

gstuart said:

u can get a 2.5 meter extension lead , have u noticed if u have the 12s towing socket

personally for me i park mine on the drive and the extension just about reaches , i fed the cable through the front grill so u can close the bonnet and through the letter box

i haven’t got the 12s socket but installing one, also bought a 4m trailer lead which i will make up to then give me p,entry to reach and can then just plug my charger into the towing socket

here’s my thread which hopefully at least gives u an option

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/12s-seeking-pin-crimp-tool-plse.326084/

urs might already have the socket ??

hope it helps , gary

Click to expand...

Hi Gary

I’m have to have a look re the towing socket as it cane with e detachable tow bar but never had the cover off to see what sockets it has, didn’t think about going through the grill that’s a great ideas I’ve got an outside socket so should have enough length on an extension to run to it.

Cheers
Matt

You can buy a little cable with plugs so you can connect to the car full time and just plug the charger into the plug on the car without having to lift the bonnet

I made my own plug fitted into the grill slat and use it to charge the battery with no issues

I do like that idea be good to see some pictures at some point as I’m really not very technical. I’ve order the ctek from amazon so that will come tomorrow then i’ll Connect it up and hopefully that will do the trick. Roughly how long do you think it will take to charge ?

Thanks
Matt

My small 3.8 amp charger can take up to 10 hours, they auto switch off anyway so just plug in and forget it.

To fit the looom no high tech needed,
A, find somewhere on the front of the car to screw/stash it
B, run the two cables back to the battery
C, connect the cables
D, job done

If you buy one ask on here as theres bound to be someone local to you who for a cup of tea and a bacon butty* will fit it for you

*= tommy sauce essential requirement

lynall said:

*= tommy sauce essential requirement

Click to expand...

Brown Daddies

Wimblowdriver said:

Brown Daddies

Click to expand...

That just sounds so wrong

If it’s brown it has to be HP thanks all for your help

Put my Ctek "Comfort Indicator" and charging point tucked up under the radiator trim vanes on my P38.
Can take a look and decide whether it needs charging at a glance. Battery cover stays in place, can connect to it on a 2.5M extension lead out of the garage door OR pop the bonnet and put the charger somewhere safe under the bonnet.
I have to say that the CTEK seems very good (so far).
At only 7A max charge-rate it might be a bit slow.
This charger (does a 20A max charge, is 7 stage and does the "reconditioning" too.

https://tinyurl.com/yba773zv

Well today is D day battery charge is out on delivery from Amazon, so hopefully if it arrive not to late and hook it up. Not sure I’m confident to leave it charging overnight on the drive overnight so might have to hook up for a while then disconnect again till the morning and re connect. One last question notice firm the Ctek site it says not to connect the negative to the negative connection on the battery but to an earth point what is that and where wound I connect it to ?

Thanks
Matt

Matt Hyde said:

Well today is D day battery charge is out on delivery from Amazon, so hopefully if it arrive not to late and hook it up. Not sure I’m confident to leave it charging overnight on the drive overnight so might have to hook up for a while then disconnect again till the morning and re connect. One last question notice firm the Ctek site it says not to connect the negative to the negative connection on the battery but to an earth point what is that and where wound I connect it to ?
f
Thanks
Matt

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i also read that but must admit i connected to both battery terminals , bought thing called a comfort indicator which is a small lead that ie permanently connected to the battery , so u can plug the charger straight into,

will find a pic for u, if u get one ensure it’s M8 so it fits the bolts on the battery terminals

also inc a pic of the 12s to ctek adaptor if u decide to fit one later

So if it has a 12s socket I can basically buy the adapter then plus straight in that way ? As seen a really good solution

Matt Hyde said:

So if it has a 12s socket I can basically buy the adapter then plus straight in that way ? As seen a really good solution

Click to expand...

hi

yes , another reason i’m installing a 12s socket to save messing around, intend to fit a small box on the front of the house and drill a hole through the wall, that way i don’t have to feed the extension lead through the letter box

will have the charger in the hallway , charger lead through the wall into the box, then outside undo the box and plug the extension lead in, there are plenty of small lockable boxes on ebay etc

currently making up a lead which i think is 4 m of the 7 x core cable as an extension lead , just bought the plugs and leads separately as it was a lot cheaper

yeh i know , i need to get out more, lol

may i ask what model ctek did u go for in the end plse

what model is ur D3 please , plus for ur rear towing cover u can get some clips that can be undone by hand to save u using a screwdriver