New battery, or 'trickle-charger' on my 'classic'.
barrie2,
Jul 25, 11:41pm
Note the 'classic' is in quotes for all the PT Cruiser knockers. Serious question now, my PT is a bit of a toy, lot of bling etc. I love it. However I don't use it daily (my 25 year old L200 is my fav) but the battery runs down on PT needing AA calling out. Was recharged overnight at AA but soon runs flat if not used daily. New battery to replace a 2012 AA one or buy a "charger" that you leave on when not in use. I really would appreciate comments from you guys as I have to do something soon. Thanks.
gunhand,
Jul 25, 11:46pm
If the battery tests up fine but goes flat due to lack of use then a trickle charger is a good option. Use them on MC and works well. As long as it is compatible with the battery of course. Batteries arn't just a bloody battery anymore lol.
berg,
Jul 25, 11:52pm
CTec (I think) from Repco (even on special at the moment). Had one on my ute and have one on my bike
mm12345,
Jul 25, 11:56pm
Have AA tested the battery? It might be ok - but 3 years of (ab)use might be all you get. Sure, get a good quality regulated trickle-charger. If it was me, I'd find a way to wire in an external plug/socket tucked away somewhere so you didn't need to lift the bonnet and fart around with alligator clips on the battery every time you want to use the car. Put an inline fuse on the battery end of the + lead, just in case.
The one I use comes with all that, simple plug in pull out. A few seconds thats all. The wires are on the battery permanently. No alligator clips.
berg,
Jul 26, 12:06am
Same with mine. Put double socket in where single for electric garage door then hung unit up by door opener on bungie. Lead down under the back of the bonnet, plug in, all good
kazbanz,
Jul 26, 12:16am
First thing to work out is whats going wrong. Is the car sucking juice somewhere? Alarm maybe ? Is the battery kaput? If the battery is kaput then it will naturally get worse and worse over time so a new battery is the fix. if it is a drain in the system then replacing the battery won't fix anything and you need to trickle charge.-Unless the battery is now kaput as a result of always being flattened. But you do need to figure out the cause of your problem first.
barrie2,
Jul 26, 12:35am
Thanks - I had problems before re flat battery when going o'seas for a while. New battery in 2012. There must be a drain when not in use but I assumed this was "normal"? I will try the PT Forums tomorrow to see if I can sort it. The PT battery is hidden under the aircleaner (nothing straight forward about the PT)! To disconnect and later reconnect a charger would be a pain so maybe another battery - now - and watch what happens. However will get it checked first.
thejazzpianoma,
Jul 26, 4:28am
Some drain is normal, if you have a multimeter we can walk you through measuring how much drain (also now as parasitic draw) you have and whether it's normal.
Also, even with nothing draining it, a lead acid battery will self discharge on it's own even given enough time.
I wouldn't be putting a new battery in without a charger for your use, you will only wind up wrecking the new battery in quite short order. They are just not designed to be run flat or left partially charged and won't cope with it for very long at all.
You don't need to access the battery to fit a charger, there are all kinds of ways you can wire in the connector that comes with one of those excellent ctek chargers. You may not even have to access the battery to fit the connector. All you need is one terminal wired to an earth and the other to a permanent on power feed.
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 25, 8:12pm
Here is a picture of the lead that comes with the Ctek so you can see what we are talking about. You just mount that lead permanently by the two eyelets and then the other end has a quick connect that plugs straight in to the charger. I had a quick look at the battery setup on the PT and it looks a piece of cake to wire this in.
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