"Smart" battery charger

Jbag · Post by **Jbag** » Sat Nov 21, 2020 9:03 pm

Hi all!

My Cactus isn't getting much use at the moment due to the lockdown restrictions and some personal issues!

I am conscious with winter approaching the battery may go flat. Has anyone used a battery charger on their cactus?

Are they easy to use?

littlejim · Post by **littlejim** » Sun Nov 22, 2020 10:32 am

Hi, never had the need to charge as yet. Did find this in owner manual:

CactiBhoy · Post by **CactiBhoy** » Mon Nov 23, 2020 11:08 am

Never had to (yet). But like most current charging systems you take off the negative cable and sit the battery on a charger (if you have a 240v socket in you garage/outside wall) or a large extension lead. You can buy a decent trickle charger out of Ldil/Aldi. They do as asked of them.

KAR · Post by **KAR** » Mon Nov 23, 2020 7:35 pm

You don't need to disconnect a terminal to charge a Start/Stop battery, (see instructions above).

Check the type of battery you have on your car. My Cactus is fitted with an AGM battery, and requires a charger that's also suitable for AGM. Normally, these will charge AGM at a slightly higher charge rate than standard Wet/EFB batteries.

Car batteries should normally be maintained with a fairly high level of charge, to ensure maximum battery life. Just because a battery starts a car (even with a low level of charge), does not mean it is in it's best operating condition.

To summarize, a regular low level of charge is not good for a car battery, whereas a high level is.