Locating a trickle charger inside the vehicle?
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Locating a trickle charger inside the vehicle?
Hi,
I can't find a direct answer so I'm guessing this is either such a bad idea that no one would ever do it, or is not an issue at all so no one would ever note it.
I have a 2015 Sienna that we do not drive frequently, or far enough this winter to maintain the charge in the battery, though it is used on a regular basis (every couple of days for ~ 2 - 5 km trip). The vehicle is parked outside in a drive way and not kept under cover or in a garage. This winter the battery has been running down when the temperature drops below around -10 Celsius. This has not been an issue in the past and the battery checks out, no abnormal vampire drains, etc... . At the recommendation of the Toyota service techs we got a 12V battery maintainer/trickle charger.
The cable from the charger to the contact clips is about 6 ft long. The manual clearly states that the charger itself is not weatherproof and must be protected from snow and rain. Unfortunately, given that the car is kept outside, and the length of the cables, this does not allow us to keep the charger protected inside the garage. (Our single car garage is filled up with a workshop and way too many kids' strollers, bikes, etc... and has never been used for the vehicle.)
So my question is: Can I keep the charger itself inside the vehicle (like on the floor) when it is in operation? It doesn't seem that it would create too much heat, and it would only be used over the winter.
Thanks for the guidance.
I can't find a direct answer so I'm guessing this is either such a bad idea that no one would ever do it, or is not an issue at all so no one would ever note it.
I have a 2015 Sienna that we do not drive frequently, or far enough this winter to maintain the charge in the battery, though it is used on a regular basis (every couple of days for ~ 2 - 5 km trip). The vehicle is parked outside in a drive way and not kept under cover or in a garage. This winter the battery has been running down when the temperature drops below around -10 Celsius. This has not been an issue in the past and the battery checks out, no abnormal vampire drains, etc... . At the recommendation of the Toyota service techs we got a 12V battery maintainer/trickle charger.
The cable from the charger to the contact clips is about 6 ft long. The manual clearly states that the charger itself is not weatherproof and must be protected from snow and rain. Unfortunately, given that the car is kept outside, and the length of the cables, this does not allow us to keep the charger protected inside the garage. (Our single car garage is filled up with a workshop and way too many kids' strollers, bikes, etc... and has never been used for the vehicle.)
So my question is: Can I keep the charger itself inside the vehicle (like on the floor) when it is in operation? It doesn't seem that it would create too much heat, and it would only be used over the winter.
Thanks for the guidance.
#3
suspect you may have a bad battery I know this wasn't your question but charging systems are typically more than adequate to recharge what was drained from starting, even in a short 2-5km trip not to mention I would imagine your are letting the vehicle warm up a few minutes when its that cold out and its parked outside.
#4
I have a few service vehicles that I don't use often. I have 10w solar chargers sitting on the dashboard. Does a great job of keeping the battery charged.
#7
Are these connected via a cigarette lighter?
#8
Member
Thread Starter
Thanks for all the input!
I agree the battery is probably on it's way out, but it's only a few years old. The diagnostics on the battery don't indicate any issue with it holding a charge, which is a bit irritating. We opted to just go this route as it's about half the price of a cheap new battery and the vehicle is pretty much always at home. We had a block heater on our last car and never had any issues, though we were driving more.
I agree the battery is probably on it's way out, but it's only a few years old. The diagnostics on the battery don't indicate any issue with it holding a charge, which is a bit irritating. We opted to just go this route as it's about half the price of a cheap new battery and the vehicle is pretty much always at home. We had a block heater on our last car and never had any issues, though we were driving more.
#9
My UTV battery is only 2 years old and needs replacement. That's because use of the vehicle is very sporadic, even though I used a solar charger in the summer and a tickle charger during the winter. After a year or so you'll need more than a 2 to 5 Km trip once or twice a week to keep in in good starting order. Also I hope you keep a minimal amount of gas in the tank so that you're constantly getting new seasonal gas into the tank.
#10
4-5 years is typical battery life for a car, while it is a 2015 model if it is the original battery you would have to look at the manufacture date it may already be over 4 years old.
#11
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#12
The less you use a batt. the shorter its life is. I have serviced fire trucks that if batts. lasted a year that was good. As far as I know there is no test that is 100% for batts.either.