COVID-19 and my car battery

[mvolps22]

With all the quarantining going on I haven't been driving much, and in the last 4 or 5 weeks I've gotten the low battery alert with a reset of my clock and tripometer three times. My battery is 6.75 years old, is it worth spending $100 on a CTEK trickle charger at that age to see how long the battery will last or just spend the $200 on a replacement battery? I guess option 3 is when i start driving regularly could the battery charge back up? I read a little bit that AGM batteries act a little differently and if you're getting discharge errors driving and charging with the alternator may not make a real difference.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by mvolps22

With all the quarantining going on I haven't been driving much, and in the last 4 or 5 weeks I've gotten the low battery alert with a reset of my clock and tripometer three times. My battery is 6.75 years old, is it worth spending $100 on a CTEK trickle charger at that age to see how long the battery will last or just spend the $200 on a replacement battery? I guess option 3 is when i start driving regularly could the battery charge back up? I read a little bit that AGM batteries act a little differently and if you're getting discharge errors driving and charging with the alternator may not make a real difference.

Mate .Buy the CTEK . I have mine already 8 years and my car is a garage queen !

[akkando]

Originally Posted by mvolps22

With all the quarantining going on I haven't been driving much, and in the last 4 or 5 weeks I've gotten the low battery alert with a reset of my clock and tripometer three times. My battery is 6.75 years old, is it worth spending $100 on a CTEK trickle charger at that age to see how long the battery will last or just spend the $200 on a replacement battery? I guess option 3 is when i start driving regularly could the battery charge back up? I read a little bit that AGM batteries act a little differently and if you're getting discharge errors driving and charging with the alternator may not make a real difference.

I had the car at a detailer for like a week and when I got the car back it gave low battery warning. He said he put it on a tender for a little while, I dunno. I assume he opened the door a bunch of times turning on the lights which further drained the battery.

Anyway I drove it for like 45 minutes while working the revs as I usually do. Next time I got in the car maybe 5 days later no low battery warning.

I have a Optima Red Top Battery (Saves 25 lbs). Don't know if the low battery warning means it's somewhat damaged now but so far so good. I will try to drive it later today so to be continued.....

[mvolps22]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Mate .Buy the CTEK . I have mine already 8 years and my car is a garage queen !

Bought it on Amazon for $72, i guess worst case scenario battery is dead and I return the CTEK and buy a battery.

[DRLane]

Originally Posted by mvolps22

Bought it on Amazon for $72, i guess worst case scenario battery is dead and I return the CTEK and buy a battery.

Run the recondition sequence on the CTEK. You'll likely be fine. I keep mine on the charger (via the hood charging points) always.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by mvolps22

Bought it on Amazon for $72, i guess worst case scenario battery is dead and I return the CTEK and buy a battery.

Keep the CTEK. And maximize your battery’s "performance and lifespan"

[bmwpower603]

Just buy a Battery Tender JR.

High profile cars from Mecum, and Barrett Jackson use them.

They are like $25-$40

I use it. Works great.

[SYT_Shadow]

CTEK works great. You can likely use a cheaper product and be juuust fine as well

[XKxRome0ox]

Originally Posted by mvolps22

With all the quarantining going on I haven't been driving much, and in the last 4 or 5 weeks I've gotten the low battery alert with a reset of my clock and tripometer three times. My battery is 6.75 years old, is it worth spending $100 on a CTEK trickle charger at that age to see how long the battery will last or just spend the $200 on a replacement battery? I guess option 3 is when i start driving regularly could the battery charge back up? I read a little bit that AGM batteries act a little differently and if you're getting discharge errors driving and charging with the alternator may not make a real difference.

if you plan on keeping your car for a long time, you should probably get both the CTEK and a new battery

[storM3trooper]

My indie gave me this when I said my car sits an entire week sometimes more if I don't get a chance to drive it weekends. Guess now is a good time to use it.

[Number96]

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

CTEK works great. You can likely use a cheaper product and be juuust fine as well

Would you recommend the CTEK MXS 5? Or can you get away with the smaller 3.8 version?

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by Number96

Would you recommend the CTEK MXS 5? Or can you get away with the smaller 3.8 version?

the 3.8 does up to 85Ah batteries. Not sure what we have in our Ms

https://www.ctek.com/products/vehicle/mxs-3-8

[mvolps22]

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

the 3.8 does up to 85Ah batteries. Not sure what we have in our Ms

https://www.ctek.com/products/vehicle/mxs-3-8

mine is 92ah but i think they vary from 85 - 95. I recommend spending a little more to future proof it (i guess unless you're getting an electric car next)? If you want to save a few $$$, the NOCO genius 5 is $60 and is basically the same as the CTEK. auto temperature regulation, fully automatic, can recondition battery, etc.

[New2Roundel]

Originally Posted by XKxRome0ox

if you plan on keeping your car for a long time, you should probably get both the CTEK and a new battery

Exactly what I would recommend.

[mvolps22]

Originally Posted by New2Roundel

Exactly what I would recommend.

Why replace the battery now if I can get another 18 months out of it with CTEK maintenance?

[Scrippy]

Originally Posted by mvolps22

Why replace the battery now if I can get another 18 months out of it with CTEK maintenance?

Because you can screw up an ecu or many as well as an alternator. Money doesn't grow on trees but the power source of your car is pretty important.

[Richbot]

You want the trickle charger either way with an OEM AGM battery. Low volt/high amp events screw with all kinds of things, a battery slowly failing took out a door lock actuator and mirror motor on our E90 335xi.

This is a good opportunity to get one of the good larger LiFePo battery options on the market now IMO. Mine doesn't need a tender with the lithium battery. I'm coming up on 4 years with this battery with no signs of stopping, which is already a year longer than the longest-lasting OEM AGM battery lasted

Not a great option if you're watching your pennies, but if you have cash to burn and want to kill the problem with fire, it's an options

[Jerezblack.m3]

I use the battery tender jr for years now and it works perfectly fine. I dont see the point of spending $100 On a battery tender

[bvrider1]

Purchased Nov 10- 2016 : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Purchased July 16- 2016 :
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Both tenders have given me no issues. One is for the M3 and the other dual bank is for the boat and that one stays under the cover out in the heat/sun.

[jvictormp]

Should I keep the tender on the battery full-time or only plug it maybe two days before I am going to start the engine?

Won't it charge and discharge (little quantity) too many times, and that would be bad?

Intead of it, if I leave the battery draining for, let's say, 2 weeks, and then I plug the tender, and after 2 days, I start the car with full charged battery, wouldn't I be keeping the battery from many cycles and from starting the engine with low charge?

[Richbot]

The trickle charger maintains a constant state of charge - you aren't charging and discharging by leaving it on, IIRC the max charge rate is under an amp

[mvolps22]

Originally Posted by Richbot

You want the trickle charger either way with an OEM AGM battery. Low volt/high amp events screw with all kinds of things, a battery slowly failing took out a door lock actuator and mirror motor on our E90 335xi.

This is a good opportunity to get one of the good larger LiFePo battery options on the market now IMO. Mine doesn't need a tender with the lithium battery. I'm coming up on 4 years with this battery with no signs of stopping, which is already a year longer than the longest-lasting OEM AGM battery lasted

Not a great option if you're watching your pennies, but if you have cash to burn and want to kill the problem with fire, it's an options

If you're only getting 3 years from the OEM AGM batteries something isn't right. Should last 6-10 years.