Trickle charger

[cbonetti]

I went to my local OPC yesterday where I was told 2 things that did not match my previous understanding
1. The Porsche battery charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter is not a conditioner, and should not be left on for extended periods of time as it can damage the battery. It should only be used to top up the battery immediately prior to using the car.
2. The cigarette lighter in the 993 is not permanently live and so cannot be used to charge the battery. The solution is to buy an adaptor which connects direct to the battery terminals.
Could anybody confirm their experience of using this type of charger
Thanks

 

[Guest]

this is what you want - fit and forget - they are great

http://www.autofarm.co.uk/parts/BatCon.html

 

[GreigM]

I got a carcoon charger/conditioner from here:

http://www.carcoon.co.uk/charge.htm

worth every penny if you leave the car for any length of time.

 

[38F3E1]

I bought mine from Halfords. It was 30 quid but is both a charger and a conditioner and automatically switches mode as required. It is not waterproof so best if the car is kept in a garage.

I suspend mine from the garage roof using a piece of string so it just sits above the bonnet level then after parking open the bonnet and connect up. It has now become a habit. I removed the fuse for the bonnet light so its not permanently on when the bonnet is cracked.

I believe the cigarette lighter has to be rewired to be permenently live.

Ian.

 

[ricky944]

I got a carcoon charger/conditioner from here:

http://www.carcoon.co.uk/charge.htm

worth every penny if you leave the car for any length of time.

same here.......excellent piece of kit

 

[cbonetti]

Thanks for all the info
There was I hoping I could just plug into the cigarette lighter and forget.....

 

[Shane Hodges]

Ian is right - the cigarette lighter has to be rewired to make it permanently live. It doesn't take that long, so the next time you have it serviced, ask for it to be done free.

OPC did mine for free and I bought the maintainer (nice picture of it in Maurice's link!) at the same time.

If I've left the car for a few weeks, I plug it in the day before for a few hours and have never had a problem.

The choice is now yours .... !