[DriverLDN]

I've recently changed job and that now means I'm doing literally zero miles a week and sometimes zero miles at the weekend.

With this recent cold snap I'm worried about my battery dying.

Does anyone have any experience with these solar battery maintainers? As I don't have off street parking at the moment it seems to be the only option.

I have a 2006 330i.

Any thoughts?

AA Solar Charger <<<<

[Maxlude]

My bro had some thing similar years ago and it was ok in the summer but in winter there may not be enough daylight to make much difference. They only have a tiny output even in bright sunlight. They will say they work even on full days which technically they will but with massively reduced output. I have a 4kw solar system on my house roof with high output LG panels...on a dull day with 8/8 cloud cover, it will produce just enough to power a few light bulbs!
i am on my original battery which it 12 yrs old but I use a ring smart charger to cycle it every year as like you my car can sit on my drive for weeks without moving. That ring smart charger just crapped out so replaced it with a noco that is on my car right now. Shame you don't have off street parking. Just take it for a decent drive every week, it will keep the brakes from rusting up too!

[rasa bmw]

just take it for a drive every other day for a few miles after work

[DriverLDN]

I switched on the car the other day and I had a discharged battery warning, this has obviously been accelerated by the recent cold weather.

I've ended up going for a CTEK MXS 5.0 charger on my car which seems to have worked a treat. I put it on the reconditioning charge and after about 16hrs in total of charging, it reached green fully charged state.

However now that the battery is fully charged, I have noticed that when I lock the car, the amber park LED on the gear (automatic) shift is still on?

Any ideas to why this is still on?

[rasa bmw]

it stays on for a couple of minutes,,then goes out

[mjo3sBMW]

Bringing it up again
I am also considering installing one of these Solar charger, probably the AA one. Do you guys think it will help as I'm going away for a month from Mid Oct to Mid Nov. Is it better to plug it via the OBD or clamp on the charging point instead?

[SimonO]

I was in the same situation - WFH and had the same error message. I had the C-tek on charge for over a week and no difference. I ended up replacing the battery and it's been fine since...

[0l0dom0l0]

Forget it. A good battery should last well over a month before needing a charge. If it doesn't then it won't be long before it needs replacing.

[Torgus]

Originally Posted by 0l0dom0l0

Forget it. A good battery should last well over a month before needing a charge. If it doesn't then it won't be long before it needs replacing.

This. If your battery dies after the car not being started for a month you need a new battery ASAP.

A good battery will last 6 months as long as there is no drain on it. I say last as in it will crank the car enough to start. Not the most healthy for the battery but who cares it will still last years as long as you run the car every once in a while.

Cars like to be run. I would take it for a drive once a week.

[StradaRedlands]

FYI, a bigger problem than the battery could be rodents getting into the vehicle and chewing the wiring. Buddy of mine had that problem with a car in storage. You really need to drive the car once a week or so, letting the trans, cats, and radiator get up to operating temp. That's good for the systems and will kill off any mice!