Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing BATTERY MAINTENANCE

Just to clarify one point, which seems to come up with regards to long term use of battery chargers:


Ctek chargers, such as the one you mention (MX 5.0), have: 'maintenance pulse charging (Float/Pulse) - Once the battery is fully charged, the charger switches to a pulse mode. It allows the battery to drain slightly and then sends a pulse of charge to keep it at optimum levels.'

In short, this means these 'smarter' modern chargers are designed to be 'connect and forget' over longer periods of time because they are not charging constantly and allow the battery to drop and then charge it back to 95-100%, before starting the process again.

MMC used to supply Banner battery chargers but I am not sure if that relationship is still in place and I couldn't see them showing on the list of Banner OE companies.

Like Luddite, I use the MX 5.0 and have found them to be excellent.

Simon, the quote you posted was from a collection that I gathered together made by others than myself to provide info on battery charging in general and the content of the quote you posted was I think originally posted by Richard V6 who is the real expert on batteries and much else... (-:

Having just paid out another few hundred to have a replacement battery fitted and coded in to my 2012 car when it`s four year old and rarely stressed battery has lived a life of leisure connected to my CTEK MXS 5.0, but failed to fire the car up....Apparently there is a suggestion that long term usage of an intelligent float charger/conditioner can cause issues.... ? While my AGM battery`s failure can not be directly related to it`s long term connection to the charger, there is info in the CTEK manual that suggests :-

Recond your battery once per year and after deep discharge to maximise lifetime and capacity.

That I did not do so in the four years life of the failed battery, may or may not have reduced the life of my AGM battery...?

I also use a CTEK MXS 3.5 on my mid 80`s +8

Batteries don't fail suddenly per se, they typically loose their capacity slowly and steadily over a period of time dependant on how well they are looked after and/or used. The sudden findings that a regularly used car starts one day but not the next is usually down to that car starting easily, masking how little capacity is left and typically happens at the onset of winter as cold start oil temperatures drop. Regular monitoring of a fully charged batteries standing voltage at least 24 hours after last use or charge will be a good indication of a batteries ultimate life. 12.2 volts or less measured at the battery and the end is nigh. Another pointer is how quickly your smart charger reaches the fully charged indication, with minimal capacity left this is going to be much sooner than when new.

FWIW I recommend Hankook batteries. Have used this south Korean brand for many years on cars and boats with great longevity - why pay more as they say.

Apologies Dave I missed your post as the page had turned... (-: Also sorry to read of your CTEK disappointments, though I have had no such issues with mine as my seldom used cars were until now permanently connected to their live CTEK chargers when not in use, and as such both cars never failed to fire up when required over many years...The Morgan with it`s old style wet lead acid battery and matched CTEK, and the 2012 stop/start facility equipped car with it`s AGM battery and matching CTEK AGM float charger/conditioner..

As for practical experience of sudden battery failure, I suspect that is a rarity indeed, and may often as the result of misdiagnosis, been there and done that myself, the fault being down to a cruddy connection hiding under a cap type terminal that was not loose..

HOWEVER in the case of my recent AGM battery failure, that the 2012 car had been running well for a journey time of circa an hour in daylight with headlights or air con in use, it came as a complete surprise to shut down the engine for a max of 10 minutes, then request a restart to see the dash go blank, untill the ign key was released to the stage where the dash display returned and circa 11 volts was measured along with as expected way too many fault warnings to make any sense of... All of which suggested a cruddy connection somewhere, and as the O.E. battery was replaced circa four years previously when all added together a cruddy connection to the primary ECU was my general expectation.... As up until that time I had not come across a battery with an internal and seemingly INTERMITTANT connection between cells.....Whether that might in any way be an AGM related issue... or not.... I have no idea, though that battery did fail when connected to a load testing device.

As ever I rely on those with more practical knowledge or education than I in such cases... to determine that AGM batteries may present a different set of charging challenges, and causes of failure.... Though having typed that my 2012 car`s seemingly original AGM battery lasted for circa 9 years, until I forgot to connect it to it`s CTEK charger and it failed to start the engine after only 8 days or so, indicating that the battery`s ability to hold charge had likely diminished with the passage of time, which is to be expected..

Replacing a battery on an irregularly used vehicle and or one that may note be used over winter, just seems to me like a reasonable form of insurance, but even that is not guaranteed to avoid a fail to start situation. as for sticking to the same proven brand.... Yeah, well risk management and cost cutting can in time lead to increasing failure rates in once trusted brands of anything.... mare is the pity.

Wishing you the best of luck in your choices. Even with my new battery in the 2012 car, I suspect I will be driving it with my fingers crossed for a while yet before I regain some sort of confidence in it`s abilities...!

Thank you Richard and Luddite for the advice...once we get home and Autumn moves toward winter i will undertake some battery tests when its a little colder with the AVO meter. We are presently just East of Bergerac on holiday, temps are 27 to 30 C but due to rise to 38 next week... The battery is turning the engine ok, but to my ears is not as "crisp" as it used to be... We always carry a back up small jump battery just in case, which is charged ready to go.
I am now a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to 12v automotive batteries, so any advice appreciated and i will look into yr suggested battery manufacturer Richard...
dave

There is an alternative battery to the standard lead acid battery and I have fitted one to my 4/4. I fitted an Odyssey performance battery about 3 years ago, which has the advantage of being (supposedly) much longer lived than lead acid. It also has the advantage of weighing less than half a standard battery, whilst delivering more current for starting. Together with the cut off switch, the combination has been trouble free so far and I can recommend the Odyssey to all.

I recommend these chargers - https://www.maypoleltd.com/product/mp7423-4a-6-12v-electronic-smart-charger/

Used Optimate and Accumate before hand and found the Maypole more reliable. Sold my collection of Optimates (9 of them) and replaced with the Maypole.

Fraction of the price of the CTEKs and work with Lead and AGM.

No idea how old my MGB Battery is - was in the car when I bought it so over 3 years. SInce then I've completely drained it on numerous occasions (at least 6 times, and so flat that it wouldn't even light the LED interior bulb). Jump start to get to work and back, and then overnight on the Maypole and it's still going strong. I have also fixed the wiring so it doesn't drain any more

When I bought my Plus8 it had an Odyssey battery already on it. No date for when fitted in the history file. It started to fail after 9 years. I used a Ctek 3.6 when it was garaged and saw it cycle through the maintenance/charge cycles. Basically park in garage and connect thd Ctek using their connector fitted to the battery.
Over the 9 years only one problem when I left sidelights on when in the garage and not connected for a couple of days. My error. Ctek connected and battery back to good. I had done 45k+ miles on that battery. Started the car quickly every time.
I replaced the failing battery with a new Odyssey. Not the cheapest but I hate battery/starting problems and confidence in Odyssey led to like for like replacement. I remembered to remove the terminal adaptors from the old battery to fit to the new as it came as a bare battery.
I now follow the same Ctek use on the Plus Four. 3 years and 22k+miles. No electrical problems. The only electrical issue was a pcb failure for dash gauges....a badly fitted connector and new pcb fitted under warranty.

I use a CTEK, and it's permanently connected when the car is not in use. The MMC service team recommended this and also said that the CTEK is their preferred charger.

I used to spend for the best batteries money could buy, Odyessy and Optima among them. And my trads are always kept in dry heated garages. But all batteries fail and none of them add a single bhp or make a Morgan more fun in any way. So I made up battery rules for myself which have saved me hassles on 3 continents.

1. I place the battery where it best balances the car. Morgan, forced by engine suppliers, are now pretty silly in this area. Placement is key as trads are so light and batteries so heavy they can badly balance them. The battery site should be behind the passenger. A 20 kilo battery, moved from one side to the other in a hyper light car makes a 40 kilos (5%) difference. Putting it behind the driver has to contribute to the infamous leaning trad phenomena. (See below)
2. I choose the most commonly found battery in the area I am mogging, preferably one I can find on the weekend at the side of the road. Batteries traditionally only fail on weekends. (wryly)

3. I use a battery holder system (based on a Peter Mulberry sketch) that makes the battery super easy to access and change.

4. I find a life partner that weighs 20 kilos less than I do. 😉

There is no point in buying a battery/battery tender that costs 5 times as much but lasts only 3 times longer. And where are you going to find its replacement on a sunny Sunday?

L

A friend's LHD