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Old 01-23-2013, 06:22 PM   #1
slim617
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Member#: 175247
Join Date: Mar 2008
Chapter/Region: BAIC
Location: bay area
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2007 STI
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Unhappy Battery Maintenance Help + Charger Help

i drive a subaru 07 sti. i use to drive it very often and never came across this problem. but now i have a commuter car, so i dont drive it long periods of time, such as 1 month or even 3 months.

my issue has been with the battery going flat. when trying to start, it barely has any life in it left, but it would eventually kick in and start the car. it has happened at least 2 to 3 times now, i know its getting pretty bad.

so now i am looking at battery maintenance/ charger.. but i am having a hard time figuring out what a maintenance charger or a multi-stage battery charger is. also which brand or which ever to pick.

what i need to know is:
- what voltage (if this is relevant) for the charger should i buy?
- what brand do i buy?
- what is the cheapest?
- what can i buy, if it is cheap, to test the battery life condition it is currently in?
- would i need to buy a new battery?


thank you for reading, hope to hear from you soon.
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Old 01-24-2013, 11:19 AM   #2
CRAZYHAWK
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Member#: 198067
Join Date: Dec 2008
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: RAMSEY, NJ
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2009 IMPREZA 2.5i 4d
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Get a 12 volt battery maintainer. It should be able to charge at up to 6 amps.
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Old 02-04-2013, 10:05 PM   #3
slim617
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any suggestions as to what brand?
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Old 02-04-2013, 10:27 PM   #4
HeroCrank
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2013 Toyota Tundra
Rock Warrior

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At this point I would get a new battery, that one will have reliability issues. Die hard makes a decent one for around 40 bucks at sears. I've got one and trickle charge my deep cycle trolling motor with it.
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Old 02-04-2013, 10:31 PM   #5
Uncle Scotty
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slim617 View Post
any suggestions as to what brand?

well...i prefer the great value extra strong but many like charmin or angle soft
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Old 02-23-2013, 01:16 AM   #6
dollar5th
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Get a battery tender. I'm in the battery business and this is what i recommend:
http://www.atbatt.com/product/6841.a...Fa1AMgodIRoACw
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Old 02-24-2013, 08:40 PM   #7
SubLGT
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slim617 View Post
any suggestions as to what brand?
CTEK chargers get a lot of good reviews at Amazon.

http://smartercharger.com/battery-chargers/
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Old 03-03-2013, 09:02 AM   #8
Garandman
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slim617 View Post
any suggestions as to what brand?
DelTran. They make the Battery Tender. I have five of them - one for a generator, two for motorcycles, two for boat batteries. Widely available, not expensive at all, and are sometimes offered as sale items.

I bought one of the Harbor Freight tenders for $6 on sale just to try out. Seems to be a waste of money - won't charge AGM batteries and doesn't have an indicator to show if it's fully charged.

In olden times, I used a 1/4 amp trickle charger set to a timer that would turn it on for 15 minutes a day worked fine.

Some people who park for extended periods (for example, servicemen or airline pilots) are now using solar chargers that plug into the cigarette lighter socket. You can buy kits or make your own - anything 10-15 watts doesn't need a controller. Caveat: many cars like Subaru shut off the lighter socket with the key switch, while others (GM trucks for example) leave them on.
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