Having read the forum before buying Gibson (my Copen) I was aware that there can be issues with the battery going flat if the car isn't driven regularly, particularly in cold weather. I only collected Gibson on 25th September and drove him sixty miles back from Harrogate and then did a couple of thirty mile round trips as well as some local runs, so thought the battery would be fully charged. Last week I went away for a week, tried the engine when I got back - dead as a dodo! Jump started it OK but not keen on having to do it on a regular basis so looked at the discussion on the forum for and against solar battery trickle chargers. Did a bit of online research and quite a few people say they are worth having if you are not driving the car every day. The main issue seemed to be how they are connected as the cigarette lighter socket option only works if the socket is still live when the ignition is off, and in the Copen this is not the case. However, I found the AA Car Essentials Solar Powered Car Battery Charger on Amazon for £22.50 which connects via the OBD socket and, having established via the forum where the Copen's OBD socket is, (at the bottom of the panel under the steering wheel, just above your left foot), I decided it was worth a try. Time will tell if it does the trick!
hi welcome along to copen world. the batteries are the same as all the small daihatsu batteries, just plain crap, the chances are its never been changed and parts have broken down over the years. i had the same problem in one of my old avanzatos, it would go flat after a day of not using it, replaced the battery with a new 1 and could leave it for weeks with out a problem, which was good as it was toy not a daily driver, same with my copen, its not been started for weeks and starts fine as replaced the battery. you might find the solar charger wont have enough kick to keep it charged when its not really sunny, if thats the case i would suggest changing the battery as the winter will totally kill it
Agree; my other car had the same problem and a charger didnt help, new battery sorted it. However, rather than plain trickle charging there's a Swedish co that supplies the car manufacturers with an intelligent maintainer which monitors the battery condition and responds accordingly - YouTube Jay Leno's Garage channel and he has a feature on it, uses them on his collection
