I have put my 1.3 in the garage for the winter. The battery WILL go flat, even with the alarm off. In winter, I need to run the car for half an hour every week to keep it charged. I don't like running the car on idle for too long. Can't be good for the engine. What's the best way to keep the battery in good condition over winter? It is only 18mts old, so I don't want to shorten its life by letting it go flat and recharging too often. I have a battery charger, which I used a month or so ago. I charged the battery while it was still connected. Seemed fine. Questions: Can / should I leave the battery charger permanently connected an on for an extended period? Would it be best to remove the battery altogether and just charge it when I put the car back on the road? If leave the battery out for several weeks, will this adversely affect the car's electronics? E.g. immobiliser, ECU?
Bought a Dunlop battery charger a week ago, its very similar to this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/MOTOPOWER-...1547982170&sr=8-8&keywords=dunlop+12v+charger Its got a connector with eyelets that can be permanently fixed to the battery terminals so you just plug it in if you want a recharge. You could basically keep it connected indefinitely as it has a "battery trainer and maintenance" mode. If your charger does not have this function I would not connect it while the battery is still attached to the car and I would not keep it longer than the charging period, as it might damage the battery. If you already have one of the outlined above, go ahead
