Battery Care

[dubber36]

Having just found the battery on my Mk2 to be completely fecked the other day as I'd forgotten to disconnect it before leaving it tucked up in the garage since June, I wondered what I ought to be doing with the Mk6 as that will most probably spend most of the winter in the garage as well.

Can I use a trickle charger / conditioner with the battery still connected to the car? I'm just wary about upsetting the ECU, Can-Bus etc.

I know there are one or two on here that put their GTI's into hibernation, so what do they do?

[Ess_Three]

Having just found the battery on my Mk2 to be completely fecked the other day as I'd forgotten to disconnect it before leaving it tucked up in the garage since June, I wondered what I ought to be doing with the Mk6 as that will most probably spend most of the winter in the garage as well.

Can I use a trickle charger / conditioner with the battery still connected to the car? I'm just wary about upsetting the ECU, Can-Bus etc.

I know there are one or two on here that put their GTI's into hibernation, so what do they do?

Get a CTEK XS3600 or the new version of...connect it up to the battery...job done. 
Approx £50.
I've been using them for years and never had a flat battery/dead battery since.

[Snoopy]

If you do a search I asked a similar question about a year or maybe 2 years ago now.
Essthree recomended a charger model to me then and I've used it ever since. Infact its sitting under the mk1 at the.moment as if you let Bosch batteries (what's on my mk1) go totally flat and stay like that it.foobars them LOL.
The mk6 electronics have a routine that cuts power to non critical systems when the voltage reduces. Mines sat 3 month ok but after 4 month the interior lights.control etc were turned off and battery voltage reduced. So depends how long yours will be standing and in what weather and temp conditions. Mines sat in my garage the past 3 winters without problem.
Most modern batteries are not as good as older ones due to design, there basically past there best after 3 years anyway.
A lot get changed under warrenty and the use of stop start on cars is killing batteries in no time.

[dubber36]

Cheers for the replies, The Mk2's battery is only 18 months old, so is been replaced under warranty. I think I'm just going to disconnect that one, then give it a couple of days on the trickle charger every other week or so.

Last winter the one in the Mk6 went flat after about 2 months of been sat, but started fine using jump leads. I did get all sorts of warning lights flashing on the dash, but they all went out after a short drive.

Both cars are garaged in integeral garages, so they don't get too cold. So hopefully from now on, all will be fine.

[ScottA]

Can't you get a solar charger for it, just connect it to the battery and run the cable outside somewhere. I think they're pretty cheap

[Ess_Three]

Can't you get a solar charger for it, just connect it to the battery and run the cable outside somewhere. I think they're pretty cheap

If you want to look after your battery, you need to condition it...not just charge it.
That means monitoring in, partially discharging, then recharging. Just charging it doesn't do it any favours...not in the long term

[ScottA]

Turn the headlights on every so often then 

[RickS]

Having just found the battery on my Mk2 to be completely fecked the other day as I'd forgotten to disconnect it before leaving it tucked up in the garage since June, I wondered what I ought to be doing with the Mk6 as that will most probably spend most of the winter in the garage as well.

Can I use a trickle charger / conditioner with the battery still connected to the car? I'm just wary about upsetting the ECU, Can-Bus etc.

I know there are one or two on here that put their GTI's into hibernation, so what do they do?

Get a CTEK XS3600 or the new version of...connect it up to the battery...job done. 
Approx £50.
I've been using them for years and never had a flat battery/dead battery since.

Won't be using the R through winter so I've just ordered one - thanks for that Ess-Three. 
It's a CTEK Multi MXS 3.6 12V Battery Charger & Conditioner.

[Ess_Three]

Won't be using the R through winter so I've just ordered one - thanks for that Ess-Three. 
It's a CTEK Multi MXS 3.6 12V Battery Charger & Conditioner.

That's the one...
I have a couple of XS3600 and a MXS 3.6 - basically the same unit.
Also the same as Porsche supply (with a Porsche logo on it) at about twice the price!

I've been using them for 7 years...and they've never missed a beat, and I've never had a battery issue since.
They are worth every penny...and more!

[RickS]

Having just found the battery on my Mk2 to be completely fecked the other day as I'd forgotten to disconnect it before leaving it tucked up in the garage since June, I wondered what I ought to be doing with the Mk6 as that will most probably spend most of the winter in the garage as well.

Can I use a trickle charger / conditioner with the battery still connected to the car? I'm just wary about upsetting the ECU, Can-Bus etc.

I know there are one or two on here that put their GTI's into hibernation, so what do they do?

Dubber36, it's reassuring to know that other people garage their cars for the winter. I won't be using my R through the winter because it cost me a packet and I want to keep it in A1 condition. I posted on the R Forum that I was going to do this and got one or two critical and/or sarcastic replies.