Using An Accumate To Charge Via The Cigarette Lighter - Help

[Silkyskills]

I left the Tuscan outside with with the alarm on for 8 weeks and obviously the car didn't start when I tried it. Dead battery.

Stuck the Accumate on it last Saturday evening via the cigarette socket and the little yellow light came on and has stayed constant ever since...but it is not turning green yet.

I've recharged the battery a few times before and it's usually taken about 3 1/2 days to charge but this time I'm concerned as we are now at 5 days.

The instruction manual says only leave connected for a maximum of 60 hours (3 days) but I suspect that would be if using the claps directly to the battery terminals and not going through the cigarette lighter because I'd guess that charging through the lighter takes longer?

I'm going away for the weekend tonight and would like to keep it plugged in as it's not gone green yet so do we think that's safe? Am I right about the charging taking longer than the recommended time if going through the lighter?

All advice gratefully received. Cheers.

[WinstonWolf]

I've run a dedicated fused spur from the battery to under the centre console, I just pull it out and use that when I leave the Griff on charge.

[dynosoar]

Some of these digital trickle chargers need to see some voltage before they start to charge.

I used one this morning and it wouldn't register the battery until I clipped on another to give a background voltage. Once it had seen that the charge began and after an hour or so I removed the 'slave' battery for the charger to continue.

Hope that helps.

Of course there is always the possibility of the cigarette lighter being isolated and therefore not connected to the battery either by a battery isoated key or even the ignition.


A

[Silkyskills]

dynosoar said:

Some of these digital trickle chargers need to see some voltage before they start to charge.

Of course there is always the possibility of the cigarette lighter being isolated and therefore not connected to the battery either by a battery isoated key or even the ignition.

I've used this charger for over 13 years on various cars and this TVR for 5 years and it's always worked from the cigarette lighter. The Accumate seems the preferred choice for TVR owners for some reason so I just went with the flow.

[WinstonWolf]

Silkyskills said:

dynosoar said:

Some of these digital trickle chargers need to see some voltage before they start to charge.

Of course there is always the possibility of the cigarette lighter being isolated and therefore not connected to the battery either by a battery isoated key or even the ignition.

I've used this charger for over 13 years on various cars and this TVR for 5 years and it's always worked from the cigarette lighter. The Accumate seems the preferred choice for TVR owners for some reason so I just went with the flow.

If the light doesn't change when you disconnect from the battery it's not registering that there is a battery there so it isn't starting to charge. I use an old fashioned analogue trickle charger to start the process when the battery is pancaked.

[Silkyskills]

WinstonWolf said:

Silkyskills said:

dynosoar said:

Some of these digital trickle chargers need to see some voltage before they start to charge.

Of course there is always the possibility of the cigarette lighter being isolated and therefore not connected to the battery either by a battery isoated key or even the ignition.

I've used this charger for over 13 years on various cars and this TVR for 5 years and it's always worked from the cigarette lighter. The Accumate seems the preferred choice for TVR owners for some reason so I just went with the flow.

If the light doesn't change when you disconnect from the battery it's not registering that there is a battery there so it isn't starting to charge. I use an old fashioned analogue trickle charger to start the process when the battery is pancaked.

The light comes on when I connect to the cigarette lighter and goes off when I pull it out of the lighter. It doesn't flicker and is very steady. It's just it's taking a long time.

Is the current the same when using the lighter as when going direct to the battery terminals? Would you now leave it plugged in over the weekend in the hope that I come back to a green light and its all ready to go or am I taking a risk?

[Penelope Stopit]

If your charger is this one https://accumate.co.uk/accumate.htm

Taken from the above website page.....

It uses a 1.2A constant current charge as the main stage

Your lighter sockets wiring is plenty heavy enough for a continuous 1.2 Amps current flow

There will be no difference in charge rate if connecting this low output charger directly to the battery rather than the lighter socket

The above website page also states that the charger has built-in temperature protection

Even though the charger has been connected for a few days it should not be getting hot, as long as it isn't hot at present there is no reason why you can't leave it on for several more days

As mentioned above, it may need a trick kick start by connecting another battery up to the flat one for a while, the battery could be faulty though and that would explain why you're having this problem for the first time

Be sure to check what the maximum charge rate of your charger is as it may not be the same as the one shown at the above webpage

A 3 amps max charger will be ok to leave running for several days, it's not a good idea to leave higher rate chargers (5 Amps and above) running unattended and the lighter socket wiring could well be 8 amps max rated

[PuffsBack]

Silkyskills said:

The instruction manual says only leave connected for a maximum of 60 hours (3 days)

LOL - my Sagaris has been plugged in since October

I wouldn't be too concerned after 5 days that its not gone green yet.

[TR4man]

My Tuscan has the charger going into the cigarette lighter whenever it is in my garage.

Haven’t started it in about three months, but it will be fine when I do.

So, I wouldn’t worry about leaving it plugged in for extended periods of time.

[pb450]

I'm not sure of the technical logic on this one but in my experience, sometimes a small 'wiggle' (there's the technical term!) of the plug into the cigarette lighter results in the light turning green.

My bettery is now in the boot and so I charge direct to leads from the battery. (An accessory which comes with the Accumate.) If yellow for too long a small wiggle of the connector (charger to leads) does the trick, as before, and the light turns green. Give it a try.

[Silkyskills]

Will do, cheers.

[triple5]

WinstonWolf said:

If the light doesn't change when you disconnect from the battery it's not registering that there is a battery there so it isn't starting to charge. I use an old fashioned analogue trickle charger to start the process when the battery is pancaked.

Very likely its this^

I keep an old Lucas (non smart) charger handy for the same reason.

[Byker28i]

Yup trickle charge is there to keep the battery topped up, you need a proper battery charger if it's flat.

I have a trickle charger into my cigarette socket on my Cerbera, it's on all the time the car isn't being driven

[Penelope Stopit]

Silkyskills said:

Will do, cheers.

Ok then

[Olas]

Its more likely to charge if the cigarette lighter goes directly to the battery. If the cigarette lighter is a request to the ecu then it wont charge.

fit an isolator switch to stop drain, and get a decent charger but remember to connect it directly to the battery terminals.

[Clockwork Cupcake]

I keep a little wall wart trickle charger permanently plugged into the cigarette lighter of my Sagaris when it is in the garage, and did so for my Chimaera before that. Never had any problems, even when connected for months on end.

However, I have found that when you completely flatten the battery, you'll need to connect a beefy charger to the Anderson connector to kick it back into action. If indeed it can be charged - I have had several batteries now over the years that, once flat, are dead and need replacing.

Also, you may find your immobiliser won't unlock after a completely flat battery and you need to go through the magic reboot process (which I can't remember right now, but involves completely disconnecting the battery, which on the Sagaris involves removing the front left wheel and opening up the wheel arch liner).

[Silkyskills]

Clockwork Cupcake said:

Also, you may find your immobiliser won't unlock after a completely flat battery and you need to go through the magic reboot process (which I can't remember right now, but involves completely disconnecting the battery, which on the Sagaris involves removing the front left wheel and opening up the wheel arch liner).

I've never heard of this magic reboot procedure. Surely that process would need completing after a battery change as well if that's the case?

[Clockwork Cupcake]

Silkyskills said:

I've never heard of this magic reboot procedure. Surely that process would need completing after a battery change as well if that's the case?

I don't know. Maybe. But I have suffered from it on a flat battery.

I had a scenario where the battery had completely discharged whilst the car was immobilised and the alarm was activated. Once the battery was charged, neither the plipper nor the Meta key would disable the immobiliser and hence the car wouldn't start.

A quick search on my Facebook Activity Log shows that it happened to me in 2012, and the procedure was to disconnect the car's battery, and then reconnect it whilst holding down the button on the alarm plipper. This then reset the immobiliser and all was fine.