Anyone wired a trickle charger to an Arnage??
Discussion
My Arnage has been in hibernation during the snowy weather and the main battery is flat.There is a socket in the boot for the official Bentley trickle charger to connect to however the price of the charger is ££££ and they rarely appear on Ebay secondhand.Has anyone ever adapted the Bentley socket to take an Accumate,CTEC or other normal trickle charger.Im frightened to connect a charger directly to one of the batteries as they are interconnected and I dont want to damage anything by doing something wrong.
The only problem is that the Arnage has 2 batteries,a large one which powers the accessories and a smaller one which is used for starting the car.The 2 batteries are interconnected and I don't want to connect a trickle charger to just one battery in case it damages or interferes with the other one or electrical systems on the car.
Mine was sat for a couple of weeks whilst we had the snow before Christmas - I went into the garage one day and opened the door and the lights didn't come on.....I though the battery had died, but for some reason I tried her, and she burst into life......
Have you tried turning her on?
We went for a blast and it's nicely charged again now...
Have you tried turning her on?
We went for a blast and it's nicely charged again now...
JCB123 said:
Mine was sat for a couple of weeks whilst we had the snow before Christmas - I went into the garage one day and opened the door and the lights didn't come on.....I though the battery had died, but for some reason I tried her, and she burst into life......
Have you tried turning her on?
We went for a blast and it's nicely charged again now...
Yes same with mine.If you look in the boot you will see 2 batteries,a larger one and a smaller one.The larger one powers all the accessories,lighting etc and the smaller one is used for starting.Also in the top N/S corner of the boot there is a socket and this is for the Bentley charger to connect to,which keeps both batteries topped up.I am going to see if my auto electrician can change this so I can connect my Accumate to it to keep both batteries topped up.Have you tried turning her on?
We went for a blast and it's nicely charged again now...
The chargers do come up on Ebay. I bought one for £30 a couple of years ago. I think that they are less sophisticated than say the Ctek so I couple mine up with a time switch which only charges for about 8 hours a day. It works fine and the car has never failed to start.
I am sure however that a competent auto electrician could source a suitable connection plug to fit the boot socket and wire it up to a Ctek which would give the best of all worlds
Paul
I am sure however that a competent auto electrician could source a suitable connection plug to fit the boot socket and wire it up to a Ctek which would give the best of all worlds
Paul
If it is the same socket as fitted in my Continental R (but not connected when I acquired the car), it is a 3-pole XLR socket made by Cliff Electronics (http://www.cliffuk.co.uk/ ) and available from Farnell (http://uk.farnell.com/), who also supply plugs (Farnell part number 149322).
Once I had connected the cables to the isolator switch and an earthing point, I bought some sockets from Farnell and made up an adaptor to take croc clips from an "any old" charger.
I do not know whether this would be suitable for your car, with its twin batteries, but you can get plugs for the socket.
Once I had connected the cables to the isolator switch and an earthing point, I bought some sockets from Farnell and made up an adaptor to take croc clips from an "any old" charger.
I do not know whether this would be suitable for your car, with its twin batteries, but you can get plugs for the socket.
Balmoral Green said:
The CTEK comes with connectors that you wire permanently direct to the battery, then connection/disconnection is as easy as plugging/unplugging.
Black negative, red positive, you really can't get it wrong
I put one on the Turbo R a few weeks ago, CTEK XS3600.
Or you can get an adapter to go in your cigarette lighter socket (which on most Bentleys is still live with ignition off) so you really cannot get it wrong - unless you stick the plug up your xxxx by mistake, of course! Black negative, red positive, you really can't get it wrong
I put one on the Turbo R a few weeks ago, CTEK XS3600.
I know I am somewhat late to this particular topic; after all, I just bought myself a 2002 Arnage T. Also, I bought a CTek 3300 and fully intend to find a boot plug, possibly from Farnell. I might find one here in Los Angeles, however. In any case even if I cannot get the plug, I will wire the charger into the boot receptacle. It is definitely a cinch and certainly is not rocket science. Hopefully, then I can say, "Bob's your uncle," or in my case, "Bob's my uncle." Pretty good for an Amerikaner, no?
meistro said:
I know I am somewhat late to this particular topic; after all, I just bought myself a 2002 Arnage T. Also, I bought a CTek 3300 and fully intend to find a boot plug, possibly from Farnell. I might find one here in Los Angeles, however. In any case even if I cannot get the plug, I will wire the charger into the boot receptacle. It is definitely a cinch and certainly is not rocket science. Hopefully, then I can say, "Bob's your uncle," or in my case, "Bob's my uncle." Pretty good for an Amerikaner, no?
There is nothing special about that plug - it's a standard XLR plug, widely used in the pro audio industry. No probs getting one in LA. Or search ebay for 'XLR plug', note they are available with more than 3 contacts so watch out!I am not so sure this being an XLR plug. My Arnage is a 2002 and I believe the XLR plug may have been in prior model years. The one I need looks like the one in "Alpine Performance" BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT GTC FLYING SPUR BATTERY CHARGER MAINTAINER CONDITIONER. The male plug in the picture looks like that is the one I need. I have no idea what the nomenclature of that would be.
The original integrated charger used this connector.
http://uk.farnell.com/cliff-electronic-components/...
a 2002 Arnage used a different type
http://uk.farnell.com/te-connectivity-amp/206426-1...
but only used the positive and negative connections.
Its much easier to use the socket than to wire direct to the battery although CK provide the appropriate leads.
Paul
http://uk.farnell.com/cliff-electronic-components/...
a 2002 Arnage used a different type
http://uk.farnell.com/te-connectivity-amp/206426-1...
but only used the positive and negative connections.
Its much easier to use the socket than to wire direct to the battery although CK provide the appropriate leads.
Paul
Thanks for the info, Paul. I checked the links you provided and what I need is definitely available from Farnell. Evidently I have too much time on my hands just to be pursuing this. It really is totally unnecessary because for purposes of using the CTek I certainly don't have to go though this rigmarole. It works perfectly with what is available; I suspect it is my OCD kicking in. I just like it to be the way it was originally designed.
I actually jury rigged just an ordinary house plug for the socket in the car by bending the prongs closer together. It works of course, but is aesthetically not pleasing.
As you can see, Paul, I do have very difficult problems; I shall, however, soldier on.
Thanks again
Peter
I actually jury rigged just an ordinary house plug for the socket in the car by bending the prongs closer together. It works of course, but is aesthetically not pleasing.
As you can see, Paul, I do have very difficult problems; I shall, however, soldier on.
Thanks again
Peter
Actually I have just finished reading this and other forums and have now 'sorted' my Bentley GTC.
There are two batteries, big one on the left which is the main AND normal start battery - this is the one you charge. Either use the socket built in - and if you go to CTEK Website you can get whatever connector you require - or buy (in my case) the comfort indicator / socket - they are cheap (this one gives three LED indication of charge) CTEK 5 is the recomended charger.
The battery on the right is the emergency start battery - which is operated by turning the key right and then left to start. It will charge along with the main battery if you connect the main battery to the charger.
The Bentley alarm system, clock etc are quite power hungry and even a good battery will discharge surprisingly quickly.
There are two batteries, big one on the left which is the main AND normal start battery - this is the one you charge. Either use the socket built in - and if you go to CTEK Website you can get whatever connector you require - or buy (in my case) the comfort indicator / socket - they are cheap (this one gives three LED indication of charge) CTEK 5 is the recomended charger.
The battery on the right is the emergency start battery - which is operated by turning the key right and then left to start. It will charge along with the main battery if you connect the main battery to the charger.
The Bentley alarm system, clock etc are quite power hungry and even a good battery will discharge surprisingly quickly.
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