Battery Maintainer / Trickle Charger

[Harrier Man]

Given the not infrequent occurrences of flat batteries and an anticipated period in the New Year when my car will be left unused for 6-8 weeks, I want to take some preventative measures. I have a NoCo pack but recall reading about solar powered chargers on this forum that I think will be a better option.

Christmas is coming up and I want to add a suitable bit of kit to my Christmas List but I'm unclear as to what will work best. My research comes up with 'Battery maintainers' and 'trickle chargers' - do these do the same thing? I've looked at the CTEK website but their range confuses me and appear expensive compared with, say, the AA Battery maintainer. The car will not be garaged so solar appears a good idea but it would also be possible to connect to an external socket if the leads were long enough.

Any information, advice and/or recommendations would be welcomed.

[stepppy]

I purchased the below smart charger from amazon during the first lockdown for my Prius and it worked perfectly and at a very good price too.

It analyses the Battery type and charges the Battery and then maintains it at the correct level.

Smart Charger

I use it on my NX now when I go away on holiday. Although they are designed to be left running continuously, I have mine hooked up to a smart plug and have it come on for 8 hours a day twice a week. 

It comes with the usual crocodile clips, but also  another lead that enables permanent connection to the Battery with a plug on the other end for easy connection to the charger. 

[Lexusjim]

I can recommend this: 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07JLX9J15/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Just check that any charger you buy is compatible with your Battery. I think lexus mostly use an agm type

 

Not sure than a solar charger would provide enough charge in the short (and occasionally.! dull) days in your part of the country

 

 

 

[stepppy]

10 minutes ago, Lexusjim said:

I can recommend this: 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07JLX9J15/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Just check that any charger you buy is compatible with your battery. I think lexus mostly use an agm type

 

Not sure than a solar charger would provide enough charge in the short (and occasionally.! dull) days in your part of the country

 

 

 

Very good point to check.

The current NX uses a normal flooded wet Battery. When I connect my charger it flashes up the different types in a self test then settles on 12v Std. 

[S Dhuper]

Just a quick question, will you connect the charger at the Battery at the back of the car or at the front?

I have yet to see the Battery at the back, is it fairly easy to access the Battery? 

[stepppy]

6 minutes ago, S Dhuper said:

Just a quick question, will you connect the charger at the battery at the back of the car or at the front?

I have yet to see the battery at the back, is it fairly easy to access the battery? 

I use the jump point under the bonnet under the black cover then a nearby bolt head that I know has a good solid ground. 

I used a meter directly on the Battery terminals and the measurement was the same as using the jump points. 

The Battery is under a pop off cover on the left hand side under the boot floor (2024 model)

 

[Herbie]

14 minutes ago, S Dhuper said:

Just a quick question, will you connect the charger at the battery at the back of the car or at the front?

It doesn't matter. 12V is 12V whether at the front, back, top or bottom and they're directly connected to each other anyway.

[S Dhuper]

4 minutes ago, stepppy said:

I use the jump point under the bonnet under the black cover then a nearby bolt head that I know has a good solid ground. 

I used a meter directly on the battery terminals and the measurement was the same as using the jump points. 

The battery is under a pop off cover on the left hand side under the boot floor (2024 model)

 

Thanks this is all new stuff for me,  my 350H is a Sep 23 model, 95%of my driving is very short driving although touch wood the Battery is OK. 

It might be a good idea to give it a boost, can you please tell me how to trickle charge it or give it a boost in simple easy instructions 🤔

[RichieAllen]

I have used the AA charger just plug it into the diagnostic point and it will trickle charge your 12 volt Battery with ease. We all so use it on the wife's Toyota hybrid. Great piece of kit.

[stepppy]

31 minutes ago, S Dhuper said:

Thanks this is all new stuff for me,  my 350H is a Sep 23 model, 95%of my driving is very short driving although touch wood the battery is OK. 

It might be a good idea to give it a boost, can you please tell me how to trickle charge it or give it a boost in simple easy instructions 🤔

Pretty much my usage as well and I have not had any issues yet. Had a Prius before for seven years and that was on the original Battery when I sold it and it was still going strong. 

I just connect my charger/maintainer and let it do its thing. The display shows red at the beginning, analyses the Battery, charges it (displays goes green) then just maintains its charge.

I generally only use it when we go away on holiday.

Mine does not have a boost function. 

[S Dhuper]

36 minutes ago, RichieAllen said:

I have used the AA charger just plug it into the diagnostic point and it will trickle charge your 12 volt battery with ease. We all so use it on the wife's Toyota hybrid. Great piece of kit.

The Diagnostic port is that the same as for reading fault codes? under the Dashboard, but don't those have a kind of a scart connector? The A A Charger on amazon has Croc clios6