Guys, The simple solution is to just start your baby twice a week, that is if you are not driving it regularly.

 

Guys, The simple solution is to just start your baby twice a week, that is if you are not driving it regularly.

 

Not keen on that, we cover it in detail in the winter storage thread - just starting a car up can do more harm than good. The only time you should start her up is if you plan to get everything very warm, otherwise you're dealing with a host of issues (and probably killing your battery in the process)

 

It isn't the whole world. I leave my CTEK connected and my cars unlocked, without worry. When Amazon delivers, I have them leave my package at the front door while I am away at work. Funny. Just the other day, me and a co-worker were talking about how much Amazon we have been ordering since the pandemic, and we both said that we just have them leave the packages at the front door. We both said the same thing though: "We wouldn't do that **** if we were in the states!"

 

Sad but true, at least in some/most neighborhoods.
I personally have never experienced package theft, nor have any of my neighbors with which I have contact.
Years ago I DID have a bicycle on the sidewalk in front of my house for a couple days, didn't know who's it was. The I saw a person pushing it from the sidewalk up the driveway towards my house. I went out and queried, the youngish lady said "I didn't want someone to take it, so I decided to move it for you". I didn't want to ruin the Good Deed, so I thanked her for doing so.
The next day or so a kid knocked on the door and thanked me for watching out for his bicycle. He took it and left.

 

That's way to simple for on here

 

Careful, your stereotypes are showing. There are still many places in the US where people know, trust and look out for each other. We have a "mayor" of our street (unelected and unappointed) who knows everything that goes on and watches over things. Woe betide anyone he does not recognize lingering around any of our houses.

 

You live in Abu Dhabi, of the United Arab Emirates where the Penal Code has just been updated.
https://gulfnews.com/uae/government/....1604737879021 The interplay between UAE laws and Islamic laws is unclear to me. Nevertheless, it is prudent to know that under Islamic law, depending on the circumstances, the penalty for theft can be as severe as cutting off the thief's hand.
Punishment for Theft in the Islamic Laws > IRIC

I wouldn't worry too much about anyone stealing my stuff here in the USA, too, if we cut off the thief's hand.

 

George - I have a 2005 Vanden Plas, so different car but still the large battery in the trunk - it may be "wrong" but I have been putting it on a battery maintainer for 5 months through the winter for the last 4 years with no problems. I didn't do anything other than keep the charger as far away as possible (outside the trunk). I have a CTek charger very similar to yours. I understand it is supposed to be the "best" one to use, but if there is a power outage, it does not reset when the power comes back on. My Jag has either been in a locked heated storage building where I can't get to it, or at our summer place, so I can't reset the CTek. For that reason I switched to a Schumacher charger that comes back on when the power comes back on - no problems with that the last two winters. FWIW I don't disconnect the battery as I don't want all those electronics to be de-powered for five months! Hope this helps!

 

Hi George, I have had a CTEK on my 07 XK Convertible for 7 years and I have mine directly hooked up to the battery terminal, with the quick connect accessible popping out under the battery compartment panel. I would recommend NOT hooking up via alligator clips to your battery quick “jump start” terminal. As the alligator connection is a spring “bite” vs a threaded bolt down attachment; road vibration, jarring of the cable or weakening spring tension over time may not provide a complete connection that may not be known till your car doesn’t start one day. As to why you should not have your charger in the trunk/boot; it's pretty straight forward. If you have it in the trunk, then in the event you forget to unplug it from the wall 1) you risk damage to the wall outlet, and or the plug 2) you then drive off with the power cord & it’s copper “legs” flapping against your beautiful paint job. On the other hand, if this should happen and you have the charger outside the car, mounted to the wall; the connecting cables and extension cables all have rubberized plastic quick connect/disconnects. This minimizes the risk of damage and likely you will see dangling, disconnected cables as you are backing out and can stop and easily correct the situation. I speak from experience on this as I have done this very thing 3 times. No Harm Done, other than to my self esteem for being so negligent. Enjoy your XK, the CTEK does an amazing job at ensuring the longevity and dependability of your battery.

 

Something you might all be interested in...
My XJ spends most of it's time coming on and off a charger as well, so I bought a Magcode plug and ctek adaptor to make things even easier. This is the exact same thing you'll find on Astons and Ferraris, where they expect the car to live in a garage most of it's life.


This lets you permanently mount a socket on car somewhere (under the rear bumper, by the license plate etc) and just attach and detatch the magnetic plug.

It's not the cheapest setup, but it has a few advantages:
- You can leave the car locked and still attach and detatch the plug very easily
- the socket has both a protective cover, but also the contacts are only live when the correct magcode plug is attached (there's a little magnet and spring inside that breaks the connection)
- if you accidentally forget that your charger is connected and go to drive off, the magnetic plug will fall off, rather than being held on with a clip, so you won't break anything!

here's one I found on Ebay as an example, but you might be able to get one cheaper
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ctek-Magcod...0AAOSwX2pfvnFL

Here an example of what it can look like installed (without the protective cover):

 

I have an 2015 XKR. I have had the exact same charger for 2 winters. Kept it on all the time . No problems. Did not need to do anything else.

 

My 09 XKR Portfolio has been on a Ctek for 10 years and no issues

 

I have a good charger similar to ctek. When they go into float mode, they are at minimal voltage and zero amperage, which stops any gassing, so they may be left on for long periods.

 

I checked the battery level on the Aston today as it has sat unmoved for 3 weeks , got a reading of 12.2 volts so put it on full charge overnite , all you are doing is wasting energy .

 

Two Pennies per Month!

 

Cj and Stuart s please stop trolling you guys are over 70 and are on here all day with nothing to add than your 2 cents worth normally on battery's . Just saying

 

Your personal attack against me is uncalled for and offensive, and is probably in violation of the Forum rules. Read my comments in this thread again and show me where they add nothing.

I'll let the other Forum members be the judge.

You are not my mother, so you can't tell me what to do. She taught me that if you can't say something nice about someone else, then shut the f ... well, I'm sure you know.

 

George, please learn to use punctuation and sentence structure properly before you attempt to act all cool. No matter the thought behind a poorly written sentence, the writer looks a fool.
Ha! I'm a poet and didn't think I was. (yes, I know, it's my own version.

 

I am American, and second generation retired military. Since retirement from the military, I have lived outside the USA for around the last 15 years. So I have lived all over the USA and the world. As have most of my peers. Granted, there are probably places I have lived in the USA where I wouldn't worry about it, but 'generally" I wouldn't do the same things in the USA, that I do here in the UAE. In the country where I also maintain a residence, I would be even more cautious than I would be in the USA.