[uphu]

I left the lights on, and my battery went almost flat. Fortunately I could start the engine, and I got home. Now I would like to charge the battery at home. The user manual says that the battery can be charged only at the official VW service.

What???

Is it just another rip-off trick from VW? Can I charge the battery at home? Or I better take it to VW?

 

[dash]

Have a look at CTEK MXS 5.0

Good quality product. I use it regularly to charge wife's Toyota iQ battery

Dave

 

[uphu]

I have a good charger, but the VW Up manual deters me from using it. Should I trust VW or should I trust common sense?

 

[dash]

If you look at new cars in the showroom you often see a socket on the end of a black & red trailing lead just in front of the windscreen. This is a connector for a CTEK type charger. This is how I charge the wife's car; the flying leads and socket are permanently attached to the battery so I can quickly connect the charger as required.

Dave

 

[SiJ2000]

As long as its an intelligent charger then it should be OK. They can be expensive, but worth the money!

 

[dash]

Around £60

Amazon - CTEK MXS 5.0

 

[SiJ2000]

Yeah. Good choice... I have one like that...

 

[Charles]

Had an Optimate 3 for the last 15 years has been excellent at keeping my vehicle's batteries charged. Bought it for my ZX6R, then sold the bike and connected it to my caravan leisure battery, then my Land Rover Defender, now it's connected to my Honda scooter and when we go away it maintains UPsie.
But Lidl do one VERY similar, microprocessor controlled smart charger with LCD screen etc... wait for it... £13.99!
Got one connected to my Motorhome engine battery, they're very good.Edited by: Charles

 

[parry]

I left the lights on, and my battery went almost flat. Fortunately I could start the engine, and I got home. Now I would like to charge the battery at home. The user manual says that the battery can be charged only at the official VW service.

What???

Is it just another rip-off trick from VW? Can I charge the battery at home? Or I better take it to VW?

I left the lights on, and my battery went almost flat. Fortunately I could start the engine, and I got home. Now I would like to charge the battery at home. The user manual says that the battery can be charged only at the official VW service.

What???

Is it just another rip-off trick from VW? Can I charge the battery at home? Or I better take it to VW?

 

[parry]

I left the lights on, and my battery went almost flat. Fortunately I could start the engine, and I got home. Now I would like to charge the battery at home. The user manual says that the battery can be charged only at the official VW service.

What???

Is it just another rip-off trick from VW? Can I charge the battery at home? Or I better take it to VW?

 

[stagsfell]

Been charging our SEAT Mii and my Fiesta during lockdown(s) using a Ctek MXS 5.0 and a Noco Genius 5 which I also have - no problems with either.

I think the key thing is that these are both "smart" chargers with a progressive charging cycle and can both be safely left on "maintenance" charging if desired, not like the old school chargers (which we all probably still have in the garage somewhere) which go "full blast" from the outset.

 

[freemansteve]

Not sure about that. Old school charges were often low-current trickle chargers which stopped at a sensible battery voltage.
There may be others I have not used, which may be of varying "smartness" but really, if you use your car to go to the shops each week, the battery will probably be getting charged fine, for say 5 years. And then you buy another..

 

[TEST DRIVER]

I remember the old trickle chargers. The battery on the kitchen table with the charger connected charging over night.

I only did 1000 miles a year in my Smart but it only needed a new battery once in the 10 years i had the car.

I did drive to the supermarket once a week, but every couple of months i had a 20 mile round trip drive on the motorway to keep the battery charged, plus a few round trips to Blackpool ( 100 miles ) a few times a year. I do the same with my UP GTI.