I have a oxford maximiser from my motorcyle days and give the mx5 a charge for a couple of days if its been laid up a while, last saturday i realised it had been left on for a couple of weeks and decided to give the car a run, only to my horror the dials were jumping all over and the immobiliser light came on and the car wouldnt run, the charger was saying battery was ok,
Looking at some horror stories about immobiliser problems i feared the worse, not entirely trusting the maximiser i pondered the situation and thought i would try battery first,
Today i have purchased a new Battery and to my huge relief the car struck up and seems ok
i do try to run the car when time permits and will not rely on charger in future,
A very relieved man !!
There are battery chargers and proper tenders. The older motorcycle types have been left behind by much smarter ones. They will bring up to charge and then maintain for weeks. The best will left cope with mains power interruptions…A cheap Aldi one works well, but not if the power is cut and then reinstated…
The Fount Of All Knowledge on a bike newsgroup I frequent highly rate the Noco G1100.
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I was caught out a few times on my NBFL with a flat battery. Last year I bought a CTEK MXS 5 and leave it on when my MX5 isn’t being used. Works really well.
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Those lovely people at Tayna batteries stock them:
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Thanks for all replies and suggestions, will look into a different charger , hopefully won’t need one now with new battery and usage , been having roof problems on house so not had spare time for a run.
Ctek chargers all the way, used one for a long while on Land Rovers. Worth the money.
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My car can sit in the garage over winter for 6 months at a time, this winter it hasn’t been out since the 16th of September and only came out 4 days ago so that i could fit the new number plates ( 5 months…ish) and it started 1st flick of the key, then straight back in the garage.
I don’t run and warm up the engine when it’s out as it creates condensation that collects in the exhaust…rust!
Also bear in mind my battery is almost 13 years old.
A good ‘conditioning’ charger is worth it’s weight in gold.
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The first thing I did to my NA when I got it 11 years ago was have a custom stainless exhaust system fitted (the back box baffles were loose and rattling). It is a bit like a Samurai’s sword, once started it needs to be properly used to get the oil circulating properly. The second was to rip out the ancient Cliiford alarm/immobiliser that killed the battery if left unused for long. The third was to fit a Westco battery. The advantage of motorcycles is that you can usually rig up a QD battery tender lead that you can leave permanenty attached. No faffing around with crocodile clips. On my Toyota Granvia campervan that sits for long periods unused away from mains electricity, I disconnect the battery earth strap and use a small solar panel charger inside the windscreen with the cable running through the drivers door seal and under the closed bonnet.
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I maintain that if you going to start the engine at all during a laid up period you should let it run for at least 10 minutes to get everything, including the exhaust, up to temperature. In that way any condensation that is present in the first few minutes of running should be fully evaporated.
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+1 For Noco but I bought the 1100 and returned it for the 7200 just that bit quicker if there’s been a prolonged period when car not on charge plus lots of accessories that can be bought to help charging.
I’ve connected a permanent connector fed down the bonnet release catch hole then it comes out through the bottom open mouth bit on my NC so I can just plug the car in from the front without opening the bonnet or anything.Even charge it on the street with the charger in the house using Noco extension leads.
Noco have just updated there range so you might get a good deal on the older models.
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Two comments. One, CTEK chargers come with a connector lead that can be permanently connected to the battery, so connection is quick and easy via a plug. No need for croc clips.
Two, I appreciate your problem with your campervan’s location, but if you have an NC, you do not want to disconnect the battery regularly as the ECU takes a while to relearn the settings and you have to put up with a flakey idle for a while. A decent maintainer provides enough power to make up for parasitic loads and makes disconnecting unnecessary. Solar chargers may not.
JS
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Oh for sure. Luckily the Granvia is as old as my NA MX5 and so has a basic ECU. Even the after market immobilser doesn’t object to the battery being disconnected and takes up its role again once 12v is restored.
I’m assuming your NC is kept in a garage so reaching the battery tender lead with a charger and mains power is easy. My NA lives outside - motorcycles take priority for garage space ;).
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Cunning. I’ve finally got round to ordering a Noco myself as I have another new motorcycle arriving - so swapping the old Aldi unit around is becoming a hassle.
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Mine is much the same a SafetyMatch.
My car is on my trusty ‘optimate’ smart charger, which I originally bought for a bike 17 year ago.
The MX5 sits in the garage from November until April, only started when I want to move her out of the way, maybe once or twice during this period.
Starts first time ever time.
I suspect that my battery is also the original and will be 15 years old this year.
I need to confirm this fact though 
Is there a prize for the oldest battery ?
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I bought one of these, works perfectly, stays on my NC all winter.
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