BradZ28

I have a battery charger that I can switch from 2 to 10 to 50 amps. My question is since I don't drive my Z very much if I leave the 2 amp charger on it will it over charge my battery? My new optima battery already needed a jump after only 2 months of having it (and only driving the car maybe 4 times). Or do I need a battery tender...

Thanks, Brad

Severous01

it will overcharge if you leave it on permanently...yes. but, if you take your car out every month at least you shouldnt have any charge or oil problems at all. i wouldnt let my car sit for over a month without at least running it until it got to normal temps.

BUBBA

A battery will not keep fully charged if you seldom drive it, and driving it will not charge it up to capacity. Once a battery goes dead, you need to fully recharge it----allowing a battery to go dead all the time will eventully kill the battery. Ideally, when one rarely drives the car, a battery tender---something like a snow mobile or motor cycle battery which turns off when the battery is charged and automatically turn back on when the battery loses charge is the way to go.

The chargers are inexpensive and some people actually have them mountedd under the hood so that all they need to do is run a power cord to them when needed.

I rarely drive my car, but the red top seems to last quite a while---however I have had to hook my battery tender up on more than one occasion to bring it up to snuff in order to start it. JMHO

RE AND CHERYL

Buy a battery tender. No other trickle charger even comes close to being as good. It charges the battery based on the voltage.

OBE1 95Z28

My Z28 is my weekend warrior so it sits in the garage all week. I used an old fashion 2/10/50A charger on the 2A setting and killed a new battery after one year. I bought a smart trickle charger from CTEK. Although I'm running a standard lead acid battery, it's designed to properly charge Optima style cells as well. The jury is still out since I've only been using it for 10 months, but so far so good.